Kansas Senate Bill SB252

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/7/25
• Refer: 2/10/25

Caption

Expanding the tax credit for low income students scholarship program act to allow certain high school students and students eligible to be enrolled in certain school districts to be eligible for scholarships, increasing the tax credit for contributions and the aggregate tax credit limit, providing for aggregate tax credit increases under certain conditions and providing for program administration by the state treasurer.

Summary

SB 252 expands Kansas’s low-income K-12 scholarship tax credit program in several ways. It broadens eligibility for educational scholarships to include certain students who are eligible to enroll in public school, including younger children and students in districts that meet a specified academic-performance threshold, while also allowing students who already received a scholarship to remain eligible until graduation or age 21. The bill keeps the scholarship amount capped at $8,000 per student per school year and continues to permit scholarships to be used for tuition, fees, expenses, and, when applicable, transportation at qualified nonpublic schools. The bill also increases the incentive for private donations to scholarship-granting organizations by raising the tax credit from 75% to 100% of contributions for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024. It doubles the annual statewide aggregate credit cap from $10 million to $20 million for tax year 2025 and later, and adds a mechanism to increase that cap by 25% in a succeeding year if credits claimed exceed 75% of the limit. Administration of the program is shifted more explicitly to the state treasurer, who would take over reporting, compliance certification, and related oversight functions from the state board in the transition period. In practical terms, SB 252 would amend multiple sections of the Kansas statutes governing the tax credit for low income Kansas K-12 students scholarship program and repeal the existing versions of those sections. It would affect taxpayers who contribute to scholarship-granting organizations, those organizations themselves, participating private schools, and eligible students and families. The bill also adds reporting, audit, and compliance requirements for scholarship-granting organizations, including annual audits, limits on commingling funds, and rules for directing scholarship payments. The general sentiment reflected in the bill materials is supportive of expanding the scholarship program and increasing its financial capacity. The bill title and structure indicate a policy goal of broadening access to private-school scholarships and strengthening the program through higher tax-credit incentives and administrative oversight. No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no recorded debate or vote-based evidence of opposition or support beyond the bill’s introduced form. The main points of potential contention are the expansion of eligibility, the shift in administration to the state treasurer, and the larger fiscal impact from making the tax credit fully refundable at 100% of contributions and raising the aggregate cap. Critics of similar measures often focus on reduced state revenue, the diversion of public funds to private education, and the use of academic-performance criteria for district-based eligibility, while supporters typically emphasize parental choice, access for low-income families, and accountability through audits and reporting.

Impact

SB 252 would amend Kansas’s low-income K-12 scholarship tax credit statutes to expand who may receive scholarships, increase the tax credit available to donors, and raise the statewide cap on total credits. It would also transfer key administrative and reporting responsibilities to the state treasurer, while preserving oversight requirements for scholarship-granting organizations and qualified schools. The bill would directly affect the Kansas income tax, privilege tax, and insurance premium tax by allowing larger credits for contributions to participating scholarship organizations.

Sentiment

The bill appears generally favorable toward school-choice expansion and program growth, with its text reflecting a policy preference for broader scholarship eligibility and stronger donor incentives. Because no committee transcripts or vote history were provided, there is no documented floor or committee debate to show a formal split, but the measure’s design suggests support from proponents of private-school scholarship expansion and likely concern from those wary of fiscal cost or diversion from public schools.

Contention

Likely areas of contention include the expansion of eligibility to students in certain public school districts based on achievement thresholds, the increase of the donor credit to 100%, and the doubling of the annual aggregate credit cap. Opponents may object to the revenue loss and the effect on public education funding, while supporters may argue the bill improves access for low-income families and strengthens accountability through audits, reporting, and state treasurer oversight. The shift of program administration from the state board to the state treasurer may also be a point of administrative or political disagreement.