Governor Kelly was joined by Blue Valley School District leaders, teachers, and students in Overland Park today, where she ceremonially signed Senate Bill 113, which fully funds K-12 education for the fifth consecutive year.

“This year, we fully funded public schools for the fifth year in a row and made historic investments in our K-12 system,” The Governor said. “Now, for five years running, schools have been much better positioned to offer after-school activities, to provide critical intervention services to students who need additional support, and to pay teachers much closer to what they deserve. But our work isn’t done. When the legislators return in 2024, we must work together to put Kansas on the path to fully fund special education.” 

In May, Governor Kelly also line-item vetoed aspects of SB 113 to protect funding for rural schools facing declining enrollment. While the bill includes a $7.5 million increase in funding for special education, it does not include the $72 million Governor Kelly called for throughout the legislative session. 

Patty Logan, Chair of the parent group Stand Up Blue Valley: Families for Our School addressed this, saying “We want to remind Blue Valley voters that the Kansas legislature’s failure to fully fund excess special education costs causes Blue Valley Schools to redirect millions of dollars from critical general education needs to special education – negatively impacting ALL students in our district. We call on the legislature to do the right thing and vote to fully fund excess special education costs, especially legislators from Blue Valley who claim to support our schools.”  

More information about the bill’s investments can be found here.