iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lots of questions and discussion about the at-risk pilot.

000

First up—Dr. Harwood if KSDE reporting on the at-risk plan pilot project. Process is partly about ID’ing issues with the process before it goes live for all districts in 2027

101

Chair Renee Erickson announcing that Rep. Megan Steele replacing former Rep. now Senator Scott Hill on the task force.

100

Shannon Kimball @skimball.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Good morning #ksed—day 2 of the July Ed Task Force meeting. Here’s what’s on tap:

210

Some substitute members today—SBOE member Cathy Hopkins, Rep. Sherri Brantley, and superintendent Dr. Brad Kempf.

000

Shannon Kimball @skimball.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Hello #ksed. At the Kansas Education Funding Task Force July meeting. On tap today:

110

Credit to @leahfliter.bsky.social for covering the hearing over in that other social media place and sharing her content!

000

a red call now button with a white border

The US House "Big Beautiful Bill" also has vouchers. Senate "BBB" bill differs. The 2 chambers must true up their different versions for the bill = law. That means Sens. Moran and Marshall, Reps. Mann, Schmidt, Estes, and Davids need to hear from Kansans ASAP.

media.tenor.com

ALT: a red call now button with a white border

100

a man wearing a hat and a necklace with the words he 's right above him

Henry explains how vouchers will affect Ks kids. "Resources matter. What impacts a child is best possible teacher you can find. Diverting $ means you're hurting every district's ability to hire good teachers."

media.tenor.com

ALT: a man wearing a hat and a necklace with the words he 's right above him

100

Discussion now of lack of awareness of the danger of the U.S. Senate voucher. Henry: "public schools do a great job and we have to let parents know" what's going on.

100

Hirono: people don't realize that this is a nationwide private school voucher program, against voters' will, buried in a huge bill.

111

Henry noted in his remarks that private school vouchers will force consolidation. Schulte from NE reiterates that private schools may give a SPED student a voucher but the services are provided by the public schools.

100

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine/VA asks KS, NE witnesses about vouchers/rural schools. due to demographics, "We're guaranteeing these vouchers are going primarily to urban areas."

000

Researcher from Brookings Inst tells Senate that the vouchers in the bill don't pay the full cost of private school tuition. Rather, wealthy families benefit from subsidized tuition.

100

Henry: in KS we constantly have the discussion that SPED funding helps all kids because every kid pays the price when SPED is underfunded. You have to take from the general fund. "I know the KS Senators are hearing from state lawmakers that Congress needs to do its part."

100

Sen Van Hollen/MD notes full funding of IDEA would have helped KS kids w/millions of $ in additional funding. Van Hollen has co sponsored a bill to phase in full IDEA $ from Congress. KASB visits Hill annually to advocate for full SPED funding.

100

Add’l Note: the $20 billion in vouchers in the Senate bill hurt these Kansas kids whose pub schools are preparing them for success in college, careers, and the military.

100

Note: the vouchers in the Senate bill have no accountability for licensure, curriculum, or financials. That's unacceptable.

200

FL teacher Alexis Underwood on vouchers in her state: voucher schools reject any child; voucher schools aren't required to be financially/educationally accountable. "I hope that Congress will invest in our public schools, which give all children the opportunity to succeed."

1103

Note: the #ksleg has rejected private school vouchers in a strong, bipartisan manner. In 2025, Ks House refused to take up a deeply unpopular voucher bill. #ksed, urge Jerry Moran & Roger Marshall to respect the will of the voters & authority of ksleg & reject this bill.

100

Schulte: the pending fed bill imposes vouchers no one wants. "Stand with us. This is not about party lines, this is about doing what's right for students, for local control, and for public education."

100

Next spker is Paul Schulte, a NE public school teacher. He notes that Nebraska has consistently rejected school vouchers, including last summer when voters overturned by referendum an attempt by Neb lawmakers to thwart their will by imposing unwanted vouchers.

100

Henry: this is the 50th anniv of IDEA, which guarantees every student the high quality ed they deserve. Yet the Senate provides $4b/yr to private schools able to reject or discriminate against kids. We cannot afford to fund two school systems.

100

Dr Henry: publicly funding private ed leads to a dramatic defunding of the public schools that serve most U.S. kids. And they defund the rural schools that serve as the lifeblood of the community. "When the schools close, so do the communities."

100

🚨 voucher schools aren't req to accept special ed students or other kids who might be harder/more expensive to educate. Ahem.

100

Valant: the tuition tax credit vouchers in the fed bill give donors a 100% tax write-off for payments to "scholarship granting orgs" which dole out private school vouchers. That's fed tax revenue flowing from public schools to unaccountable private schools.

100

Valant reviewing data on how voucher programs don't serve the kids they claim to care about. Typically are used to subsidize private tuition vs helping needy public school fams.

100

1st witness is Jon Valant/Brookings Inst. Valant: there are challenges that need to be solved in pub schools, esp for kids in poverty or in spec ed, but focus seems to be on private school vouchers rather than addressing larger issues.

100

Hirono: make no mistake, this is not about supporting students. It’s about tax breaks for the wealthy.

111

Hirono: these vouchers would go to unregulated private schools at the expense of public school students, including special ed students.

112

Total voucher cost would be $20 billion in perpetuity to help families already in private schools pay their tuition.

100

Sen Mazie Hirono/HI opens the DC hring. "I'm a product of public schools; majority of our kids go to public schools (Leah's note: in KS 92%)." But this bill subsidizes private schools to the tune of $4billion" in dollar for dollar tax credits."

111

… of public schools; and are outside of the system of both local and state oversight by locally elected boards of education.

100

KASB opposes any scheme that takes public tax $ from public schools & gives it to private schools that that are not required to accept all students on the same basis as public schools; are not required to meet the academic, performance, & financial accountability standards …

100

Scamming Our Schools: Robbing Our Students’ Futures to Line Their Pockets

Hello! I'm watching a DC hearing exposing the voucher provisions in the U.S. Senate's budget bill. Dr. Justin Henry of USD265 Goddard will speak along w other pub ed advocates. You can watch here: www.youtube.com/live/EdFYIAE...

youtube.com

YouTube video by Mazie Hirono

110

August meeting will be solely focused on special education.

000

After additional discussion and questions on transportation weighting, committee is wrapping up. July agenda will include at-risk weighting, follow-up on questions on transportation and bilingual weightings, and feedback that KSDE/SBOE/supt. task force members will be collecting over next month

100

SBOE member Jim Porter reminds committee that the research argues against retention for reading, because one year retention increases significantly the rate of drop outs, and 2 years of retention almost guarantees the student will drop out.

100

We have moved to full throated support of grade retention based on literacy by numerous committee members.

100

Erickson and a couple other committee members have not so tangentially indicated they want 3d grade retention for reading

100

Chair Renee Erickson telling committee members to put aside the past to do this work.

100

Back in session for committee discussion. Framed around how comfortable the committee is with looking at doing things differently.

100

Committee recessing for lunch. Plan to come back a little early, will be back in session at 1:15 today.

000

Of note – dates for the August education funding task force meeting have been changed. The task force will now meet on August 13 and 14, which is a Wednesday and Thursday.

000