This article provides helpful background to the SPED task force meeting that was held today.
“The goal of the task force, required by a bill approved by the 2023 Legislature, was to figure out how best to comply with an older statute mandating that state funding cover 92% of the extra cost of providing services to K-12 special education students statewide. Currently, state aid was sufficient to address 69% of school districts’ excess special education costs. The balance must be made up by local school districts…
“The gathering might not have occurred had a six-person majority of task force members not invoked parliamentary procedure in November to force Williams’ hand. She relented and set the meeting for three days prior to start of the 2024 session.
“Interim legislative meetings typically take place in summer and fall to give committee members time to write reports pulling together expert testimony and outlining reform proposals for review by lawmakers during the next legislative session.
“Williams, who was placed in charge of the task force pending the members’ election of a chair, said a mere two hours would be dedicated to oral testimony of subject-matter experts and for task force deliberations. She said written testimony would be accepted by the task force comprised of five members of the House or Senate — four Republicans, one Democrat — and six people not in the Legislature.
“The list of 13 given a chance to speak for five minutes each to the task force included people with the Kansas Association of School Boards, Kansas National Education Association, Kansas PTA, Game On for Kansas Schools as well as the Kansas State Department of Education and the Kansas Policy Institute. School administrators and a teacher will be given a turn at the microphone, but its not clear the task force could comprehensively take input, consider options and prepare recommendations for legislators in 120 minutes.”
Published on Facebook on Jan. 5th, 2024.