Many of Aligned’s priority bills become law
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As lawmakers returned to Topeka for the final days of session, several of Aligned’s priority bills ranging across the education-workforce spectrum ultimately crossed the finish line.
As the dust settles, let’s round up what happened as of the release of this newsletter.
Priority bills enacted into law
S Sub for HB 2299: Bell-to-bell cell phone ban
- In March, we reported that Kansas officially enacted a statewide, bell-to-bell school cell phone ban with bipartisan support.
- The bill enjoyed support from both House and Senate leadership as well as the Governor early on, which led to its early passage.
While a cell phone ban idea was found in multiple pieces of legislation throughout session, the ultimate bill was worked by the Senate Education Committee, chaired by Sen. Renee Erickson.
Aligned submitted supportive testimony on the bill because clear, consistent school-day phone policies can help reduce distractions, improve student focus, and support better learning environments.
HB 2618: Federal funds reporting requirement
- This bill requires the Kansas State Board of Education to biannually report to the legislature the purpose and use of federal K-12 education funding the state receives.
- It also sunsets various education reports to the legislature by the early 2030s and removes other school district reporting requirements.
The concept originated from the K-12 Education Budget Committee vice chair Rep. Sherri Brantley.
Aligned backed the measure as a transparency tool that can help state leaders track federal funding streams, assess their impact, and plan more effectively for future fiscal changes.
HB 2320: Foster care school choice and record transfer
- This bill allows students in foster care to attend school in any district and requires student records to be transferred in a timely manner when they move between districts.
- It also requires a transportation plan when a child remains in their school of origin, helping reduce disruption during already difficult transitions.
The bill passed both chambers unanimously, reflecting broad bipartisan agreement on the need to better support students in foster care. The legislation was requested by Rep. Jason Goetz, chair of the K-12 Education Budget Committee.
Aligned supported the measure because reducing barriers to school stability can help foster care students stay connected to learning and support services during periods of transition.
Conference Committee Report HB 2534: At-risk accountability changes
- This bill folded in the contents of HB 2663, an Aligned priority bill focused on how school districts track the progress of students receiving at-risk funding.
- The bill updates the rules for how districts track the academic progress of students receiving at-risk services, with the goal of making those plans more workable for districts.
The conference committee report passed unanimously in both chambers. The bill was originally requested by Rep. Susan Estes, chair of the House Education Committee.
Aligned supported the bill because it strengthens accountability around at-risk funding and puts more focus on measurable student progress.
HB 2482: Longitudinal student achievement and assessment flexibility
- This legislation updates state law to replace references to ACT exams with broader language to recognize other national college entrance, preparation, and career readiness assessments.
- The bill also supports a stronger focus on looking at student achievement over time, rather than just a single year.
Aligned supported the bill because it improves flexibility, transparency, and emphasizes the state’s ability to analyze student progress over time.
Conference committee report HB 2485: A package of priorities
This mega-bill became a vehicle for several Aligned priority bills related to early literacy reform, postsecondary affordability, and workforce readiness.
- It includes SB 517, a sweeping literacy reform effort that would strengthen the implementation of the Kansas Blueprint for Literacy through additional district reporting, individual student literacy plans for struggling readers, and clarify joint oversight between the State Board of Education and the Board of Regents.
- It also includes SB 340, which would modify the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act to prohibit the use of scholarship funds for the remedial portion of corequisite coursework.
- The legislation also folds in SB 406 to establish the state process for approving eligible workforce training programs for the new federal Workforce Pell Grants.
Aligned supported the multiple bills listed because they reflect our priorities: stronger implementation of literacy reform, smarter use of student aid, and a clear state framework for workforce training opportunities.
Aligned’s take: We appreciate the legislators’ earnest work on these issues during a fast-paced session. Although not every proposal we liked reached the finish line, several important priorities did — and there’s always more work ahead on behalf of students.
Kansas news
Kansas opts into federal scholarship tax credit
Kansas opts into federal scholarship tax credit
In addition to our other priority bills, one was notably vetoed by Gov. Kelly: SB 361. However, on Thursday, the House (85-38) and Senate (29-10) overrode the governor’s veto.
This means Kansas is now the 29th state to opt into the Education Freedom Tax Credit, a federal tax provision signed into law last summer. This incentive provides a dollar-for-dollar nonrefundable federal tax credit up to $1,700 for taxpayers who donate to scholarship granting organizations
Students from families with a household income less than 300% of the area’s median gross income may qualify for scholarships provided by SGOs. Scholarships may be used for qualified educational expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring at public schools, support services, and other instructional materials or services.
A previous bill (HB 2468 ) would’ve opted Kansas into the federal program and expanded the state’s own scholarship tax credit amount from $10 to $15 million.
However, Gov. Kelly vetoed the legislation, and legislators ultimately advanced a narrower final outcome: opting Kansas into the federal initiative without expanding the state credit.
Gov. Kelly trims education provisos from budget bill
While Gov. Kelly ultimately signed the Fiscal Year 2027 budget bill into law (HB 2513), she vetoed several education line-items.
