Issues

You don’t have to understand everything about these issues to advocate for Kansas schools and your children, but here we’ll give you both the big picture and some additional resources. Game On does its homework!

• Funding – What’s all the fuss about funding? While throwing money at a problem doesn’t fix it, failing to adequately fund Kansas public schools has significant short- and long-term consequences for all Kansans.
• Role of the Courts, Judicial Selection and Constitutional Amendments – Changes to our courts would affect education, too.
• ALEC, KPI and the Florida Reform Model – ALEC has an active education component that calls for first attacking the academic achievements in schools and then proposing free market solutions. Game On is opposed to their “behind closed doors” tactics and for the direct interplay between legislators and for-profit corporations peddling privatization options that will benefit them.
• Vouchers, “Scholarships”, Charters, Online Schools-Privatization – A major component of the ALEC agenda/Florida Reform Model is support for vouchers, “scholarships”, charters, online schools and other similar “reforms.” Already tried in other states, these “reforms” do not improve student performance but they do siphon funds away from public schools which serve all children, and they do put public funds into private hands.
• School Achievement – Kansas students are achieving despite chronic underfunding and the disruption of a national pandemic. The long phase-in of the court-ordered restoration of funding in the Gannon case just ended in 2023 and is being undercut by the increasing shortfalls in special education funding. Graduation rates and attainment of professional credentials are at an all-time high, and remediation rates are down. We believe student achievement will continue to rise with continued investment in our children. Standardized tests are one component of student achievement, but they are widely misused and misrepresented by voucher supporters in an effort to undermine support for public education.
• Third Grade Retention – How do you increase reading scores in the midst of large education budget cuts? One way would be to hold back your failing third graders. Research has shown third grade retention has unintended negative consequences. We’ve seen a backing away from this “reform” in recent years, but continue to watch for its resurgence.