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Kansas State School for the Deaf asks Legislature to restore language-assessment funding, boost teacher pay and fund campus repairs
Summary
The Committee on K‑12 Education Budget heard testimony from the Kansas State School for the Deaf seeking restoration of a 1.5% SGF lapse that disrupted a statewide Language Assessment Program, a $6,000-per-teacher supplement plus six additional school days to improve recruitment, and SIBF-funded capital repairs including a roof and demolition of a powerhouse.
The Committee on K‑12 Education Budget reviewed the Kansas State School for the Deaf's budget request on Jan. 26, hearing that a recently applied 1.5% state general fund (SGF) operating lapse has curtailed early language assessments and worsened staffing shortages.
"The governor's recommendation was released this morning," said Jennifer Light, KLRD senior fiscal analyst, noting members would receive fuller budget breakdowns before tomorrow's recommendations. Light walked the committee through FY2026 and FY2027 requests and special-committee changes, including supplemental and enhancement requests that would require a committee motion to restore.
Superintendent Lou Anne Barron told the committee the school's Language Assessment Program (LAP), enacted by the Legislature in 2017, is "a critical assessment program" that supports language milestones from birth through age 8. Barron said the 1.5% lapse "meant that 47 children could not receive services,"…
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