After top Republican refused to call a meeting, this special ed task force forced her hand

In an attempt to circumvent a prominent Republican lawmaker who refused to call a meeting, members of the special education funding task force have forced her hand, securing a long-awaited meeting date.

Special education funding has been one of the hotter topics in Kansas legislative debates on education. Public education advocates say the state is underfunding special education, putting a greater burden on school district budgets. Opponents of increased funding contend that there is already enough money.

What is the Kansas special education task force?

This past spring, Kansas lawmakers largely punted on addressing the issue, opting to create a Republican-backed Special Education and Related Services Funding Task Force. Democrats generally agreed with the principle, but feared it would distract from attempts to fully fund special education.

The task force is required under state law to study the existing formula for special education funding. It must conduct hearings with input from teachers, parents, state education department officials, the state board of education, other government officials and the general public.

The task force is also mandated to submit a report on its work to the Legislature no later than Jan. 14. The report must include recommendations for legislative action.

More: Kansas schools are seeing record numbers of special education students, and fewer teachers

Why hasn't the SPED task force met?

Despite the law directing the task force to meet, Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, has never called a meeting.

Williams, who chairs an interim education committee as well as the K-12 education budget committee, indicated during meeting last month that she had no plans to ever call a task force meeting. She said because the proponents of increased funding don't "have any other recommendations," that she didn't want to "pour more money on something that's broken."

"I am getting a lot of requests for the task force, but not a lot of preliminary suggestions or agreement in that," Williams said, adding that "the majority of the emails that I am receiving are simply 'fund the 92%.'"

Sen. Renee Erickson, R-Wichita, agreed.

"Let's talk about the elephant in the room," Erickson said. "There's a drumbeat to have a special education task force meeting, and what I heard yesterday, madam chair, for recommendations from the organizations that are most loudly beating that drum is 'just fund us.' We do not need a special education task force meeting to consider their position. They did not bring to the table anything else for a task force to spend their time and energy looking into."

"We have their input, which is just more money," she said. "We don't need a task force to convene to discuss that."

Gov. Laura Kelly's budget proposal last year proposed gradually raising special education funding, eventually adding $362 million a year by fiscal year 2028.

More: Democrats cry foul as Republicans attach raises, special education funding to voucher bill

Majority of task force circumvents Rep. Kristey Williams, forcing her hand

The statute detailed that House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, would designate who would call the first meeting. Then, the task force would choose its own chair and vice chair at that meeting. Williams doesn't appear to have majority support, which would mean she couldn't control the meeting agenda, who is invited to testify or preside over the recommendation process.

On Tuesday morning, a six-person majority of the 11-member task force circulated a notice that they were calling a meeting for 10 a.m. Thursday at the Statehouse.

The cited House rules, which specify that, if needed, the Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure will govern over any rules questions. That manual allows a majority of a committee to call a meeting "if the chair is absent or neglects or declines to call a meeting."

The six members were Rep. Valdenia Winn, D-Kansas City; Kansas State Board of Education President Melanie Haas; Olathe schools superintendent Brent Yeager; Kansas Teacher of the Year Brian Skinner; early childhood educator Monica Ross; and northwest Kansas special education administrator Kathy Kersenbrock-Ostmeyer.

Not signing onto the call for a meeting were Williams; Erickson; Sen. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg; Rep. Adam Thomas, R-Olathe; and Chris Wyant.

By Tuesday afternoon, legislative staff had sent a notice that Williams had now called a meeting and scheduled it for Jan. 5. The task force is only authorized to meet once before the legislative session starts, so the Thursday meeting won't happen.

More: Controversial school choice bill flops in Kansas Legislature. Republicans vow to keep trying.

Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas special education funding task force finally has meeting date