Rep. Valdenia Winn, D- Kansas City, (left) questions Rep. Kristey Williams, R -Augusta, during a Kansas House debate on educational savings accounts.
The Kansas City Star
Topeka
The Kansas House narrowly advanced a bill Tuesday that would increase special education funding while also establishing the largest school choice program in state history.
The House voted 61 to 59 to advance the bill after more than three hours of debate.
A final vote will be held Wednesday before the bill moves to a conference committee with the state Senate. The narrow vote exposes divisions within the Republican Party on the bill and leaves the door open for opponents to defeat it the following day.
Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican who chairs the House K-12 Budget Committee, attributed the sharp divide to a strong lobbying effort by public school advocates.
“The school lobby has such a hold on people