The 2025 session of the Kansas Legislature has officially started. The 125 member Kansas House, and the 40 member Kansas Senate, both gaveled in on Monday, January 13. The session is statutorily set to be 90 days. Republican leadership has set a very ambitious goal of finishing in early April this year. If this happens, it will be a departure of business as usual.
The first week of every session sees the Kansas Statehouse come alive with Legislators, staff, advocates, interest-holders, and everyday Kansans. Typically, committees begin to meet and discuss reorganization and rules. Often, committees have informational meetings and hearings about issues that will be deliberated in the upcoming months. The Governor almost always issues the State of the State address before a joint evening session of the Kansas House and Kansas Senate. And the Governor’s Budget Director rolls out his/her budget recommendations for the following fiscal year that starts in July. (Read updates below)
We will be in the Statehouse almost daily from now until the end of the session and will be keeping you informed on the process as it unfolds.
Notable Committee Membership and Activity
The House Committee on Education
Meeting Time: 1:30 p.m.
Room: Statehouse, 218-N
Chair: Rep. Susan Estes
Vice Chair: Rep. Kyle McNorton
Ranking Democrat: Rep. Jerry Stogsdill
Other Members
Rep. Sherri Brantley
Rep. Shawn Chauncey
Rep. Linda Featherston
Rep. Jason W. Goetz
Rep. Scott Hill
Rep. Steve Huebert
Rep. Silas Miller
Rep. Lon Pishny
Rep. Louis Ruiz
Rep. Rebecca Schmoe
Rep. Mark Schreiber
Rep. Megan Steele
Rep. Valdenia Winn
Rep. Dawn Wolf
Activity in the Week of January 13-17
The committee met on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week for typical week one introductory discussions and informational hearings.
Learn more about the House Committee on Education, including bills now in committee and committee makeup, here: https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/committees/ctte_h_ed_1/
The House Committee on Higher Education Budget
Meeting Time: 1:30 p.m.
Room: Statehouse, 281-N
Chair: Rep. Steven Howe
Vice Chair: Rep. Clarke Sanders
Ranking Democrat: Rep. Mike Amyx
Other Members
Rep. Brett Fairchild
Rep. Kirk Haskins
Rep. Samantha Poetter Parshall
Rep. Tom Sawyer
Rep. Kyler Sweely
Rep. Paul Waggoner
Activity in the Week of January 13-17
The committee met on Tuesday and Thursday of this week for typical week one introductory discussions and informational hearings.
Learn more about the House Higher Education Budget Committee, including bills now in committee and committee makeup, here: https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/committees/ctte_h_higher_education_budget_1/
The House Committee on K-12 Education Budget
Meeting Time: 3:30 p.m.
Room: Statehouse, 546-S
Chair: Rep. Jason Goetz
Vice Chair: Rep. Scott Hill
Ranking Democrat: Rep. Valdenia Winn
Other Members
Rep. Sherri Brantley
Rep. Susan Estes
Rep. Timothy Johnson
Rep. Nikki McDonald
Rep. Kyle McNorton
Rep. Jarrod Ousley
Rep. Mari-Lynn Poskin
Rep. Rebecca Schmoe
Rep. Kevin Schwertfeger
Rep. Megan Steele
Activity in the Week of January 13-17
The committee met on Tuesday and Thursday of this week for typical week one introductory discussions and informational hearings.
Learn more about the House Committee on K-12 Budget, including bills now in committee and committee makeup, here: https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/committees/ctte_h_k12_education_budget_1/
The Senate Education Committee
Meeting Time: 1:30 p.m.
Room: Statehouse, 144-S
Chair: Sen. Renee Erickson
Vice Chair: Sen. Adam Thomas
Ranking Democrat: Sen. Dinah Sykes
Other Members
Sen. Mike Argabright
Sen. Chase Blasi
Sen. Beverly Gossage
Sen. Michael Murphy
Sen. Pat Pettey
Sen. TJ Rose
Sen. Doug Shane
Sen. Brad Starnes
Learn more about the Senate Education Committee, including bills now in committee and committee makeup, here: https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/committees/ctte_s_ed_1/
Activity in the Week of January 13-17
The committee met on Tuesday and Thursday of this week for typical week one introductory discussions and informational hearings.
Other Notable Statehouse Activity
Governor Kelly’s Annual State of The State Address
Every year the Governor of Kansas comes before a packed house in the Kansas House of Representatives Chamber to deliver the State of the State address. The audience includes members of the Kansas House, Kansas Senate, Legislative Staff, Statewide elected officials, special guests, and other dignitaries, The Governor reports on the state of Kansas and lays out their vision and agenda for the upcoming legislative session.
On Wednesday, Governor Kelly delivered her annual state of the state address and KNEA had the privilege of sending six members as her special guests. Thank you to those members that attended.
It is great to have a Governor prioritize public education as a top issue. Though we’re not surprised, we are still pleased that Governor Kelly laid out the following as part of her overall message and agenda:
To attract young families to Kansas and create a bright future for our youngest generations, and since 90% of Kansas children are attending public school, investing in public schools must remain a top priority
Governor Kelly made it clear that this investment must include full constitutional funding as well as funding for the 2nd year of a 5-year proposal to bring SPED funding to the statutory 92%.
Governor Kelly also drew a line in the sand regarding school vouchers. She promised to continue to reject any attempt – no matter how it’s disguised – to re-route public taxpayer dollars to private schools, including schemes like vouchers.
Her speech also included her desire to ensure that no Kansas student should go hungry by providing free school lunch to the students that are currently on reduced school lunch plans. Her expanded free school lunch program would cover almost 36K students.
See the full video of Governor Kelly’s State of the State address here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1wDRpnxE6U
Governor Kelly’s FY 2025 Budget Proposal
Governor Kelly’s Budget Director Adam Profitt presented her budget proposal to members of the Kansas Legislature and members of the public Thursday morning.
In her budget, Governor Kelly listed five issues as “high impact policy areas” that she promised to be her main focus and top priorities. These issues were education, water policy, social service safety net funding, community support waivers, and Medicaid expansion.
On the education front Governor Kelly’s budget proposes:
- $72.6 million Special Education State Aid, fulfilling the second of a five-year plan to fully fund special education.
- Continued support the Sunflower Summer program, which provides Kansas families free access to educational activities and experiences during the summer, with a $2 million investment.
- $500,000 to cover the costs of certain Advanced Placement (AP) test fees for low-income students. These funds will also provide professional development and stipends for educators who support students through AP coursework.
- $50 million in additional funding to support the postsecondary sector and lower higher education costs for Kansas students. Including $14.4 million in additional state funding to increase need-based aid
See the budget proposal rollout, and question and comments from Kansas Legislators here: https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00287/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20250116/-1/19341 The presentation starts at TIMESTAMP: 10:33
–Tim Graham, Director of Government Relations