What follows is a summary of said line-item vetoes.
At the time this newsletter was released, the House was voting on line-item veto overrides. We will update as the House and Senate vote on these provisions.
State assessment cut scores. Budget language requiring KSDE to report 2026 and 2027 assessment results using older cut scores and tying some funding amounts to compliance with the measure was rejected by the governor. She argued that decision belongs to the State Board of Education, not the legislature. The House voted 84-39 to override this line-item veto.
Mental Health Intervention Team funding. Kelly also vetoed language requiring $1.5 million of Mental Health Intervention Team funding to be reserved for qualified private schools. She argued that since lawmakers cut the overall program by $6 million, it was unfair to preserve that set-aside and force public schools alone to absorb the reduction.
Requiring the innovative assessment pilot. A provision requiring how the innovative assessment pilot should be run, which districts would participate, and how results would be reported was also rejected. Gov. Kelly said again the legislature was overstepping into the domain of the State Board. The House voted 84-39 to override this line-item veto.
Education enhancements funded by existing resources. She struck language requiring Fastbridge, SparkWheel, mentor teachers, and JAG-K, among others, to be funded from anticipated excess formula dollars rather than direct appropriations, saying that approach lacked transparency and relied on funding that was not guaranteed. The House voted 87-36 to override this line-item veto.
Student walkouts and speech. She also vetoed a proviso related to student protests and speech at school, arguing local districts and families are better positioned to handle those issues. The House voted 87-36 to override this line-item veto.
Fate unknown: Property tax reform
On Wednesday, Governor Kelly vetoed Senate substitute for HB 2745, arguing that the measure did not deliver real property tax relief.
The bill would have allowed protest petitions to block property tax increases above a set threshold if enough voters signed on. In latest version, that threshold was tied to either 3% growth or the Midwest consumer price index, whichever was less.
In her veto message, Gov. Kelly said the proposal had already disrupted local bond financing.
The Sunflower State Journal reported that officials from the cities of Mulvane and Valley center, plus Mulvane School district, were forced to call off their sale of bonds when the bill was initially passed out of the legislature; a further 25 school districts and local governments were also said to be “working on bond issues.”
Even after the veto, Republican leadership kept the issue alive. House and Senate leaders inserted a revised version of the proposal into HB 2043 through conference committee.
- That new version reportedly would exempt bond debt service, annexed property, expiring tax abatements, and school districts from the revenue limits, while setting the protest petition threshold at 10% of voters who cast a ballot in the last secretary of state election.
Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins criticized the veto, saying,
“Kansans didn’t send us to Topeka to play political games; they sent us here to deliver results. Kansas families are being crushed by rising property taxes.”
After her veto, Gov. Kelly proposed an alternative plan:
- A one-time $250 vehicle credit when owners register their vehicles.
- The establishment of a new $60 million state fund that would reward local governments that halt their budget growth to less than 3% annually.
- Increasing the state’s residential property tax exemption from the statewide school levy from $75,000 to $150,000 in residential property value.
However, the proposal is not expected to advance.
On Thursday evening, the House failed to approve SCR 1603, a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow for assessment limits. The measure only garnered 69 votes, short of the 84 required for two-thirds majority.
At the time of this newsletter, the fate of property tax reform is still up in the air before final adjournment.
Missouri news
Higher ed funding proposal stalls in the Senate
It’s only been a few weeks since we initially wrote about the proposed overhaul to Missouri’s higher education funding formula, but the idea appears to be losing steam in the Senate.
HB 2003 would shift core, operational funding for public colleges and universities to a formula based on full-time student enrollment. Supporters, including the proposal’s author House Budget Chair Dirk Deaton, argue the current method is outdated and produces wide disparities in per-student funding across institutions.
The plan now faces resistance from both the institutions that would receive major funding cuts and from Senators in both parties.
Inside Higher Ed reported that Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin indicated the Senate will not pass the House plan. In the Jefferson City News Tribute, Senator O’Laughlin argued that funding should be “based on outcomes.”
“We need to seriously consider the type of graduates we are looking for and prioritize funding accordingly.”
This is a common criticism of the plan, with opponents suggesting that a new formula should instead account for differences in institutional mission and student population.
What’s more, enrollment-based funding would result in significant funding cuts for several institutions, which would bring long-term conversations about the viability of current staffing, tuition, academic programing, and student supports forward.
Overall, the House proposal is in a shaky position as session heads toward the finish line. However, the larger debate over how Missouri should fund institutions is clearly not over.
New resource: Part one of our Missouri teacher workforce series
Aligned has released the first report in a new three-part series examining Missouri’s teacher workforce. Rising Novices, Growing Veterans, and a Shrinking Middle explores how the composition of the educator workforce has shifted over time and what those changes may mean for schools and students.
This report focuses on statewide trends in teacher experience, including changes in early-career entry, mid-career retention, and late-career staffing patterns.
Additional reports in the series, covering grade and subject-level trends and shifts in teacher credentials, will be released over the coming weeks.