Several education-related bills, passed during the 2024 Kansas legislative session, will go into effect Monday, July 1. The following highlights some key changes districts need to be aware of as the 2024-2025 school year approaches, including reporting requirements. 

SB 19 – Cardiac emergency response plans 

Senate Bill 19 requires each school district’s board of education to adopt a comprehensive cardiac emergency plan, developed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). 

Each board of education must review the adopted emergency cardiac response plan annually, adopt any changes to the plan as necessary and submit a copy of the plan to KDHE. 

Plans must include but are not limited to: 

• Establishing a cardiac emergency response team. 
• Identifying and implementing the placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). 
• Identifying roles and responsibilities of school district personnel, local law enforcement agencies and local emergency medical services (EMS) in implementing the plan. 
• Establishing procedures, including the roles and responsibilities of school personnel when responding to incidents involving an individual experiencing a suspected sudden cardiac arrest while attending school, or at the site of any school sponsored activity. These procedures should include, but are not limited to: 
• Summoning and assisting EMS providers; 
• Documenting actions taken during the incident; 
• Conducting routine maintenance of AEDs, including appropriate placement; 
• Designating school district personnel for training in the use of AEDs and CPR during a cardiac emergency; 
• Rehearsing cardiac emergency response plans either prior to the beginning of each athletic season or prior to the beginning of each school year; and 
• Establishing communication systems with local EMS. 

 

SB 73 – Current year enrollment 

Senate Bill 73 amends the enrollment determination of state aid criteria beginning in the 2024-2025 school year. 

School districts and the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) will be required to utilize the current or prior year enrollment to determine state aid. However, for only the 2024-2025 school year, the highest of current, prior or average of prior and second preceding year can be used.  

The following school year and each following year, districts will be required to use the current year or the preceding year enrollment to determine state aid.  

Districts that receive federal impact aid can use the current year, preceding year, or the average of the preceding year, second year and third preceding year enrollment to determine state aid. For fiscal year 2025, districts that receive federal impact aid may use the highest of the three options, or the average of the prior and second preceding school year. 

 

SB 287 – Parental consent for healthcare services in school facilities 

Under Senate Bill 287, parental consent must be provided before a minor child receives healthcare services in a school facility. Without the consent, a health provider at a school facility would not be able to: 

• Prescribe, dispense or administer any prescription or nonprescription drug; 
• Administer a diagnostic test with the minor’s bodily fluid; or 
• Conduct ongoing behavioral health treatment. 

 

Exceptions to this bill include: 

• Conducting a behavioral health assessment or intervention for a minor experiencing a behavioral health crisis; 
• Conducting a school-based screening required by law; and 
• Providing education to a minor. 

 

SB 339 – State foundation aid for school districts with no students enrolled and attending 

Senate Bill 339 prohibits KSDE from distributing state foundation aid to a school district that has no students enrolled in and attending a school in the district.  

The bill also states students who live in such district and are enrolled in and attending any other school district, must be counted as regularly enrolled in and attending the receiving school district, and not counted in the school district in which they live. KSDE is required to distribute state foundation aid accordingly to the receiving school district. 

 

House Sub for SB 387 – K-12 education appropriations and other provisions 

House Substitute for Senate Bill 387 makes appropriations for KSDE for fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026, and includes various other provisions. 

Education Funding Taskforce 

House Sub for SB 387 establishes the Education Funding Taskforce, which is required to review the current school finance system, academic reporting and achievement goals to report recommendations to the governor and the legislature on or before Jan. 11, 2027, on the establishment of a new school finance formula. The current school finance formula expires on July 1, 2027. The bill also abolishes the Special Education and Related Services Task Force that was established in SB 113 during the 2023 legislative session. 

Special Education 

The bill requires KSDE to determine excess costs for each school district before distributing special education state aid. 

KSDE must report each school district’s excess costs to school districts, publish the excess cost determination on KSDE’s website, and prepare and submit a report to the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget and Senate Committee on Education that includes school district excess costs and the special education distribution schedule annually. 

Provisions related to district excess costs are effective on and after July 1, 2024. 

The bill also requires school districts to transfer a portion of their local option budget (LOB) to the district’s special education fund. The amount to be transferred is proportionally equal to the amount of the school district’s total foundation aid that is attributable to the special education weighting. The section related to the required LOB transfer is in effect on and after July 1, 2024. 

At-Risk 

House Sub for SB 387 establishes requirements for school districts selected for the two-year pilot program beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, and for all school districts beginning in the 2026-2027 school year. The legislation establishes at-risk student accountability plans and annual reports on at-risk student performance and shows longitudinal academic improvement for those students. The bill also requires a school district’s at-risk education fund and reporting to be submitted to the Kansas State Board of Education. 

Each school district is required to conduct a four-year or five-year longitudinal evaluation of each cohort group in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. Districts must establish a quantitative goal for each cohort group and track the progress of the two cohort groups using state assessment scores and an additional goal chosen by the school district to determine if goals are being met or exceeded. 

Open enrollment amendments 

School districts are required to give priority to non-resident students who live in Kansas before considering applications of non-resident students who live out of state, except in special circumstances, such as military-connected students. The bill clarifies that provisions of open enrollment are not applicable for virtual schools. 

The bill provides for continued enrollment for non-resident students, after they have been accepted into a nonresident school, until the student graduates, as long as they remain in good standing. School districts are permitted to deem any student as not in good standing according to the district’s nonresident transfer policy. 

