By KFDI and the Associated Press
Updated: 3/22/22 at 12:55 p.m.
The Kansas Senate approved Senate Bill 455 by a margin of 23 – 16 and SB 496 by 24 – 15 on Tuesday.
The two different education-related bills would allow K-12 students to transfer to any school district with enough space to take them. Current state law dictates that districts decide on transfers on a case-by-case basis. The program would start during the 2023-24 school year.
The Senate also passed a version of a “parent bill of rights.” SB 496 states that “all parents have a right to direct the upbringing, education, care, and mental health of their child.”
Both bills are now head to the Kansas House. Each measure fell short of the 27 votes needed to override should Gov. Kelly veto the bills.
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Republican legislators who argue that Kansas parents need more education choices are pushing to allow them to move their children from the public schools they’d normally attend to others outside their local school district’s boundaries.
The GOP-controlled state Senate gave first-round approval Monday to a measure that would allow parents of K-12 students to transfer them to any other school districts with enough space to take them. Under the bill, the program would start during the 2023-24 school year.
The Senate planned to take a final vote on the bill Tuesday, and its passage was expected. The Republican-controlled House is considering a similar measure.
