While states across the nation plough forward with school choice initiatives that give families more freedom in how their children should be educated, Kansas seems occupied once again with how much more money to give school districts, many of which perpetually underperform, robbing students of adequate educational opportunities. Even in the higher performing schools, many students are still left behind. While other states are promoting, passing, and expanding school choice – most of which through education savings/spending accounts, collectively known as ESA’s – Kansas politicians are dickerin ..read more

Yesterday, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed HB 2036, a tax reform bill that would save Kansas $636.7 billion in its first year of FY 2025. It would then save between $458.9 and $468.7 million annually from FY 2026 to FY 2029. The bill is the latest culmination of the back-and-forth throughout the legislative session. Despite it being sent to the Governor’s desk with a 119-0 vote in the House and 24-9 in the Senate, Kelly wavered then eventually delivered a veto. KPI did a thorough breakdown last week of Kelly’s various claims towards the bill and why none of them hold up. The reasoning accompanying ..read more

Kansas Policy Institute is pleased to announce its partnership with Dr. Vance Ginn, Ph.D. Dr. Ginn will work to advance KPI’s economic and regulatory analysis for its Sandlian Center for Entrepreneurial Government. He builds on his many years of fiscal work with KPI’s Responsible Kansas Budget. “I’m thrilled to work with the fantastic team at the Kansas Policy Institute. KPI has long been at the cutting edge of policy reforms such as truth-in-taxation property tax reforms, the Responsible Kansas Budget, and paths to eliminating personal income taxes that provide abundant opportunities to let p ..read more

After personally lobbying House Democrats to approve a similar tax relief plan she negotiated with top Republicans, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is now pondering whether to veto HB 2036.  However, many of the governor’s other actions contradict her stated concerns over a bill that passed with strong bipartisan support (119-0 in the House and 24-9 in the Senate). For example, Kelly says her initial reaction is that HB 2036 is “too expensive.”  However, the Kansas Legislative Research Department (KLRD) tells the Legislature that it costs only $146.5 million more over four years, or abou ..read more

The 2023 A-F grading of Kansas public and private schools is now available online. (A printed form is forthcoming. E-mail information@kansaspolicy.org. to request a copy.) The public education landscape continues to change, with more parents opting for alternatives to sending their children to traditional public schools. This phenomenon was exacerbated by unwarranted school closures as a response to COVID-19. People are hungry for a change, especially those who feel stuck in underperforming schools. But the question is, where does one go to find out how a school in the state is actually perfor ..read more

As states across America sharpen their competitive edges with tax cuts and simpler tax codes, Kansas has a unique opportunity to foster prosperity and economic resilience. The tax reform bill with about $635 million in personal income tax relief in the first year awaits Governor Laura Kelly’s signature. While this bill is not as good as the one with a flat 5.25% tax rate passed earlier this year but vetoed by Governor Kelly, the latest bill would help better align the state with successful tax reforms nationwide that have spurred growth and investment. Governor Kelly would be wise to sign it o ..read more

The most recent IRS migration data shows Kansas lost $364 million in Adjusted Gross Income from people who moved from Kansas to a state with a lower tax burden, and gained $129 million AGI from states with a higher tax burden.   This is a strong indication that people are “voting with their feet” by moving to areas with lower tax burdens. Kansas’s AGI loss Taxes aren’t the only reason people move, but tax burdens weigh heavily on the cost of living, job creation, and other economic factors that families and their businesses face. Nebraska and Iowa are the only regional states with a ..read more

The Farm Bill, a piece of federal spending legislation focused on America’s agriculture industry, expired in late 2023.  While previous Farm Bills have been quickly renewed, its almost half a year later and Republicans and Democrats in Congress still haven’t come to agreement on the final product, leaving many concerned about the various programs that depend on the bill passing. This matters to Kansas because it affects the state’s largest economic sector. However the bill turns out is going to affect thousands of families and the rural communities that they live in. A rundown on the Farm ..read more

Like many basic statistics, its easy to take this number and proclaim that Kansas’s economy is doing great, like the Kelly administration has several times before with other economic results. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in February 2024, Kansas gained 3,800 private-sector jobs. But with some tighter scrutiny, Kansas’s economy is far from being as competitive as the governor claims. Just one month before in January 2024, Kansas lost 2,300 private-sector jobs, bringing the state back to around the job numbers it had last fall. This yo-yo effect isn’t new and we’ve stayed around ..read more

Year after year, private schools, as a whole, outperform public schools when it comes to state assessment results. The results of the 2023 state assessments are yet another example. However, it seems the public-school establishment lives in an alternate reality when it comes to student achievement. In testimony to the Kansas Senate Tax Committee on March 6, Leah Fliter, Assistant Executive of Director Advocacy for the Kansas Association of School Boards, made this implication that Kansas public schools outperform private schools: “Kansas public school students often perform as well as, or bett ..read more