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Committee advances bill to gather statewide school-district health insurance data
Summary
Senate File 1201 would direct the Legislative Budget Office to collect district-level information on health insurance offerings and costs to inform policy on rising premiums and staffing shortages; the committee adopted an amendment and recommended the bill to Education Finance.
Sen. Kunesh introduced Senate File 1201 on March 12, 2026, saying the Legislative Budget Office should collect standardized, district-level information on health insurance plans school districts offer, the plans’ financial characteristics, and district and employee expenditures. The sponsor framed the bill as a data collection step to show how rising premiums are contributing to staff shortages and to help policymakers evaluate solutions.
The committee adopted an A4 amendment before testimony. Joey Mathews, a sixth-grade teacher in Independent School District 196, told the committee that in recent years educators in his district received roughly 3% salary increases while health-insurance premiums rose about 14% (with some districts reporting increases as high as 18–30%). "In real terms this means many of our educators are taking home less money even though they have negotiated raises," Mathews said, urging lawmakers to collect consistent statewide data so policymakers can compare plan costs and impacts.
Lori Goth, a special education parent and classroom support provider, shared a family health-care example in which a prescribed medication was not covered by insurance, forcing the family to pay hundreds of dollars per month out of pocket and for the parent to work multiple jobs. She said the bill would help the Legislature and the public understand insurance gaps affecting students and staff.
Several senators voiced support, calling the bill an important first step. Sen. Johnson Stewart and Sen. Cwodzinski said they hope the data will allow comparisons and inform whether broader changes—such as folding public-school coverage into the state employee plan—could yield savings. The committee moved, by voice vote, to recommend Senate File 1201 to the Education Finance Committee.
The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; senators indicated approval by voice vote and the bill was passed to the Education Finance Committee for further review.
