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28 January 2026 | Education & Early Learning

Education Funding Task Force and the Work Ahead

By Emily Barnes | January 28, 2026

The Education Funding Task Force met for the final time in 2025 at the beginning of September. They spent their time learning about the Career and Technical Education weighting and received multiple pieces of follow-up information from previous meetings. The group’s last two-day meeting allowed them to wrap up their work for the year and consider what they hope to address when the Legislature crafts a new school finance formula. 

Public Materials Provided During or After the Meeting:

Career and Technical Education Weightings

Legislative staff began the September meeting by providing background information on Career and Technical Education (CTE). Staff noted CTE has evolved since 1917 with the Smith-Hughes National Vocational Education Act, which launched federal investment in CTE legislation and other initiatives throughout the past 100 years. With a goal of preparing high school students with skills for college and careers, CTE programs intend to respond to changing economic and social demands in the United States.

The current Kansas CTE weighting was enacted in 1992 along with the Bilingual weighting and, although repealed in 2015, it was reinstated in 2017 as a standalone weighting. Similarly, the Excel in CTE program was enacted in 2012 to provide funding for CTE programs offered by colleges. The Excel in CTE program requires that tuition for high school students participating in CTE courses offered by colleges will be paid through distributions made by the Kansas Board of Regents to the college.

School districts receive funding for the CTE weighting; however, they do not receive funding for Excel in CTE programs. CTE programs for high school students are offered through career pathways approved by the Kansas State Board of Education and potentially align with the programs offered within the Promise Scholarship.

The CTE weighting serves as a component of the calculation of the adjusted student enrollment and is included in a district’s total State Foundation Aid. The Career Technical Education weighting is determined by multiplying the current year’s FTE enrollment in approved CTE programs by 0.5.

FTE enrollment in CTE programs x 0.5 = CTE Weighting

CTE Transportation reimburses schools districts for a portion of the costs to provide transportation for 11th and 12th grade students to their postsecondary vocational program. While the funding for CTE Transportation is frequently included in appropriations bills, it is not the statutory funding included in State Foundation Aid.

During discussion, Task Force members wondered about the success of CTE programs. They discussed the varying costs of program implementation since some may require more equipment or technical training than others. Some members also wondered about effective ways to gauge a student’s readiness for CTE and how districts counsel and guide students during their participation.

Rose Capacities

The Rose Capacities are a set of standards in Kansas law that ensure students’ education provided by the state equips them with skills and knowledge that help them function in our society, make informed decisions, and compete in the job market. While discussing student outcomes, some Task Force members pondered whether the state is meeting these standards. This led to discussion about how certain types of assessment could be used and how to effectively illustrate student achievement and success.

School Enrollment Trends, Budget, and Funding Master Calendar

Legislative staff provided the Task Force with follow-up information about declining student enrollment in Kansas schools and the declining birth rate. Despite these trends, participation in the Pre-K 3- and 4-year-old Special Education program has increased some in the past decade.

The Task Force also reviewed fiscal information, including a slideshow, highlighting the different funds districts use, information about revenues and expenses, and more. The School Budget and Funding Master Calendar illustrates the fiscal cycle schools follow each year. The Task Force members asked questions about the logistics of funds – what they cover and how they can be used. They also focused on cash balances and some wondered about the increasing totals. Some also noted the disconnect between receiving funds and the need to fulfill the operational budget payments (such as for capital outlay obligations) or logistics (such as food service preparations) for the following school year.

Follow-up Information from Previous Meetings

September’s meeting allowed the group to receive follow-up information to many topics and questions asked over the Task Force’s year of meetings. The group resumed conversation about Special Education, specifically learning more about High-Cost Special Education funding options. Although Kansas uses Catastrophic Aid and does not use a High-Cost Special Education model, nearly half of states (including Colorado and Massachusetts) do use Catastrophic Aid. Colorado’s high-cost trust fund is currently inactive, but Massachusetts uses a circuit breaker approach to provide either Extraordinary Relief or Reserve Relief.

The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) provided feedback about Special Education funding, including information about possible reimbursement models to consider and improvements that could be made to the current model in Kansas. A working group of districts and cooperatives/interlocals from around the state gathered in August 2025 and proposed a student-based special education formula modeled after Maine’s formula. The working group offered two models, including a 100% Reimbursement Model or adjusting the weightings to 1.55 and 1.25, which may be more aligned with Kansas law requiring the state to fund 92% of excess costs. The student-based models could consider whether the student has an IEP, their exceptionality, and the amount of time in services to determine possible tiering.

What Happens Next?

The Task Force wrapped up their discussion by noting that they must submit a report of their work during 2025 but are not obligated to provide a recommendation yet. Many members talked about what they hope to see as their work progresses in 2026. The need to see examples displaying how changes to the different weightings will impact funding was raised. Some noted that increased investments could help, but that showing positive outcomes should still be key.

Some members elevated early intervention, noting the enrichment to children that comes from early childhood education. Recent efforts toward early literacy may lead to improving educational achievements, and multiple members of the Task Force considered the benefits Kansas could see when potential barriers are addressed earlier in a child’s life.

Summary of the 2025 Education Funding Task Force Efforts

Throughout the year, the Education Funding Task Force examined an extraordinary amount of information at each of their meetings. From increasing their understanding of the nuts-and-bolts logistics of the laws and mechanisms surrounding the formula to the nuanced details that led to its development across many years, Task Force members took on a considerable effort. They gathered information about most of the weightings and compared Kansas’ school funding structure to other states. Often, the group learned that even minor changes could have major impacts for schools and students across the state. Models demonstrating changes – like moving certain weightings into the BASE Aid – most often led to reduced funding for many districts.

As the Task Force enters its second year of work, its members have an opportunity to boldly offer Kansas’ children stability in their educational future. Kansas consistently utilizes funding strategies in line with other states, yet when applying other states’ ideas into models for Kansas, they often did not take into account Kansas’ unique challenges. While identifying areas for improvement is prudent, a large overhaul of the current formula may not be in students’ best interest.

We will continue to follow the Task Force’s activity in 2026 to understand and summarize their work and how it will impact the next school finance formula. This may be the opportunity to extend the current formula to allow for purposeful tweaks that lead to fully funded schools and improved student outcomes.

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