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Parents, teachers demand Kansas fully fund special education

March 11, 2023 sNawaWebs.ADV

Sara Jahnke received a call from her son’s elementary school that made her heart drop.

Jahnke said her 6-year-old, Crosby, had escaped his school last fall and run outside toward a busy street. The Shawnee Mission first grader, who has Down syndrome, needs to be closely monitored because he’s mastered unlocking doors and is known to run off — and when he does, he’s fast.

“They gave me a call to let me know it happened and that he was safe. Honestly, he’s a runner. And I think they were doing everything they could. But the class is just so understaffed,” Jahnke said. “He is a high-needs child. And I think that a lot of the kids that are in his class have really high needs and take a lot of attention. When you’re watching a lot of kids, it’s hard.” The district declined to confirm to The Star that

Kansas lawmakers must fully fund schools’ special education

March 9, 2023 sNawaWebs.ADV

Laura Robeson and her son Danny were Gov. Laura Kelly’s guests at her State of the State address.

In Kansas, we’re known for our great public schools. It’s what led me to pursue my own career in teaching. Unfortunately, we aren’t providing the same quality public education to all of our students, particularly our students with disabilities.

That must change.

I was honored to be a guest at Gov. Laura Kelly’s State of the State address this year, where she announced her plan to put Kansas on track to fully fund special education programs for the first time in over ten years. With me was my son, Danny, a fifth grader in the Shawnee Mission School District.

Danny has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and

Kansas school voucher bill tied to teacher pay increases, SPED funding

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Kansas House Republicans on Monday advanced a deeply controversial bill that could reshape the state’s public-private K-12 education system but not before attaching a few items that, for years, have been on Democrats’ wish-list for schools.

The House K-12 Education Budget Committee on Monday worked and advanced SB 83. Originally a Senate Education Committee bill on expansion of tax credit scholarships for low-income students, the House committee “gutted” the contents of SB 83 and replaced with them with HB 2218, which would create a voucher-like education savings account program.

More:Should taxpayer money help pay for some Kansas families’ private school tuition?

Dubbed the Sunflower Education Equity Act, the law would allow Kansas families to use taxpayer dollars to pay for non-public educational expenses, such as private school or other academic services and materials.

The families would receive 95% of the per-pupil funding their student would have otherwise receive if

Kansas House panel bundles voucher-like program with teacher, special education spending

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TOPEKA — The Republican majority on the Kansas House K-12 budget committee bundled into one bill controversial diversion of state tax dollars to private schools with an expansion in state aid for special education in public schools and a mandate half of public school budget increases tied to an inflation index be devoted to raising teacher salaries.

GOP legislators who have fought for years in the Capitol for voucher-like reform sought to entice Republican and Democratic skeptics by including a one-year $72 million surge in spending on special education. Rep. Jason Goetz, R-Dodge City, said the cash was a just reward for educators providing “amazing service” to children, including one of his own. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly had recommended five consecutive annual increases of $72 million to bring state special education expenditures into compliance with federal law.

Another sweetener via Abilene GOP Rep. Scott Hill: Provide an extra two years