• 2025 State Resolutions
• 2025 Federal Resolutions
• 2025 KASB Permanent Policies

We love Kansas because…

Our public schools are the lifeblood of the smallest towns and largest cities.

Our students are prepared to thrive in work and in life.

Every community is a place of opportunity to earn a living and raise a family.

WE MUST DEFEND KANSAS VALUES
No matter what it’s called, any scheme to divert tax dollars from public schools is a voucher. Kansas taxes shouldn't support unaccredited schools that threaten kids' learning and safety...

• No way to know if students are learning
• No background checks are required
• No oversight by KSDE or any other organization
• No requirements to report student abuse/neglect

VOUCHERS HURT RURAL TOWNS
Vouchers for unaccredited schools hurt small towns because public schools lose funding. When a rural school closes, the town loses their mascot, their teachers and a major employer.

VOUCHERS BENEFIT CURRENT PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS MOST
The vast majority of vouchers amount to subsidies for students who have never been in public school. Around 70% of voucher users were already enrolled in private schools, homeschool or are just beginning kindergarten.

VOUCHERS HURT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
In Indiana and Ohio, vouchers for unaccredited schools caused a bigger decline in student achievement than during the COVID pandemic. In Louisiana, voucher learning loss was even worse than the loss from Hurricane Katrina. In all cases, voucher programs created worse outcomes for low-income students and students of color.

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PUBLIC DOLLARS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
In Indiana and Ohio, vouchers for unaccredited schools caused a bigger decline in student achievement than during the COVID pandemic. In Louisiana, voucher learning loss was even worse than the loss from Hurricane Katrina. In all cases, voucher programs created worse outcomes for low-income students and students of color.

Kansans have countless reasons to be proud of our public schools. And we believe in their power to prepare every student for a bright future when public resources are invested in their success. In 2023, 9 out of 10 Kansas seniors graduated from high school — an all-time high.

• In 2023-24, Kansas high school students earned 6,188 professional credentials — a 150% increase since 2009.
• The 2023 state assessments showed the highest math scores since 2017, long before Covid.
• Kansas students in public schools often perform as well or better than their private school peers. 

KASB OPPOSES ALL K-12 VOUCHERS

Whether it's called a Tuition Tax Credit “Scholarship” or an “Education Savings Account,” it's a voucher. Vouchers divert our tax dollars away from public schools that serve all Kansas kids to private schools and unaccredited schools with little or no accountability to parents, students, or taxpayers.

Each year, KASB members from around the state vote to approve our legislative policies. Our 2025 Legislative Policy opposes all vouchers:

“To ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed, all schools and school programs and activities supported by public funds must serve all children on the same basis as public schools. We oppose programs including but not limited to vouchers, education savings accounts, trust funds, scholarships, and tuition tax credits because such programs divert public funding from public education to schools which are not required to serve all students, including those who are disadvantaged, disabled, or those with the greatest needs.”

2 THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW

1. Spread the word about how vouchers threaten Kansas communities and students.
2. Urge Kansas lawmakers to oppose any school voucher proposals or programs.

SOURCES AND ADDITIONAL READING

Vouchers used for fraudulent expenses:

• Universal ESA Vouchers Wide Open for Fraud & Abuse
• State and local experience proves school vouchers are a failed policy that must be opposed

Vouchers hurt rural: AZ school closures:

• Paradise Valley Unified School District approves first step toward closing four schools

Learning loss worse than COVID:

• What Causes More Learning Loss Than The COVID Pandemic?

Vouchers most benefit families already enrolled in private schools

• Private school students flock to expanded school voucher program

• KSDE SPED Explainer
• KSDE Spreadsheet

House Testimony

HB 2011 – Decreasing the rate of ad valorem tax imposed by a school district.

HB 2022 – Clarifying that a special election shall not be held within 45 days before or after a general or primary election.

HB 2033 / HB 2033 – Including programs and services provided by nonprofit organizations accredited by the international multisensory structured language education council as approved at-risk educational programs.

HB 2052 – Updating cross references in the personal and family protection act regarding the eligibility requirements to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun, requiring the surrender of a suspended or revoked license, providing for a transition from a provisional license to a standard license and prohibiting the collection of personal information of an off-duty law enforcement officer entering buildings while armed or requiring such officer to wear any item identifying such person as a law enforcement officer or being armed.

HB 2069 – Enacting the school psychologist licensure compact to provide interstate practice privileges for school psychologists.

HB 2086 – Adjusting the KPERS 3 dividend interest credit by lowering the dividend interest credit threshold to 5% and increasing the dividend share to 80%.

HB 2102 / HB 2012 – Providing for the advance enrollment of military students whose parent or person acting as parent will be stationed in this state.

HB 2103 – Including participation in certain learning experiences and agricultural activities as a valid excuse for absence from school and authorizing school boards to make rules therefor.

HB 2104 – Standardizing firearm safety programs in school districts.

HB 2129 – Transferring teachers from the KPERS 3 cash balance plan to the KPERS 2 plan and defining teachers for purposes of KPERS.

HB 2134 – Amending the Kansas open records act regarding charges for records in the state executive branch and other public agencies other than the state legislative and judicial branches, prohibiting charges for electronic copies of records and for determining whether a record exists and limiting charges for employee time required to make records available.

HB 2136 – Expanding student eligibility under the tax credit for low income students scholarship program, increasing the amount of the tax credit for contributions made pursuant to such program and providing for aggregate tax credit limit increases under certain conditions.

HB 2137 – Authorizing the department of education to contract with a private vendor to install, operate and maintain school bus cameras.

