Education

KSDE: school funding will be $15,105 per pupil this year 0
- Education
- September 18, 2019
The Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) says school funding will average $15,105 per pupil for the current school year. That’s more than a 7% increase over last year’s record of $14,085 per pupil. KSDE Deputy Commissioner Dale Dennis provided the information in an email to Kansas Policy Institute this week. KSDE estimates total aid at
READ MORE
New report provides more evidence that Kansas education is not Top 10 0
- Education
- September 16, 2019
Kansas education performance is somewhere in the middle – not Top 10 – of a nation that shows generally mediocre performance. This finding largely repeats that of last year and comes from the 2019 Quality Counts annual report and state rankings from Education Week. It is not good news for Kansas students or residents. Regarding
READ MORE
With no accountability, Gannon plaintiffs prioritize non-Instruction hiring 0
- Education
- August 12, 2019
After suing taxpayers for more than $1 billion on the premise that funding wasn’t adequate to educate students, the four plaintiff districts collectively allocated just 15% of their new hires last year to teachers, teacher aides, and special education paras. USD 500 Kansas City was the worst offender, eliminating 32 classroom positions while added 253
READ MORE

College remediation rates improving, but still too high 0
- Education
- August 2, 2019
There’s good news and bad news regarding the number of recent high school grads who enter Kansas colleges and universities and find themselves having to take a developmental (remediation) course. The good news is that the percentage of those students seems to be ticking downward. The bad news is that still about one-quarter of all
READ MORE
Record-setting levels of Freedom in Kansas Legislature 0
- Education, Tax & Spending
- July 29, 2019
The results of our 2019 Kansas Freedom Index show freedom in Kansas is on the march…at least in the Kansas Legislature. The 2019 Kansas Freedom Index set records for high scores with 52 legislators scoring at least 86%. That’s good news. The results also confirmed what we’ve known for years – party identification has very
READ MORE
KASB misleads again in pursuit of more school funding 0
- Education
- July 19, 2019
There isn’t a single legitimate study proving that spending more money caused achievement to improve (proving causation is much different than believing in the notion), but that’s the underlying premise of KASB’s spending and achievement claims. Money matters, but it’s how money is spent that can make a difference, and achievement will remain stubbornly low
READ MORE