Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday vetoed a bill that would expand a state program intended to encourage school choice by awarding tax credits for donations to private school scholarships.
The bill would lift a $10 million yearly cap on state tax credits to entice businesses and individuals to donate money to a scholarship program for private schools.
The bill vetoed by the governor increased that cap on the program to $15 million from the $10 million that’s now in place and was reached in 2025. The bill originally called for a $20 million cap.
As the bill passed the Legislature, a proposed escalator for the tax credit was removed.
An earlier version of the bill would have increased the cap on the tax credits by 25% if it was determined that they exceeded 75% of the new $20 million limit.
The cap could have increased to a maximum of $30 million with the escalator.
“After years of neglect and budget disasters before I took office, we’ve worked hard to make sure Kansas’ public schools are fully funded and back on track,” Kelly said in a statement.
“We must prioritize meaningful increases in special education funding over expanding the private school tax credit program. I will continue to fight for the full funding of our public schools.”
The bill passed the House on a 76-44 vote, eight short of the 84 votes needed for an override. The bill passed the Senate on a 27-13 vote.
Chuck Weber, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, took exception to the idea that the scholarship program cost the state money.
“It’s disappointing to see the myth perpetuated that offering educational options to students from low-income families somehow takes dollars away from public schools. It does not,” Weber said in an email.
“The Kansas Catholic Conference supports fully funded public schools and options for parents seeking a better educational fit for their child’s unique needs.”
The vetoed bill also allowed Kansans to participate in a similar federal program where individuals can claim up to $1,700 in federal tax credits for contributions to organizations that give scholarships to students to attend private and public schools.
Eligibility for scholarships under the federal program is limited to students whose family income is below 300% of their area median income.
In Kansas for 2024, that was about $222,000 for the state.
Lawmakers said in Overland Park, the income threshold for students to participate in the federal tax credit program would be $312,000, in Lawrence it would be $195,000 and in Kansas City it would be $195,000.
Even if the Legislature fails to override the bill, there is a separate bill that would allow Kansas to opt in to the federal tax credit program without touching the state program.
The bill allowing Kansans to participate in the federal program passed 29-10 in the Senate and 87-37 in the House, more than enough to override a veto.
Education Week asked the governors of all 50 states and the mayor of Washington, D.C., whether they would opt into the federal tax credit program.
As of March 4, the magazine reported that 28 governors said they plan to opt into the federal tax-credit scholarship program, and one has said they won’t participate.
The states closest to Kansas that have opted into the federal tax credit program include Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa and Colorado, the magazine reported.
“This is a great opportunity for us to help both public and private schools,” said Republican state Rep. Susan Estes of Wichita, chair of the House education committee.
Lawmakers were told that residents in states that don’t participate in the federal tax credit program could still make donations and claim the federal tax credit, but those contributions would go to scholarship-granting organizations in other states.
“If we don’t do the federal opt-in, then that money those families get the tax credit for goes to another state,” Estes said during debate on the floor. “I’d like us to keep that money in Kansas.”
The program for state tax credits has been operating in Kansas since the 2015-2016 school year.
The scholarship can’t exceed $8,000 per eligible student for each school year and must cover all or a portion of the costs of tuition, fees and expenses of a qualified school.
Total contributions cannot exceed $500,000 per contributor for any one tax year.
A report from the state education department shows that 2,794 students were found to be eligible for a scholarship since the start of the program in the 2015-16 school year.
Of those 2,794 eligible students, 1,112 students were from the Wichita School District, 891 students were from Kansas City and 175 were from Topeka, the report showed.
Since the beginning of the program, 6,848 student scholarships were awarded a total of almost $26 million through the 2023-24 school year, the report shows.
Over the years, the state program has drawn opposition from public education advocates, who say it uses tax dollars to subsidize private schools.
While taxpayers may not directly put money into the program, opponents say the tax credits affect the state budget.
They said the state should not expand the tax scholarship program at a time when the state isn’t fully funding special education in public schools.
Democratic state Rep. Jerry Stogsdill of Prairie Village has been one of the sharper critics of the tax credits.
“This is a voucher bill. By any other name, it’s still a voucher bill. This is a bill that should go down,” Stogsdill said on the floor.
“If you think public tax money ought to go for public schools, then vote ‘no’ on this,” he said.
Republican state Rep. Steve Huebert of Valley Center has fought back against critics of the bill who said it would divert tax dollars directly to private schools.
“This bill in no way uses public tax dollars to fund anything,” he said during a committee hearing earlier this year.
“If you want to at least be accurate, I think it’s my understanding it could possibly – through the tax credits that are received – have an impact on the bottom line as far as revenues coming in,” Huebert said.
“But no taxpayer dollars are actually used to fund scholarships,” he said.