HB 2139 - Increasing the minimum expenditure amount for school districts for contracted goods and services without requiring sealed bids and the minimum expenditure amount for goods and services that the district superintendent may acquire on behalf of the school district.

HB 2194 – Providing a KPERS working after retirement exemption from the employer contribution rate for retirants who are employed as teachers by a school district in a position for which a certificate to teach is required.

HB 2236 – Establishing the mental health intervention team program in the Kansas department for aging and disability services in state statute and providing incentives for coordination between school districts, qualified schools and mental health intervention team providers

HB 2239 – Requiring every employer to provide each employee with meal periods and rest periods.

HB 2280 -Clarifying that the authorized activities of paramedics, advanced emergency medical technicians, emergency medical technicians and emergency medical responders may be authorized upon the order of a healthcare professional, permitting certain ambulance services to offer service for less than 24 hours per day, every day of the year, and requiring entities using automated external defibrillators to register with the emergency medical services board.

HB 2299 – Prohibiting discriminatory practices on the basis of religion at public educational institutions and authorizing the attorney general to investigate violations and assess civil penalties under the Kansas act against discrimination.

HB 2318 –  Providing that future personal and corporate income tax rate decreases be contingent on exceeding tax receipt revenues.

HB 2320 – Authorizing children in the custody of the secretary of the department for children and families to attend school in any school district, requiring records for such students to be timely transferred between school districts and requiring a transportation plan if the child remains in the school of origin.

HB 2324 – Increasing the criminal penalty for possessing or refusing to surrender any firearm in or on any school property or grounds.

HB 2330 – Designating November 14 of each year as Ruby Bridges walk to school day in the state of Kansas.

HB 2396 – Authorizing the use of a protest petition to limit funding of a taxing jurisdiction by property tax revenues exceeding a certain amount, establishing the acknowledging stewardship of tax revenue and appropriations (ASTRA) fund; authorizing certain transfers from the state general fund to qualifying cities and counties and eliminating the revenue neutral rate requirements by taxing subdivisions and the taxpayer notification costs fund.

HCR 5011- Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to provide that valuations of residential property, commercial and industrial real property and mobile homes personal property shall be determined based on the lesser of the fair market value or the average fair market value.

Public Comment on K12 Budget – House K12 Education Budget

Senate Testimony

SB 2 – Validating the election results for the bond issuance question submitted by the board of education of USD 200, Greeley county, at a special election held on May 21, 2024.

SB 14 – Providing for continuous state budgets until amended, lapsed or eliminated by the legislature, temporary reallocations and establishing conditions and limitations.

SB 19 – Enacting the conscientious right to refuse act to prohibit discrimination against individuals who refuse medical care and creating a civil cause of action based on such discrimination and revoking the authority of the secretary of health and environment to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.

SB 45 – Excluding students who transfer to homeschools or nonaccredited private schools from the alternative calculation of graduation rates for virtual schools.

SB 47 / SB 47 - Requiring school districts to publicly list the names and email addresses of current school board members, authorizing local school board members to add new items to board meeting discussions, ask questions or engage in discussion with members of the public and access school property, authorizing members of the public to address school boards at board meetings and authorizing payment of annual dues to any not-for-profit organization that provides services to member school districts.

SB 48 – Requiring school districts to demonstrate improvement in academic performance and be in compliance with all federal and state statutes and rules and regulations to achieve or maintain accreditation.

SB 49 –  Requiring that each attendance center needs assessment be conducted by the local board of education and include input from board members, teachers, school site councils and school administrators and that board members receive certain state assessment data and identify allocations of money in the school district budget and budget summary.

SB 70 – Providing for reasonable fees for electronic copies of records under the open records act, exempting from disclosure formally closed investigations with no found violations, requiring county or district attorneys to file reports of violations with the attorney in December instead of January, determining the membership calculation of subordinate groups under the open meetings act, requiring public bodies or agencies that live stream meetings to ensure that the public is able to observe and providing for a five minute deviation to resume an open meeting at the conclusion of executive sessions.

SB 75 – Establishing the education opportunity tax credit to provide an income tax credit for taxpayers with eligible dependent children who are not enrolled in public school.

SB 76 – Requiring employees of school districts and postsecondary educational institutions to use the name and pronouns consistent with a student's biological sex and birth certificate and authorizing a cause of action for violations therefor.

SB 87 / SB 87 – Expanding student eligibility under the tax credit for low income students scholarship program, increasing the amount of the tax credit for contributions made pursuant to such program and providing for aggregate tax credit limit increases under certain conditions.

SB 242 – Requiring that a political subdivision hold an open meeting to discuss a contingency fee contract for legal services before approving such contract and requiring the attorney general to approve such contracts.

SB 259 – Providing that future personal and corporate income tax rate decreases be contingent on exceeding tax receipt revenues.

SB 263 – Establishing standards and requirements for active shooter drills conducted by public and accredited nonpublic elementary and secondary schools.

SB 275 – Requiring school districts to include a fetal development presentation as part of the curriculum for any course that addresses human growth, human development or human sexuality.

SB 282 – Enacting the Kansas retirement investment and savings plan (KRISP) act and establishing terms, conditions, requirements, membership elections, accounts, benefits, contributions and distributions related to such plan.

SB 288 – Prohibiting certain sex offenders from entering onto school property or attending school activities and creating criminal penalties for violation thereof.

SCR 1603 – Proposing to amend section 1 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of Kansas to limit property tax valuation increases for real property and personal property classified as mobile homes.

SCR 1611 / SCR 1611 -  Proposing a constitutional amendment to provide for direct election of supreme court justices and abolish the supreme court nominating commission.

Senate K-12 Budget