Each week during the 2025 Kansas legislative session, we will provide Johnson County lawmakers the opportunity to share their thoughts about what is happening in the state capitol.
The views expressed in each Capitol Update are solely those of the lawmaker. The topics are of the lawmakers’ choosing and are not fact-checked.
Below is a submission from Democratic Rep. Linda Featherston, who represents Kansas House District 16, covering a portion of Overland Park.
Earlier this week, the Post published a Capitol Update from Republican Rep. Angela Stiens of Shawnee and has also extended an invitation to Democratic Sen. Ethan Corson of Prairie Village for later this week.
It’s been my honor to serve on the Kansas House Education Committee since 2021. As a piano teacher and mother of a teacher, education is near and dear to my heart.
We often hear that the purpose of this committee is to improve student performance. Except for SB 44, which expands the Kansas Promise Scholarship, the last two weeks have really made me wonder if that’s what we’re doing.
Use of student’s pronouns
Last week began with SB 76, the “pronoun bill.”
SB 76 requires that students have a parental note to use a pronoun or name that doesn’t match their birth certificate. It also states that students or staff who choose to ignore a parent’s choice to have their child use whatever pronouns they wish cannot be reprimanded.
That’s right, the state is saying your child can be bullied by another student or, even worse, an adult without repercussions. Safe and welcoming schools? Not anymore. Not only do policies like this not improve test scores, they lead to an increase in suicide.
SB 78 was brought to us by two far-right political think tanks. In my assessment, it’s clearly an anti-DEI bill masquerading as a simple accreditation update bill. It’s a slippery slope at best whereby colleges and universities could be pressured to use certain accreditors with particular ideological bents.
Under this legislation, the Legislature could withhold funding from universities that resist these efforts to politicize post-secondary education. Additionally, SB 78 could jeopardize the certification of mental health programs in Kansas by mandating that they ignore their profession’s codes of ethics.
Scholarship tax credits income cap
In addition, the committee recently set about to defund public schools via SB 87.
This voucher bill increases the cap for the Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship program by $15 million. Giving a credit to wealthy donors rather than having that money available to fund schools isn’t helping.
Apparently, we have $25 million for these donors but don’t have the $5.5 million that Gov. Laura Kelly proposed to eliminate the cost share for reduced school lunches. We all know that learning is impaired when students’ basic needs aren’t met.
Prioritize special education funding instead
One thing the Legislature could do to improve student performance is to fully fund special education.
Currently, the Legislature underfunds special education by $439 million — $109 million of that being for Johnson County schools. As special education services are required by federal law, districts must transfer this money from their general budget, another defunding of public education.
Gov. Kelly proposed a plan last year that would get the state to it’s statutory obligation in five years. Part of that included $72.6 million in additional funding this year.
The House K-12 Education Budget Committee reduced that to $30 million. The House Appropriations Committee first removed it entirely, but then allowed $10 million. As it now stands, the Senate Ways and Means Committee has stripped that funding.
None of this is helping the public schools that 90% of Kansas children attend.
It is the honor of my lifetime to serve the people of House District 16. You can reach me at Linda.Featherston@house.ks.gov.
