Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has signed a bill to fully fund K-12 schools in the state, but she line-item vetoed some provisions backed by Republican lawmakers that would have changed the school finance formula.

The governor said the state will fully fund public schools for the fifth year in a row.   The bill includes $5 million to help schools coordinate with law enforcement on efforts to combat fentanyl poisoning and purchase naloxone to respond to overdose incidents.   The bill also includes $9.4 million for the Parents as Teachers program, which will give parents skills and knowledge about child health and development and connect them to community-based services to help with their child’s education.

The bill also includes $1.8 million to support professional development for teachers and $1.3 million for a program that provides mentors to teachers who are early in their careers.   The bill also has $23.7 million from the Children’s Initiative Fund for the Early Childhood Block Grant to support programs with a focus on early childhood, health, mental health and child welfare.

The bill has a $7.5 million increase for special education funding, but it does not have the $72 million that Governor Kelly has called for to put Kansas on a path to fully fund special education.    She is calling on lawmakers to address that issue in 2024.

The governor line-item vetoed elements of the bill that would have changed the school finance formula, and Kelly said this would have cut funding for rural schools, resulting in some districts having to cut services or close buildings.   Republican leaders criticized the veto, and said the state constitution limits line-item vetoes to appropriations.   The governor said she has the constitutional power to line-item veto these provisions.