Governor Laura Kelly Fully Funds K-12 Education for Fourth Consecutive Year

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly announced today she has signed House Bill 2567, which fully funds K-12 education for the fourth consecutive year and guarantees funding through the 2024 fiscal year. Signing HB 2567 makes Governor Kelly the first governor in more than 20 years to fulfill Kansas students’ constitutional right to school funding.

“I am pleased to be able to uphold my commitment to fully fund our public schools,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Providing schools with the funding and resources they need will create lifelong learners, which are the foundation of our state’s strong workforce and future economic growth.”

In addition to fully funding education in Kansas, HB 2567 enacts the Governor’s Budget Recommendations for the Department of Education and the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund. These funds represent historic investments in early childhood and K-12 education.

HB 2567 includes:

$520.4 million for Special Education Services Aid
$199.6 million to eliminate the Delayed School Payment
$20.7 million in Children’s Initiative Fund grants
$10.5 million for Mental Health Intervention Teams, which help eliminate barriers for students in need of care
$8.4 million for the Parents as Teacher program
$5 million for school safety and security grants
$4.1 million for the Pre-K Pilot Program
$4 million for a virtual math program
$1.8 million for teacher professional development aid
$1.5 million for student transportation to career and technical education opportunities
$1.4 million for Early Childhood Infrastructure
$1.3 million for the Mentor Teacher Program
$1 million for Computer Science Education Advancement Grants
$500,000 for the statewide expansion of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library
$40,000 for a new career and technical education credentialing pilot program
Full funding for all-day Kindergarten

HB 2567 makes the necessary adjustments to enable school districts with many military students to keep federal funding. It also improves how students at Kansas community and technical colleges receive financial aid.

While HB 2567 provides historic constitutional levels of funding, it does not include the additional $30 million in funding to increase the special education services Governor Kelly recommended in April.

“Republicans and Democrats agree funds for special education are vital for our schools to provide quality instruction to special education students. I call on the legislature to swiftly appropriate these funds when they return on May 23rd,” Governor Kelly said.

Governor Kelly also called on the legislature to further review a provision requiring school districts to set policies allowing enrollment of out-of-district students.

“Before taking effect during the 2024-2025 school year, the Legislature must work with educators and administrators to make the necessary modifications to ensure that elected school board members maintain local control,” Governor Kelly said.