We’re a little over a third of the way through the 2020 legislative session and have reached the week of session known as turnaround. Turnaround marks the part of session where bills must have made it through the chamber they originated in unless they have been otherwise “blessed” to be exempt from this requirement by leadership. This is where the legislature starts narrowing down what bills it will be considering going forward.
I wanted to take this opportunity to look at some different pro-family bills that may be of an interest to you that are winding their way through our legislature.
- H.B. 2465 – This bill would expand the number of students eligible for our existing low-income tax credit. This tax credit was designed to create a scholarship program to help low-income students move into a school where they can flourish. This allows everyday Kansans to play a role in helping our students thrive by donating to a scholarship granting organization that helps these students excel. Currently, this program is only applicable to a small group of Kansas students, and this bill will allow this program to help more Kansas kids.
- H.B. 2552 – This bill brought by Renee Erickson (an alum of the Statesmen Academy, which is a project of our sister organization, Family Policy Foundation) will help students who are falling behind educationally as determined by their 3rd grade reading assessment. There are thousands of Kansas students every year who are reading below grade level on their 3rd grade reading assessment. This bill will give them the option to take part of the state funding allotment to allow students to pursue educational opportunities that fit their needs. This broadens options for families in educating their children in our state.
- H.B. 2724 & 2725 – These bills are designed to expand options for students performing below level level in English or math or who are determined to have a disability or a learning disability like dyslexia. The programs created by these bills will allow parents to elect to use a portion of the funds allocated for their student to seek alternative education methods for their child. This promotes parent’s ability to make the best decisions for their child.
- H.B. 2506 – This bill would ease the process for military families who have professional licenses valid in other states who move to our state due to their status in the military. This would expedite the professional licensing process for military families and help remove barriers to families in our state.
We are proud to partner with Americans for Prosperity of Kansas in discussing many of these important issues and their effect on the family at the upcoming Day at the Dome Rally. This rally will be held at the Kansas Capitol on Monday, March 9, 2020 at 10:30. If you are able, I encourage each of you to attend.
Further, we are continuing to work to educate legislators on the impact of Medicaid expansion on forced taxpayer funding of abortion. Without the Value Them Both Amendment, Medicaid will become a funding stream for the abortion industry. We are persisting in our work to ensure that Value Them Both appears on your August ballot, where it has the strongest likelihood of passing to protect both mothers and babies in our state.
Many of your legislators will be back in their districts over the next several weeks. I encourage you to reach out to them and encourage them to fight for life and families in Kansas.
For a Kansas where families thrive,
Brittany Jones. Esq.
Director of Advoacy