Bill requiring annual State BOE report passes House

TOPEKA (KSNT) - A bill requiring the Kansas State Board of Education (BOE) to submit a report to the Legislature each year on student assessments has passed the House.

On Thursday, House Bill 2731 passed the house 80-40. Now the bill moves to the Senate.

HB 2731, introduced by Representative Susan Estes, would require the BOE to report the number and percentage of students who took the statewide assessments broken down by subject and grade level. Additionally, the bill requires the BOE to report the percentage of 10th-grade students who received postsecondary education two years after high school.

"Measuring our outcomes against this yardstick gives us another yardstick rather than just standardized tests," Estes said.

The BOE would be required to publish the findings from the report online, according to the HB 2731 brief.

"This is a perfect example of unnecessarily expanding state government and legislative overreach aimed at solving a problem that doesn't even exist," said Representative Jerry Stogsdill. "Why do we need a law to address a situation that can be handled by simply making a phone call?"

Under financial information, the DOE indicated the bill could require additional administrative resources and spending beyond the agency's current budget.

"Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected in the FY 2025 Governor’s Budget Report," the fiscal information notes read.

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