Legislation to fund special education being worked in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Changes to special education funding could be coming to Kansas if legislators can come to an agreement.
State senators say this started as a four-page bill creating rules on open enrollment. Then, it moved to the House, where policy and budget pieces were added. Now, the education bill is dozens of pages long and bringing on critiques.
Since its introduction in January, Senate Bill 387 has been through multiple changes. A house substitute bill now includes education funding.
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“Our Senate Bill 387 includes constitutional funding,” said Representative Kristey William, Chair of the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget. “It also includes historic levels of special education funding, $77.5 million.”
That funding, which Williams says will come from the general fund, is looped in with other policy measures. Those include different learning benchmarks schools would need their students to hit.
United Teachers of Wichita has been wanting to see more special education funding from the state.
“Our goal would be that there would be a clean funding bill for special education in the Wichita legislature,” said UTW Vice President Mike Harris.
Harris said he doesn’t want that legislation looped in with policy changes.
Senator Dinah Sykes, who has been in talks with the House over the bill, agrees a funding bill should be passed on its own merits.
Williams said if funding will be passed, it needs benchmarks and guidelines.
“At the end of the day, it’s our job to ensure there’s improvement in student education,” Williams said.
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Harris said the state hasn’t been providing the money for special education that’s promised in state statute.
Williams said that if you calculate special education funding using the local option budget funds, which include money raised from property taxes, the state will fulfill that promise.
“We weren’t counting all the money,” Williams said. “If we count all the money, then we are exceeding this statutory amount of 92%.”
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