The 2026 Legislature is in Session in Topeka! There are many issues to watch, but I'll highlight two that will have a direct impact on our district and schools.
School Funding: Special Education
For a decade, the state has not kept up with its statutory requirement to fund Special Education (SPED) in Kansas, and each year the SPED shortfall grows. Because our district legally can not, and would not, deny students special education services, SMSD transfers millions of dollars from our general fund to cover the underfunding of SPED from the state. This week, the K-12 education committee recommended a $10 million statewide SPED increase, which still vastly underfunds SPED.
**Currently SMSD is covering a SPED shortfall of about $30 million- this is $30 million annually that is being taken from direct supports for students and teachers.***
Our SMSD superintendent Dr. Schumacher, along with the other 5, iin Johnson County wrote a joint op-ed to the KC Star and Dr. Schumacher discussed the impacts of the shortfall on the most recent Shawnee Mission Mic'd Up podcast.
Action items:
Our voices are still needed! This week’s committee meetings were disappointing, but this is just the beginning of the legislative process for these issues.
Click here for easy links for next action steps. And read on to learn what happened on this past week and the legislative process to come. Keep using your voice!
Before Monday (2/9): Send an email to the House Appropriations committee members.
CC: Your state level House representative and senator (honestly, they can’t get enough of these fully fund sped emails)
Let them know that, as a parent, you are asking that they fully fund special education. If you would like, you can add that the current recommendation of $10 million, from the K-12 Education Budget Committee, is not enough!
School Cell Phone Ban Debated at the State Level
The Senate and House have two similar bills, (SB 302) and (HB 2421), that will require school districts across the state to enact a policy:
Requiring personal electronic communication devices for all students be turned off and securely stored away from the student's person in an inaccessible location during instructional time.
These are essentially ‘bell to bell’ cell phone bans. The bills differ from SMSD’s current cell phone policy which is differentiated by grade level. In general:
Elementary School — Devices silenced and stored in backpacks for the duration of the school day.
Middle School — Devices silenced and stored in lockers. Students may access devices at lockers during passing periods only.
High School — Devices silenced and stored during class in the student’s backpack or in a classroom storage option provided by the teacher. Phones can be used between classes and in the lunch room.
The entirety of SMSD’s Personal Electronic Device Policy can be found here.
The Kansas and SMAC PTA's opposed the bills citing that policies like this should be made at the local/district level, by locally elected school boards and administrators, not state legislators, and that a district-level policy allows for changes to be made overtime more easily, as opposed to changing a statewide law. Some parents/advocacy groups support a state policy on cell phones saying it would ensure consistency of enforcement, especially in cases where local policies aren't working or don't go far enough.
Legislators want to know parents' thoughts on this issue/these bills, as these may come before the entire House and Senate this session!
To keep up to date on all legislative issues, follow @smac_pta on Instagram or Facebook! They post regular advocacy updates and action alerts! Or contact Emily Sebelius for questions or to get more involved!
