Kelly vetoes bill to improve Kansas foster kids’ education over concerns about costs
Saying the state can’t afford it, Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday vetoed a bill designed to address dismal graduation rates and futures for foster youth — legislation that lawmakers and child advocates insisted was long overdue.
But the Democratic governor added that the bill included “valuable provisions” and said she would sign into law the portion requiring the state to create an annual report card tracking the academic progress of foster children if lawmakers sent her a standalone measure on that issue.
Kelly’s objection was to a section of the bill that established the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act. The measure would provide scholarships for students to attend a two-year associate program or technical college. To be eligible, a student must be in grade 12, be a high school graduate within the past 12 months or have been in foster care in any of grades 6 through 12.
“The Kansas Promise Scholarship is also a laudable effort to make higher education more accessible to vulnerable Kansans who come of age in the foster care system, and to incentivize Kansas graduates to establish their careers here,” Kelly said in a news release announcing the veto.
“Although well-intentioned, House Bill 2510 as a whole would annually deplete millions from state funds at a time when Kansas faces a $1.3 billion budget shortfall. I cannot in good conscience sign a bill establishing a new discretionary spending program that is unrelated to Kansas COVID-19 response efforts when such severe financial strain looms in the months ahead. I have made Kansas children in foster care one of the top priorities of my administration. At this time of fiscal crisis we must focus on preserving the foster care programs and services already in place.”
The measures were part of a package of educational proposals bundled into one bill in the waning hours of the 2020 legislative session. The bill passed the House on a 110-3 vote, and the Senate approved it 36-3.
Despite the overwhelming support, some lawmakers said it was doubtful there would be an attempt to override the veto when they convene Wednesday for a special session Kelly called to address her veto of a bill designed to greatly limit her authority to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
Proponents of the foster care measure were surprised and angry at Kelly’s veto.
Sen. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, who pushed the bill, said she plans to try to salvage whatever parts of the legislation she can — especially the academic report card.
“I am not shaking loose on this, and we’re going to see what we can do,” Baumgardner said Monday.
She said she plans to meet with her education committee on Wednesday. If need be, Baumgardner said, the committee will introduce two bills in order to get some legislation to help foster children signed into law.
She said she doesn’t understand why the governor would reject a bill that had only six “no” votes between both legislative chambers.
“It has such bipartisan support, why would a governor veto legislation that would be so positive for the state?” Baumgardner said. “You had 146 legislators say, ‘Absolutely, my schools and my community need this.’
“You cannot portray yourself — claim to be — an education governor and turn your back on this legislation.”
Baumgardner said there would be no cost for the legislation until at least fall 2021. According to the state Division of the Budget, implementing the scholarship act would cost $17.3 million from the state general fund for scholarships in fiscal year 2021.
“We passed a sweeping highway bill, and the governor signed that immediately,” Baumgardner said. “It’s going to be a very expensive program. … How could she sign that bill and not this bill?”
She said the bill contains language that says if the funds are not available, the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act won’t begin.
“We took every precaution,” Baumgardner said. “These bills have been vetted through the legislative process. This is an error in evaluation by the budget office and by the governor’s office.”
Quinn Ried, policy research analyst for Kansas Appleseed, called Kelly’s veto “a loss for Kansas kids in foster care.”
“Since she took office, Governor Kelly has said time and again that fixing foster care is among her top priorities,” Ried said. “Yet her veto denied reform that would provide greater transparency and accountability that kids in foster care deserve.”
Ried said Kelly began her Monday news conference saying it was time for elected officials to acknowledge racial disparities.
“Yet House Bill 2510 would have required the state of Kansas to track educational outcomes paying particular attention to racial and ethnic disparities,” he said. “With this veto, Governor Kelly demonstrated her priorities. An administration’s financial decisions are a reflection of that administration’s values.”
The report card proposal was modeled after an Indiana law that was highlighted in The Star’s December series on the dismal long-term outcomes for many foster children nationwide. If the measure becomes law, Kansas would be among a handful of states that require such accountability for foster children.
Across the nation, the graduation rates for foster children are significantly lower than for all other “special population groups,” including homeless students and those with disabilities.
For fiscal year 2019, about 39 percent of Kansas kids in foster care graduated from high school — one of the lowest rates in the country. The current rate in Kansas is even lower, about 35 percent.
The bill would require a report each year detailing the academic progress and classroom struggles of kids in state care. The state Department of Education would work with the Department for Children and Families to prepare the report and submit it each January to education committees in both legislative chambers.
The report card would contain graduation rates of Kansas foster kids, suspension rates and standardized test scores. Each category would include race and ethnicity data.
Included in the bill is a plan to expand the state’s Foster Child Educational Assistance Program by providing tuition waivers for high school foster youth who are jointly enrolled in a post-secondary institution.
The program would authorize school districts to pay for any costs that are not waived, such as for fees, books, materials and equipment.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Kelly vetoes bill to improve Kansas foster kids’ education over concerns about costs."
