Breaking: KSLeg adjourns with "School Choice" legislation intact. Bad news for JOCO public schools.

Breaking: KsLeg adjourns with “School Choice” legislation intact. Johnson County schools face significant negative impacts.

The Kansas Legislature adjourned today, reconvening next Tuesday, March 1. Before legislators left Topeka, however, they signaled their intention to implement a wide-ranging “School Choice” model that would have significant negative impacts on Johnson County school districts, including Blue Valley.

Despite rhetoric otherwise, “School Choice” is the model in which SCHOOLS pick their students - with the ultimate goal of ushering in For-Profit K-12 education across America.

Recent SUBV posts have focused on key legislation that will cause the most immediate harm to Blue Valley. Between now and next Tuesday, we’ll provide summaries of each bill (with new bill numbers) and give you email addresses and template emails for ALL Blue Valley-area legislators.

Here’s a quick recap of the most significant legislative threats to our kids’ Blue Valley Schools:

Voucher expansion through Education Savings Accounts - Diverting (even more) tax dollars away from Blue Valley Schools to private, exclusive, even unaccredited schools using a voucher-type scheme that opens the door to For-Profit K-12 schools here.

So-Called “Parents Bill of Rights”- Intentionally mis-named legislation that allows ANY district patron to file complaints against content being taught in our schools - including Blue Valley’s outstanding AP classes - along with mandates that will drive away teachers and principals.

Open Transfers into Blue Valley from other districts - Requires all districts in the state to accept student transfers from other districts and provides no mechanism for districts to charge tuition to families that do not pay property taxes in the district.

We’ll provide more specifics and updates throughout the back half of the week and into the weekend. Stay tuned for updates.