TOPEKA — A group of Kansas mothers focused on the needs of children with complex medical needs and disabilities is calling on Gov. Laura Kelly to veto an education bill packaging more than a dozen policy and funding provisions.
The concerns of Little Lobbyists are twofold. Of primary concern is money allocated for special education services in Kansas. While the bill funds these services at the level agreed to by the state Supreme Court, the group argued the state failed to increase special education funding to cover the 92% of “excess costs,” about $155 million, mandated by Kansas law.
Those funds were not included in the bill, although the legislature attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to tack on $68 million for special education in March.
