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• Introduced in the Senate on February 1, 2008, to increase funding for K-12 education by increasing the state finance formula's Base State Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP) from the current $4,433 up to $4,492 for the 2009-2010 school year at an additional cost of $37.2 million. Increasing BSAPP has ripple effects that require funding increases for other parts of the finance formula, amounting to at least another $3.7 million, but this bill does not account for those effects. The Kansas Supreme Court in 2006 forced a three-year $466 million K-12 funding enhancement and this bill effectively adds a fourth year to that program. The latest data current through the 2006-07 school year show that total K-12 funding from federal, state, and local tax sources averages $11,558 per pupil..
  • Referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on February 4, 2008.
    • Reported to the Senate on February 19, 2008.
• Passed in the Senate (37 to 2) on February 21, 2008, to increase funding for K-12 education by increasing the state finance formula's BSAPP from the current $4,433 up to $4,492 for the 2009-2010 school year at an additional cost of at least $37.2 million. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the House on February 22, 2008.
  • Referred to the House Education Committee on March 7, 2008.
    • Reported to the House on March 27, 2008, to recommend the bill for passage as amended. Committee amendments would additionally increase K-12 funding by creating Medicaid Replacement State Aid, intended to replace reductions in federal dollars for Medicaid-eligible students, at an estimated state cost next year of $23 million. Other bill amendments would change various parts of current school consolidation law, including guarantees that school districts do not lose any state funding when they consolidate.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Jason Watkins (R) on March 31, 2008, to permit students with dyslexia or other reading disability to leave regular classes in order to attend alternative educational programs. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on March 31, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Michael O'Neal (R) on March 31, 2008, to delete the proposed $37 million increase for BSAPP. The amendment failed in the House (42 to 73) on March 31, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Anthony Brown (R) on March 31, 2008. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on March 31, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Lance Kinzer (R) on March 31, 2008, to propose less of an increase in BSAPP -- a $30 increase instead of the proposed $59 increase -- and to increase state funding for low-enrollment school districts. The amendment failed in the House (23 to 94) on March 31, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Lance Kinzer (R) on March 31, 2008. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on March 31, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Pat Colloton (R) on March 31, 2008, to reduce by approximately 2 percent the extra state funding that school districts are scheduled to receive for low-income students who score below the "proficiency" standard on state educational achievement tests. The amendment failed in the House (28 to 92) on March 31, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Owen Donohoe (R) on March 31, 2008. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on March 31, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Mitch Holmes (R) on March 31, 2008. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on March 31, 2008.
• Passed in the House (96 to 29) on April 1, 2008, to increase funding for K-12 education by increasing the state finance formula's BSAPP from the current $4,433 up to $4,492 for the 2009-2010 school year at an additional cost of at least $37.2 million; and, to increase state K-12 funding by $23 million to replace reductions in federal tax support and make changes to school consolidation law . [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the Senate on April 1, 2008.
  • Motion by Sen. Jean Schodorf (R) on April 1, 2008, to not approve the House version of the bill, but to send the bill to a conference committee to negotiate the two chambers' differences. The motion passed in the Senate by voice vote on April 1, 2008.
• Motion by Rep. Deena Horst (R) on May 2, 2008, to adopt a compromise version of the bill reported by a House-Senate conference committee. The report recommends passage of the House-passed version of the bill with the following changes: make the state funding that replaces lost federal funds effective immediately, but limit it to $9 million; and, create a Special Education Funding Task Force that would make recommendations to the Legislature each year.
• The motion passed in the House (101 to 19) on May 2, 2008, to adopt the conference committee report: to increase funding for K-12 education by increasing the state finance formula's BSAPP from the current $4,433 up to $4,492 for the 2009-2010 school year at an additional cost of at least $37.2 million; to increase state K-12 funding by $9 million to replace some of the reduction in federal tax support; and, to make changes to school consolidation law. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Motion by Sen. Jean Schodorf (R) on May 2, 2008, to adopt the conference committee report that was earlier approved by the House.
• The motion passed in the Senate (36 to 3) on May 2, 2008, adopting the conference committee report that was already approved by the House: to increase funding for K-12 education by increasing the state finance formula's BSAPP from the current $4,433 up to $4,492 for the 2009-2010 school year at an additional cost of at least $37.2 million; to increase state K-12 funding by $9 million to replace some of the reduction in federal tax support; and, to make changes to school consolidation. Passage thereby forwards the bill to the governor for her consideration. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on May 18, 2008.