Arts Educators' Protest Prompts Rewrite of Kan. Measure

Kansas legislators have rewritten a resolution defining the essential components of a "quality basic education" after protests from arts educators who complained that the measure would have meant cutting them out of the school funding pie.

The resolution that the House is considering would direct the state school board to define the subjects that should be offered to every student and spell out the cost. The measure, which would not be legally binding, would also need Senate approval.

In the latest version, a definition is left solely to the discretion of the state board. But an earlier version proposed last month by Rep. Kay O'Connor, a Republican, triggered hundreds of angry phone calls and faxed messages to the Statehouse from...