TOPEKA — A new education bill would funnel money into unregulated, unaccredited private schools, with lawmakers saying the legislation would protect parental authority.
The bill was promoted by lawmakers on the committee as a way for more Kansas students to access higher-quality education, but opponents say the bill is just the latest in a series of attempts to defund public schools.
House Bill 2218, which would become the “sunflower education equity act” if passed, was panned by education officials, including those from the Kansas National Association of Education, the Kansas Association of School Boards, public school officials and several Kansas State Board of Education members during a Monday hearing of the House K-12 Education Budget Committee.
The bill would allow parents to retrieve about $5,000 from a public school’s funding and apply the money to the costs of private school tuition or homeschooling.
Rep. Mari-Lynn Poskin, an Overland Park Democrat, was scolded for asking about the potential for triple-dipping. That’s because parents could participate in the new program as well as House Bill 2048, which would expand a tax credit that allows taxpayers to write off up to $500,000 worth of scholarships they provide for private schools.
Under HB 2218, parents could also receive money from other students by setting up their own unaccredited school.
“I would just have to say again, holy tax scams,” Poskin said, before getting cut off by Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican and committee chairwoman, who said Poskin was politicizing the issue.
“We’re not going to do these holy-moly-like statements,” Williams said. “This is not a time to grandstand.”
Williams introduced HB 2218, which would establish education savings accounts for parents who don’t want their kids to attend public schools, along with a 10-member board to oversee operations. Under the bill, Kansas students eligible for public school enrollment at the elementary through high school level, or disabled children eligible for preschool programs, would qualify to have public school funding redirected into their education savings account.
Eligible schools for the program would be any nonpublic elementary or high school approved by the board, along with preschools serving students with disabilities. The bill stipulates that governmental agencies couldn’t control or supervise any of these schools or home schools.
The board would determine school qualification for the program, but the bill stipulates that schools would just need to provide full-time instruction in reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science to meet qualification standards, with certain exceptions.
No immediate family member could charge or collect payment for tuition for students, but parents would be able to charge tuition and collect fees for schools they operated, including home schools, as long as their own child isn’t a student.
Parents could use the savings account money for tuition expenses, uniforms, textbooks and other items. The bill stipulates that the context or religious nature of a product or service wouldn’t be considered when determining payment, meaning state dollars could be used to purchase bibles and religious objects.
Rep. Brad Boyd, D-Olathe, asked if there were limits to the religion stipulation.
“Am I to interpret that to mean that someone who’s teaching antisemitic, racist or Nazi materials can’t be factored into that decision?” Boyd said.
