Committee hears wide testimony on HB 2637 encouraging districts to consider federal Community Eligibility Provision

Members of the House Committee on Education heard hours of testimony for and against House Bill 2637, which would require school boards that are eligible for the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) to adopt a resolution to participate unless the board demonstrates a financial hardship at a public hearing.

Lede: Revisor Long described HB 2637 as a directive for boards of education with eligible schools or districts to adopt a resolution to participate in the federal CEP, with an opt‑out available only after a public hearing and demonstration of financial hardship.

Nut graf: Proponents — including school representatives, child‑advocacy groups and the American Heart Association — said CEP increases participation, reduces stigma and returns family dollars by providing free breakfast and lunch to all students in qualifying buildings. Opponents — school administrators and the Kansas Association of School Boards — warned the policy could reduce the number of free/reduced applications or household economic survey responses that districts use as a proxy for at‑risk funding, possibly lowering that funding stream and forcing districts to subsidize meals or shift local funds.

Key facts and figures: Revisor Long and Dr. Frank Harwood (Deputy Commissioner, Kansas State Department of Education) explained CEP eligibility hinges on 'direct certification' data (SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, foster care, homelessness); a building with an identified student percentage (ISP) of 25% is eligible, but districts generally need about 63.5–64% directly certified to reach a financial breakeven point. Dr. Harwood cited 192 participating buildings across 53 districts and said roughly 73% of buildings are eligible; a later data clarification provided to the committee noted 43 school districts (USDs) participating and, counting non‑district school food authorities, an equivalent figure raising the district count to 52 — the committee requested a link to the published data for verification.

Representative and conferee testimony: Representative Lauren Boehme said CEP reduces stigma and would benefit her Johnson County schools; Dustin Hare (Kansas Action for Children) illustrated family savings using Emporia meal prices and argued CEP could save families thousands per year; Haley Kotler (Kansas Appleseed) and Carrie Rinker (American Heart Association) emphasized public health, increased participation and that HB 2637 is intended to increase transparency rather than mandate participation. Opponents Jim Carlskin (United School Administrators) and Leah Fleiter (Kansas Association of School Boards) cautioned that the bill, as written, could lead to lower at‑risk funding and require districts to use general funds or raise meal prices for paying families.

Clarifications from KSDE: Dr. Harwood reiterated that under CEP all students in participating buildings receive free meals, but only directly certified students count toward the at‑risk proxy. He warned that if districts stop collecting free/reduced forms and do not secure sufficient household economic survey responses, reported counts used for at‑risk funding could fall, potentially reducing that funding stream.

Committee dialogue and next steps: Members asked detailed questions about the opt‑out process, household economic surveys, the number and location of participating buildings and how districts manage potential shortfalls. Several members suggested further stakeholder coordination (including USA, KNEA, KASB and KSDE) and additional study; the committee requested that KSDE circulate the participation data link and indicated the matter may be revisited.

Ending: The committee closed the hearing on HB 2637 and moved to the next agenda item; no vote on HB 2637 was recorded during this session.