Kansas

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Kansas
The exterior of the Department of Education Building in Washington, DC on Thursday, December 14, 2017.
The exterior of the Department of Education Building in Washington, DC on Thursday, December 14, 2017.
Swikar Patel/Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act Betsy DeVos' Team Asks Seven States for More ESSA Specifics
Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming are the latest states to receive feedback on their plans for implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Alyson Klein, December 18, 2017
4 min read
Education Tax-Averse Legislators in Kansas, Oklahoma Scramble for Education Dollars
Amid severe budget shortfalls, Republican leaders in Kansas and Oklahoma said in recent days that they refuse to raise taxes despite severe implications for those states' public schools.
Daarel Burnette II, December 18, 2017
2 min read
Law & Courts Ruling Sends Kansas Back to Square One on K-12 Funding
The ruling striking down the state's school aid formula reignites years of fighting over how to assure an 'adequate' and 'equitable' public education.
Daarel Burnette II, October 10, 2017
3 min read
Education Irritated Kansas Legislators Head Back to Drawing Board on School Funding
Monday's decision extends for another year a decades-long battle over school funding in the ultra-conservative state and further sours a relationship between the lawmakers and the judicial branch.
Daarel Burnette II, October 3, 2017
2 min read
Education Kansas Supreme Court Strikes Down State's Latest K-12 Funding Formula
The state's highest court said a proposed new funding formula failed to meet the Kansas constitution's mandate that public schools provide an adequate and equitable education.
Daarel Burnette II, October 2, 2017
2 min read
Law & Courts K-12 Budget Woes Bedevil States as School Year Hits Full Swing
In states including Connecticut and Wisconsin, fiscal bickering among state officials continues, putting local districts on edge.
Daarel Burnette II, September 29, 2017
4 min read
Education Kansas High Court Judges Skeptical of New Funding Formula
Kansas' supreme court judges will decide in the coming weeks whether the state legislature's new funding formula provides enough money to help more of its public students meet basic academic standards.
Daarel Burnette II, July 18, 2017
1 min read
Law & Courts What Kansas' New School Funding Formula Means for School Accountability
If the new funding formula passes muster with the state's supreme court, Kansas schools will soon get $285 million more in state aid, but with new strings attached.
Daarel Burnette II, July 7, 2017
2 min read
Law & Courts Kansans Brace for Judges' July 18 Hearing on New School Funding Formula
The new formula hammered out by the legislature in its recently concluded session increases school spending by $285 million in the next two years in order to assure all students to meet basic state standards.
Daarel Burnette II, June 26, 2017
2 min read
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback gives a statement after state lawmakers overrode the Republican governor’s veto of a bill raising income taxes by $1.2 billion over two years. Revenue from the increase is to go in part toward increased school funding.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback gives a statement after state lawmakers overrode the Republican governor’s veto of a bill raising income taxes by $1.2 billion over two years. Revenue from the increase is to go in part toward increased school funding.
Thad Allton/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP
Education Funding Closing Acts Near in a Pair of K-12 Funding Dramas
It looks like the long-running and contentious legal fights over school financing in Kansas and in Washington state are coming to a head.
Daarel Burnette II, June 16, 2017
3 min read
Education Kansas Gov. to Veto Tax Hike That Would Pump More Money Into K-12
The tax hike would in part fund a bill overhauling the state K-12 funding formula, which would help the state answer a Kansas supreme court ruling on school finance.
Daarel Burnette II, June 6, 2017
2 min read
Education Kansas Legislators Told to Lower School Funding Expectations
The legislature is at odds over how much more to distribute to its financially and academically struggling public school system to satisfy a state supreme court ruling.
Daarel Burnette II, May 12, 2017
1 min read
Education K-12 Spending Gets Caught in States' Budget Fights
School spending moved to the center of budget fights this week in Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Ohio and other states. Several states face revenue shortfalls this year and must either raise taxes or cut spending.
Daarel Burnette II, May 5, 2017
1 min read
Education Kansas and Washington Lumber Toward School Funding Fixes
Legislatures in Washington resort to special sessions in an effort to satisfy court rulings striking down their K-12 funding systems.
Daarel Burnette II, April 24, 2017
3 min read