KS Supreme Court closes school funding lawsuit

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – A new move by the Kansas Supreme Court could make it harder for schools to argue over whether they’re fairly funded.

The state Supreme Court closed a years-long funding lawsuit Tuesday. It required the state to meet adequacy and equity requirements in financing public education. If the budget didn’t meet that requirement, it could be challenged.

Since that ruling, the Kansas Supreme Court has held oversight over K-12 education funding, and the state has fully funded it for the last five years. Now, the court is ending that oversight, and schools would have to start from scratch to challenge budgets. Schools would have to file a new lawsuit in a lower court and work their way up.

“The legislature must not take this ruling as license to cut funding from our public schools and crush an entire generation of Kansas students. Our schools have made so much progress over the past five years because we’ve fully funded K-12 education. Our students can’t afford to turn back the clock – not back to tax experiments funded by school budget cuts, to 4-day school weeks, or to costly lawsuits. I am committed to standing against any and all attempts to strip our schools of the funding they need to prepare our students for success.”

Statement from Governor Laura Kelly (D)