Beginning in Jan. 2025, school districts must accept non-resident student applications from Jan. 1 to June 15 for enrollment in the next school year. Districts will be required to notify parents of the reason for denial by July 30 of each year. The parent/guardian may appeal the denial to the school district’s board of education. 

School district building closure and building disposition 

The bill clarifies the definition of school “building” as any building used in any prior school year as an attendance center for students enrolled in K-12. School districts are prohibited from refusing to sell, lease or convey any interest in a building or property to a prospective buyer solely because they may use or intend to use the building or property as a nonpublic school building. 

 

Virtual school amendments 

The bill allows a virtual school student to participate in Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) activities as long as the student: 

• Is a resident of the school district; 
• Is enrolled in and attending a virtual school as defined in K.S.A. 72-3712 
• Complies with health-related requirements outlined in K.S.A. 72-6262; 
• Meets applicable age and eligibility requirements set forth by KSHSAA; 
• Pays fees required by the school district for participating in the applicable activity; and 
• Seeks to participate at the appropriate school within the school district corresponding to where the student lives. 

 

A virtual student will not be required to enroll or attend a minimum number of courses unless the school district has a requirement for all students participating in the activity to do so. 

 

State Board revision of ELA and math curriculum standards 

The Kansas State Board of Education is prohibited from substantially revising or updating the ELA or mathematics standards in effect as of July 1, 2024, in a manner that would require developing new statewide assessments in ELA or math until the board’s goal is met of having 75% of all students score a level 3 or level 4 combined on the ELA  or math state assessments by 2030. 

House Sub for SB 438 – Kansas Blueprint for Literacy and scholarship programs 

House Substitute for Senate Bill 438 establishes the Kansas Blueprint for Literacy and Literacy Advisory Committee, and requires the Kansas State Board of Education to submit annual reports to the legislature on literacy goals. 

The bill appropriates $10 million in FY 2025 to the Kansas State Board of Regents to implement the Blueprint, establishes the Blueprint in statutes and defines key terms. 

The bill establishes the following definitions: 

• In-service: A licensed individual who is employed by a school district or accredited nonpublic school as a teacher. 
• Pre-service: An individual who is receiving the education and training to become a licensed teacher but is not yet licensed. 
• Science of Reading: the teaching of reading using evidence-based research that includes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 
• Structured Literacy: the application of knowledge from the science of reading that teaches reading in an evidence-based, systematic way. 

 

Literacy Advisory Committee 

The Literacy Advisory Committee is required to submit a plan to the Kansas State Board of Regents (KBOR) before Jan. 1, 2025. 

The committee met for the first time on Tuesday, June 25. To read more about the meeting, click here. 

 

Comprehensive reading and literacy assessment system 

School districts are prohibited from using textbooks or instructional materials after July 1, 2025, that utilize the following: 

• The three-cueing system model of reading as the primary basis for teaching word recognition; 
• Visual memory as the primary basis for teaching word recognition; and 
• The three cueing system model of reading on meaning, structure, and syntax and visual cues. 

 

Annual report on postsecondary success 

The bill requires KSDE to submit a report to the legislature annually on or before Jan. 15 y on students who have taken the statewide assessment. The report would be required to include the following: 

• The number and percentage of students who took the statewide assessments during the prior school year broken down by core academic area; and 
• The percentage of students who took the statewide assessments in grade 10 and who, two years after graduating from high school, obtained some postsecondary education disaggregated by statewide assessment achievement level. 

 

Kansas Education Opportunity Scholarship Program Act 

This legislation replaces the Kansas Ethnic Minority Scholarship Program with the Kansas Education Opportunity Scholarship Program Act. Under this scholarship program, first generation students, or students who have a parent or guardian employed in Kansas as a pre-K through grade 12 teacher or paraprofessional, would be eligible for a scholarship. 

 

HB 2547 – Emergency medication kits 

House Bill 2547 authorizes schools to maintain a stock supply of emergency medication kits, including epinephrine and albuterol. The bill also amends liability protections for any person who renders emergency care or treatment at a school, on school property, at a school-sponsored event and any school that employs or contracts such person. 

Schools are required to publish information on the district website regarding the school’s emergency medication policies and procedures, and maintain records of training provided to designated school personnel. 

Note: SB 287 requires parental consent for healthcare in school facilities. Provisions of HB 2547 would be exempt from such requirement in the case of an emergency as under current statute, K.S.A. 65-2872b and K.S.A. 65-2891. 

 

HB 2551- Omnibus budget bill 

Although House Sub for SB 387 is the primary bill for K-12 education funding, House Bill 2551 is the omnibus budget bill for fiscal years 2024-2028 for various state agencies. 

The bill also transfers the Mental Health Intervention Team (MHIT) pilot program from KSDE to the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS). The bill requires 65% of the grant amount to be used for school liaison salaries and 35% to be paid to the applicable school district’s mental health provider. 

 

HB 2703 – Adding students in foster care to at-risk eligibility criteria 

House Bill 2703 amends provisions related to at-risk educational programs and services to add students in the custody of the Secretary for the Kansas Department for Children and Families (students in foster care) to the list of eligible criteria for students to be identified as at-risk and receive at-risk programs and services.  

 

To read more about each of these bills in full detail, click here.