Superintendent briefs board on Topeka session, highlights SPED funding, voucher and other bills

Superintendent Mr. Lear reviewed several education-related bills under consideration in the Kansas Legislature and what they could mean for USD 262 if enacted.

Mr. Lear said special education (SPED) funding remains a central budget issue. He told the board that the district currently receives about 67% of constitutionally required SPED funding and that last year the Legislature added $75 million statewide, which translated to about $456,000 for the district. He said state education officials asked for about $88 million and the governor proposed $73 million; the House initially approved a larger figure but later reduced the new SPED allocation in its budget work to $10 million. Mr. Lear warned that the Senate Ways and Means Committee was still considering the final numbers and that funding could change in conference committee negotiations.

Mr. Lear outlined several named bills:

- Senate Bill 76: a measure that would bar district employees from addressing a student with a pronoun inconsistent with the student's biological sex without parental permission. The superintendent said earlier, more punitive provisions that would have allowed private suits against districts or employees had been removed.

- Senate Bill 47: described in the meeting as a 'micromanaging school boards' proposal; Mr. Lear said it would standardize requirements across districts, including agenda processes and public access, and could reduce elements of local control by imposing a statewide approach.

- Senate Bill 87: a voucher-related bill that would expand tax credits tied to private-school scholarships and remove a low-income limitation, which Mr. Lear said would broaden who could benefit from the tax credit structure.

- Senate Bill 114: a bill to allow nonpublic and virtual students to participate in ancillary public-school activities such as prom and graduation; Mr. Lear said the bill would prevent districts from denying non-district students access to those activities.

Mr. Lear characterized the session as moving faster than in some past years and said final outcomes on funding and some bills remained uncertain. He directed board members to Kansas State Department of Education and Kansas Association of School Boards resources for bill tracking and weekly legislative wrap-ups.

The board asked clarifying questions about how the bills would affect district policy and practice; Mr. Lear emphasized that some items would require additional administrative guidance if enacted and that the board would be updated as bills move through the Legislature.