Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB529

Filed/Introduced
8/8/26  
Introduced
3/9/26  

Caption

Requiring the state department of education to prepare and publish a Kansas building report card for virtual schools offered by a school district separately from any report card prepared and published for a traditional school operated by such school district.

Impact

The enactment of SB529 is expected to influence state laws by formalizing the reporting requirements for virtual schools, ensuring they are held to the same standards of accountability as traditional schools. This could result in more focused oversight on the educational outcomes of these institutions, potentially leading to higher standards within the virtual education sector. The law is designed to aid in the assessment of various educational methods while ensuring that appropriate data is easily accessible to the public and interested parties. This transparency may promote discussions about educational quality in Kansas and inspire legislative initiatives aimed at enhancing virtual education.

Summary

Senate Bill 529 mandates the Kansas Department of Education to create and publish a distinct Kansas building report card for virtual schools, which are schools that provide online education. This report card will be separate from the report cards for traditional schools operated by school districts. The primary focus of the bill is to improve transparency and accountability regarding the performance of virtual education institutions, which have seen increased enrollment over recent years. With this measure, stakeholders, including parents and policymakers, will have easier access to relevant performance data about virtual schools in a format comparable to traditional schools.

Contention

One of the notable points of contention surrounding SB529 pertains to the differences in educational delivery and outcomes between virtual and traditional schooling. Proponents of the bill argue that providing a separate report card will incentivize virtual schools to improve their educational practices and outcomes, while critics may question whether such a distinction could create an unfair comparison between the two types of educational institutions. Concerns have also been raised regarding the implications for funding and resources allocated to virtual schools in light of their performance metrics published in the report cards.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

KS SB1

Modifying income tax rates for individuals, exempting all social security benefits from Kansas income tax, increasing the Kansas standard deduction and the Kansas personal exemption, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, decreasing the privilege tax normal tax, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value for property tax valuation purposes, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund and abolishing the local ad valorem tax reduction fund and the county and city revenue sharing fund.

KS SB2

Eliminating the income limit to qualify for the subtraction modification exempting social security benefits, increasing the income tax credit amount for household and dependent care expenses, establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, citing the increased property tax homestead refund claim section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, decreasing the normal privilege tax rate, increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy, decreasing the rate of ad valorem tax imposed by a school district; providing for certain transfers to the state school district finance fund, reducing the state rate of tax on sales of food and food ingredients and modifying the percent credited to the state highway fund from revenue collected.

KS HB2001

Authorizing the secretary of commerce to enter into agreements with major professional sports franchises to establish STAR bond projects for a major professional sports complex, providing for additional revenue sources, expanding the powers and discretion of the secretary and making other changes to the STAR bonds financing act to facilitate such projects, limiting the secretary’s authority to approve such projects to one year unless extended by the legislative coordinating council, authorizing the Kansas development finance authority to issue STAR bonds for such projects, transferring funds under certain circumstances from the state gaming revenues fund to the attracting professional sports to Kansas fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and, if approved by the legislative coordinating council, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.

KS HB2002

Expanding medical assistance eligibility and enacting the cutting healthcare costs for all Kansans act.

KS SB6

Providing a sales tax exemption for sales of electricity to residential premises by municipally owned or operated utilities.

KS SB7

Authorizing federally licensed firearm dealers, in addition to county sheriffs, to receive applications for concealed carry licenses and forward such applications to the attorney general, prohibiting sheriffs from assessing any fee related to application services and allowing dealers to assess a fee related to application services not to exceed $20.

KS SB8

Exempting the sale of firearms, firearms accessories, ammunition, firearm safes and firearm safety devices from the retatilers' sales tax.

KS HB2003

Establishing the veterans' valor property tax relief act providing for an income tax credit or refund for eligible individuals, modifying the definition of household income and increasing the appraised value threshold for eligibility of seniors and disabled veterans related to increased property tax claims and citing the section as the homeowners' property tax freeze program, providing property tax exemptions for certain personal property including watercraft, marine equipment, off-road vehicles, motorized bicycles and certain trailers, excluding internal revenue code section 1031 exchange transactions as indicators of fair market value, providing for certain exclusions from the prohibition of paying taxes under protest after a valuation notice appeal and providing four prior years' values on the annual valuation notice.

KS SR1702

A resolution honoring the life, career and trailblazing achievements of Kansas icon Ed Dwight.

KS SB4

Requiring all advance voting ballots be returned by 7:00 p.m. on election day.

Similar Bills

No similar bills found.