UPDATE April 4, 2024 1:00 pm: SB 387 has narrowly passed the House 65-58. Contact your Senator and urge a NO vote TODAY.

We join the Kansas Association of School Boards, USA-Kansas (the state superintendents association), the Kansas State Board of Education, the Kansas Association of Special Education Administrators and KNEA in opposing SB 387 as agreed to in conference earlier today (Wednesday, April 3). Please contact your legislators and urge them to reject SB 387 and support a clean bill with true state-funded special education increases and full Gannon funding. Their statement follows.

“This bill does not include a long-range plan to fully fund special education. Instead, it offers a one-time $77 million increase, along with a series of accounting gimmicks to falsely promise that Special Education will be fully funded in the future.

The bill attempts to use a one-time payment to relieve lawmakers of their future responsibilities to fully fund special education. By contrast, Gov. Laura Kelly’s budget recommendation would add $750 million over the next four years — nearly 10 times the funding proposed in SB 387.

The state can afford to fully fund special education. And the choice is clear: Reject SB 387 and support a clean bill with true state-funded special education increases and full Gannon funding.

Originally Posted on Facebook on April 3rd, updated April 4th, 2024.