Revisor outlines Kansas statutory programs that provide education funding outside the foundation formula

Tamara Lawrence of the Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes reviewed a catalog of statutory education programs on May 20 and told the Special Education and Related Services Funding Task Force those programs can matter when the group evaluates how state money reaches students.

Lawrence said the memorandum supplied to the task force lists statutes that create smaller state grant programs and payment authorities that are separate from the state foundation and supplemental aid formulas. "I've been asked to go over some of the educational programs that have been created in statute that have some kind of funding or financial element to them, but aren't typically thought of as being part of the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act," Lawrence told the committee.

Key programs Lawrence highlighted

The revisor's memo and Lawrence's presentation listed multiple programs that carry a statutory funding element but sit outside the state’s core foundation formula, including grants to districts that provide education in adult‑training or residential placement settings (Flint Hills Job Corps, psychiatric residential treatment, juvenile detention), a school meal reimbursement of six cents per type‑A lunch served, incentive payments for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certified teachers, state professional development aid, mentor‑teacher stipends (up to $1,000 subject to appropriation), computer‑science professional learning grants, Skills for Success (K–3 intervention) grants, career and technical education (CTE) funding and a $1,000 credential incentive for eligible CTE graduates, parent‑education grants, a program for deaf‑blind education costs, the ACT/WorkKeys administration requirement (funding outside the formula), driver‑education reimbursements from the State Safety Fund, and the Kansas Educator Registered Apprenticeship Grant Program.

Lawrence also noted the statutory list is not exhaustive and asked the task force to point out other programs it wants cataloged. She emphasized the difference between programs created in statute and those created through budget proviso or appropriations language.

Statutory context and sunset

Lawrence reminded members that the task force’s core charge focuses on the provisions that will expire in the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act. She read the statutory sunset citation noted in the memo: KSA 70‑2‑5176 (the reviser memo’s citation) provides that KSA 72‑51‑31 through 72‑51‑76 will expire on July 1, 2027.

Next steps

Task force members asked for additional funding‑history details and the revisor offered to supplement the memo if members identify missing programs. Lawrence and staff signalled they would continue to update the statutory inventory on request.