Tag: James Franko

Chances for school choice this session narrow substantially
School choice legislation is not yet entirely dead in Kansas this year, although opportunities for passage this session are narrowing.…

Kansas loses population while neighboring states gain
Kansas is one of 18 states to see a decline in population between July 2021 and July 2022, according to…

Audit reveals growing pains in tax credit scholarship program
The Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program is helping low-income students escape some of the worst-performing schools in…

A-F Grading of Kansas schools: just one A but 80 Fs
Based on the 2021 state assessment scores, only one public school in Kansas earned an “A” on Kansas Policy Institute’s…

Survey: Kansas parents should have primary say in education
Governor Laura Kelly thinks parents should butt out of curriculum issues, but a new poll shows parents overwhelmingly believe they…

CRT debate intensifies as school officials argue no one teaches it
Debates about teaching critical race theory in Kansas schools boil across the state and the nation. However, officials at the…

Olson flip-flop kills education choice, school funding bill
An education funding bill that included expanding a tax credit scholarship program and providing parents education savings account options for…

KPI hosts free webinar on new emergency management law
Officials and citizens question what an updated law means for orders-related orders like curfews and stay-at-home orders. As of last…

Lawmakers consider education savings accounts
A former school board member announced to the Kansas House K-12 budget committee on Monday that she changed her mind…

KS education lobby attacks opportunity – Part 1
Parental support for school choice is on the rise in Kansas and across the nation, but the Kansas education lobby…

School boards still diverting money to Schools for Fair Funding
Kansas school districts continue to pump money into Schools for Fair Funding, a coalition of school districts that successfully sued…

Republicans for Bollier break with party on policy, too
Kansas media made a big deal about a ‘Republicans for Bollier’ announcement recently, when a group of Republicans endorsed Barbara…

Kelly, KDOT deny truckers hot, tasty food despite federal waiver
For long-haul truckers a good meal is important — and often not available — particularly during this era of state-mandated…

Gov. Kelly continues heavy restrictions on businesses, activity
With her original stay-at-home orders and state of emergency set to expire May 3, and facing mounting pressure to reopen…

KPI releases annual “A-F” school grades
The Kansas Policy Institute, which owns the Sentinel, released its annual “A-F” School Grades on Monday, and the results are…

Gov. Laura Kelly out of touch with average Kansan on budget issues
In a press release just before the first of the year, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said she’s going to “rebuild”…

“Giving Kids a Fighting Chance” premieres to acclaim
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says educational reform is “…the civil rights issue of our time…it’s the social justice issue…

2019 state assessment: stagnant, disturbingly low achievement in Kansas schools
Nearly two-thirds of Kansas fourth-graders and 75% of Kansas 10th graders tested below grade level or needing remedial training in…

Florida education reform film coming to Kansas
Florida students are making gains in reading and math at a faster rate than the national average as well as…

Record 18 legislators score above 90% on 2019 Kansas Freedom Index
Eighteen Kansas House and Senate members scored better than 90% on the 2019 Kansas Freedom Index, besting the previous high of…

School Choice Advocates Rally in Topeka
The state of Kansas has made strides in providing school choice opportunity for some students, but there’s still work to…

Senate Committee Hosts Medicaid Expansion Hearing
The annual effort to expand Medicaid in Kansas cleared one hurdle Wednesday morning. Members of the Senate Public Health and…

Students, Parents Rally at Capitol for School Choice
Choice has existed since the beginning of time, but most Kansas parents can’t choose how to best educate their children,…

New Poll: Voters Prefer Constitutional Amendment to Resolve School Funding
An overwhelming majority of Kansas voters think Kansas lawmakers should consider a constitutional amendment to end the school funding wars,…