Approved: February 17, 2020 MINUTES of the SENATE

Approved: February 17, 2020

MINUTES OF THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Molly Baumgardner at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, in room 144-S of the Capitol.

All members were present

Committee staff present: Charles Dupre, Legislative Research Department Cyndie Rexer, Committee Assistant John Hess, Legislative Research Department Nick Myers, Office of Revisor of Statutes Tamera Lawrence, Office of Revisor of Statutes

Conferees appearing before the Committee: Susan Heegaard, President, Midwestern Higher Education Compact Rob Trembath, Vice President and General Counsel, Midwestern Higher Education Compact Chuck Knapp, President & CEO, JAG-K Beverly Mortimer, Senior Vice President of Programming, JAG-K

Others in attendance: See Attached List

Request for bill introductions Chairperson Molly Baumgardner opened the meeting by welcoming Senator Mike Thompson to the Committee.

Senator Bruce Givens moved, Senator Barbara Bollier seconded, a bill request that would distribute $39.5 million of unused Education funds. The motion did not pass.

Senator Bruce Givens moved, Senator Barbara Bollier seconded, a bill request that would change the calculation of Special Education funding. The motion did not pass.

Briefing on:Midwestern Higher Education Compact Susan Heegaard, President, and Rob Trembath, Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), briefed the Committee on the highlights of the Compact's effectiveness in Kansas. MHEC contracts leverage the potential volume of the State's purchasing power while saving institutions time and money by simplifying the procurement process. Kansas received a 155-fold return on its MHEC investment for FY19 while saving on purchases of technology contracts, property insurance, student insurance solutions, and Midwest Student Exchange Program. MHEC gives the State an opportunity to discuss

Unless specifically noted, the individual remarks recorded herein have not been transcribed verbatim. Individual remarks as reported herein have not been submitted to the individuals appearing before the committee for editing or corrections. Page 1 CONTINUATION SHEET MINUTES of the Committee on Education at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, in room 144-S of the Capitol. the issues in Kansas and convene with peers, and to receive research and policy to keep Kansas informed. (Attachment 1) (Attachment 2)

Briefing by staff on: Staff gave an comprehensive summary of the Kansas Supreme Court Decisions in Gannon v. State and the State's response to those decisions. In Gannon I the Court reaffirmed that Article 6 requires both an adequacy and an equity component be satisfied for a school finance formula to be constitutional. In Gannon II and III, the Court held that the State failed to show sufficient evidence that it complied with the Court's prior equity orders set forth in Gannon I and found that the amended supplemental general state aid and capital outlay state aid equalization formulas in SB7 failed to cure the unconstitutional wealth-based disparities among school districts. In response, the Legislature enacted Senate Substitute for HB2655, amending both the supplemental general state aid and capital outlay state aid formulas.

In Gannon IV, the Court held that the Classroom Learning Surety Student Success Act did not satisfy the adequacy component of Article 6 in either the structure or implementation. The Court stated that the adequacy portion of the case would now be in the remedial phase and the State has the burden to demonstrate that any new school financing system is "reasonably calculated to address the constitutional violations" of the adequacy requirement while also satisfying the equity requirement. The Legislature passed

SB19 enacting the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act (KSEEA), which created a new school finance formula similar in structure to the School District Finance and Quality Performance Act. The Legislature also added approximately $317 million in additional funding for public schools for school years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019.

Gannon V Court decision stated the State failed to demonstrate that the KSEEA satisfied both the adequacy and equity components of Article 6. It satisfied the structure component of the adequacy test but did not satisfy the implementation component. The Court did recognize the efforts to target funding toward at-risk students and improve at-risk student performance. During the 2018 legislative session, the legislature passed SB423 and SB61 ti address the issues raised in Gannon V.

Gannon VI Court decision held that even with the additional funding provided, KSEEA failed to satisfy the adequacy component of Article 6 but the equity violations identified in Gannon V had been cured by the passage of the two bills and found no new equity violations in the current law. During the 2019 session, SB16 was passed to address the issues raised by the Court in Gannon VI.

The Court analyzed two issues in its Gannon VII decision: (1) Has the State properly explained how virtual school state aid was calculated in its Montoy safe harbor plan and (2) does SB16 make appropriate financial adjustments to account for the inflation issues identified by the Court in its Gannon VI mandate? The Court concluded SB16 brings the State into substantial compliance.

Unless specifically noted, the individual remarks recorded herein have not been transcribed verbatim. Individual remarks as reported herein have not been submitted to the individuals appearing before the committee for editing or corrections. Page 2 CONTINUATION SHEET MINUTES of the Committee on Education at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, in room 144-S of the Capitol.

(Attachment 3) (Attachment 4)

Briefing on: Chuck Knapp, President and CEO, Jobs for America's Graduates-Kansas (JAG-K), gave an update on the JAG-K Success Academy which is their pilot program for students in foster care. The traditional JAG-K program partners with public schools and communities to help students facing various barriers to success and prepare for productive futures. JAG-K is an in-school elective class where students are taught leadership and career development skills by JAG-K Career Specialists. The model program is three classes of no more than 15 students per class. Throughout the multi-year program, students will be introduced to 87 competencies related to employability career development, leadership development, life survival and personal skills. Project-based learning, trauma-informed care and employer engagement are components of the JAG Advantage. Students are required to invest a minimum of 10 hours serving their community and a minimum of 8 hours focused on academic remediation.

A variety of performance measures are tracked for every student over the course of their experience. Data covers all areas of the JAG model. Drexel University's Center of Labor Markets and Policy assessed the post-high school employment outcomes of the JAG class of 2015. Their research proved JAG students are more successful than their peers.

JAG's Success Academy started a pilot program with ten students in Wichita in the spring of 2018. None of the students were on track to graduate. At the end of the semester, seven students were on track to graduate and both seniors graduated. The Kansas Legislature expanded the pilot to Topeka and Kansas city in 2018-2019 when five or six seniors graduated.Success Academy has a dedicated Career Specialist assigned to students in foster care. Students have access to online core classes. If a student is placed outside the current region, the Career Specialist will still be responsible for advocating for the student, ensuring s/he is keeping up with grades, etc.

As of May 31, 2019, 88 percent of Success Academy students have graduated.

Beverly Mortimer, Senior Vice President of Programming, told the story of Yadira G. who was placed in foster care when her mother was arrested and of the barriers Yadira faced. She was placed in the pilot program in Kansas City and found that JAG-K was the one consistent thing she could rely on as the consistency of the program was enough to help her feel part of the JAG-K family with all the support that comes with being part of the organization.

Governor Kelly has asked JAG -K to collaborate with DCF to discuss ways to help not only students in foster care, but all system-involved youth. Out of 31 Kansas Judicial Districts, 24 have a traditional JAG-K program with the other 7 desiring to have a JAG-K program in their community. The proposed FY 2021 budget contains the first state appropriation JAG-K has received. $539,000 is included to

Unless specifically noted, the individual remarks recorded herein have not been transcribed verbatim. Individual remarks as reported herein have not been submitted to the individuals appearing before the committee for editing or corrections. Page 3 CONTINUATION SHEET MINUTES of the Committee on Education at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, in room 144-S of the Capitol. create a program for Justice-involved youth.(Attachment 5)

The meeting adjourned at 2:36 pm.

The next meeting is scheduled for January 23, 2020.