Board briefed on a slate of Topeka bills that could restrict district communications and affect funding
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Summary
Dr. Little told the Shawnee Mission board about several active bills — including a cell-phone/bell-to-bell bill, a bill (2451) restricting use of public resources for ballot questions with strict 'neutral' language, scholarship/tax credit legislation, and budget provisos affecting vaccination guidance and assessment contracts — and urged local advocacy.
The Shawnee Mission Board of Education received an extended legislative briefing from Doctor Little detailing multiple bills in the Kansas Legislature that district staff say could affect local operations, funding and communications.
Little said the cell-phone bill remains a high-profile item and that some earlier versions would have required nonpublic schools to follow the same bell-to-bell restrictions as public schools; he said the provision was returned to the Senate committee for further work. He cautioned that changes to how districts may store phones or use capital outlay dollars for related facilities could have unforeseen fiscal impacts.
On bill 24-51, Little described language that would "prohibit the expenditure of public resources for ballot questions" except for strictly neutral, informational communications and would restrict mass mailings and some staff activity; he noted the bill passed the House with a veto-proof margin. Asked by board members whether the district could still conduct open houses, mailers, or social-media outreach related to a bond, Little said the bill's language is ambiguous and includes penalties; he recommended close engagement with local legislators and noted the governor’s line-item veto as a possible remedy for provisos.
Little also described budget provisos that would affect vaccination guidance — reversing a KDHE decision to remain with existing medical schedules and directing the state to adopt a CDC schedule — and flagged a proposed termination of the assessment contract with a state university (KU) and potential reversion of test cut scores. He said the House had added $10 million for special education in its budget and the Senate $5 million, but staff and board members noted that statutory needs exceed those amounts and that additional funding would be required to fully hold districts harmless.
The board pressed Little on whether some bills are performative ahead of elections versus durable policy changes. Little said many proposals are symbolic but that a nontrivial subset — including tax-lid proposals and funding-recalculation efforts — could have genuine, lasting effects.
Board members asked for follow-up and planned outreach to the district’s legislative delegation; Little encouraged targeted advocacy, including urging governors to consider vetoes or line-item vetoes when appropriate.