SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 386
As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole

Brief*
SB 386, as amended, would amend certain enrollment
determination criteria in the Kansas School Equity and
Enhancement Act (KSEEA) to require school district
enrollment be determined using the current or preceding
school year. The bill would also authorize an additional
enrollment count determination for school year 2024-2025
only, to allow school districts to consider the arithmetic mean
of the sum of the number of students enrolled in the
preceding school year and second-preceding school year.

Enrollment Determination for State Aid
Under current requirements in KSEEA, school districts
and the State Department of Education use the student
enrollment count from the preceding year to determine state
aid entitlements for the current school year. The law further
allows any school district that experienced a decrease in
enrollment between the second-preceding school year and
the preceding school year would be permitted to use the
second-preceding year enrollment count.
The law also provides enrollment determination
provisions specific to school districts that receive federal
impact aid for the enrollment of military students that
experience a decrease in enrollment between the second-
preceding school year and the preceding school year. For
those school districts, they are permitted to determine
enrollment using either the second-preceding school year
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
enrollment count or the arithmetic mean of the preceding,
second-preceding year, and third-preceding year school year
enrollment counts.
Definition of Enrollment
The bill would amend the definition of “enrollment” under
the KSEEA to require KSDE and school districts to use the
greater of the preceding-year enrollment for kindergarten and
grades one through 12 on September 20, as well as current-
year preschool-aged at-risk students, or the current-year
enrollment count for these same student groups.
The bill would further amend the definition to add an
additional consideration for enrollment count that would be
applicable only for school year 2024-2025. The bill would
permit school districts to use whichever is the greater of the
current year and the arithmetic mean of the sum of the
preceding and second-preceding year enrollment counts.
Impact aid. The bill would also amend the enrollment
determination requirements specific to those school districts
that receive federal impact aid. Under the bill, such districts
could determine enrollment using the current-year enrollment
count; the preceding-year enrollment count; or the arithmetic
mean of the preceding, second-preceding, and third-
preceding year enrollment counts.
[Note: 2022 HB 2567 amended the KSEEA calculation
prescribed for local foundation aid by removing federal impact
aid from the formula.]

Background
The bill was introduced by the Senate Committee on
Education at the request of Katie Whisman Consulting, LLC.
[Note: A companion bill, HB 2485, has been introduced in the
House.]

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Senate Committee on Education
In the Senate Committee hearing on January 30, 2024,
the Superintendent of USD 335 (Jackson Heights Schools)
provided proponent testimony on the bill, as introduced,
outlining the impacts on USD 335 created by the closure of a
nearby district’s school building in February 2023. USD 335
currently has 110 students who reside in USD 113 attending
its schools; 90 of those students were previously attending
the closed school. Under the existing enrollment count
calculation, USD 335 carries the cost of the increased
enrollment without corresponding funding (e.g., transportation
services and supports and teacher and support staff).
Written-only proponent testimony was submitted by
representatives of USD 115 (Nemaha Central Schools) and
USD 233 (Olathe Public Schools). These proponents
addressed allowing more timely counts to provide services
and the need to accommodate the educational needs of
communities impacted by school building closures.
Neutral testimony was provided by a representative of
the Kansas Association of School Boards and a
representative of United School Administrators of Kansas and
Kansas School Superintendents’ Association. The conferees
supported the current-year enrollment option for growing
districts and asked for consideration to allow the two-
preceding year “look back” for districts experiencing the
impacts of enrollment declines. Both conferees requested the
removal of enrollment count provisions specific to districts
with attendance center closures in the preceding year.
Neutral written-only testimony submitted by USD 445
(Coffeyville Public Schools) requested consideration for
phased-in implementation, such as allowing school districts
three enrollment count options in FY 2025 and two options
(current or preceding year) in FY 2026.
Opponent testimony was provided by the
Superintendent and a board member of USD 113 (Prairie
Hills) and the Superintendent of USD 453 (Leavenworth). The
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USD 113 representatives addressed the closure of a district
attendance center in the 2022-2023 school year and the
flexibility the current enrollment funding calculation provided
for the district. The use of current year-only funding would
have created additional challenges, including a likely
reduction in force (staffing). The USD 453 conferee noted
districts are making hiring decisions this spring and
immediate implementation of modifications to enrollment
count determination for funding could impact those decisions
and the ability for a district to correctly plan for its budget
using revenues calculated with the changes proposed in the
bill.
Written-only opponent testimony was submitted by
representatives of USD 259 (Wichita Public Schools) and
USD 396 (Douglass Public Schools). The testimony noted the
current “look back” enrollment model allows for better budget
planning for the state and district; USD 259 indicates it has
negotiated a two-year agreement with its teachers and
support staff based on the current school finance formula
(enrollment count determination). Testimony from USD 396
noted the inability to stabilize enrollment over multiple years
would be detrimental to rural districts and those experiencing
declining enrollment.
The Senate Committee amended the bill to remove a
provision that would have required school districts that closed
any school building that was an attendance center in the
preceding school year to use only its current-year enrollment
count.
Senate Committee of the Whole
The Senate Committee of the Whole amended the bill to
permit an additional enrollment count determination that could
be used only for school year 2024-2025. The Senate
Committee of the Whole also adopted a technical
amendment.

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Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the State Department of
Education indicates school enrollment cannot be estimated
by school district for the 2024-2025 school year; however, it
has estimated the cost of the bill using enrollment data from
the current school year with the school finance cost
projections for the 2024-2025 school year. With enactment of
the bill, the Department estimates that state aid to school
districts would decrease by $1,743,126, all from the State
General Fund (SGF). Of this total, a reduction of $1,530,978
would be for State Foundation Aid and a reduction of
$212,148 would be for Local Option Budget (LOB) State Aid.
[Note: Both the Senate Committee amendment, which
removes the enrollment count provision pertaining to school
building closures, and the Senate Committee of the Whole
amendment, which permits school districts to utilize the 2024-
2025 school year enrollment count determination, could
impact the original fiscal note for the bill.]
Information provided at the time of the Senate
Committee of the Whole amendment indicates the bill, as
amended by the Senate Committee of the Whole, would
increase general fund expenditures by $5,531,167. The bill,
as amended, would also increase the LOB by $766,454, for a
total increase of $6,297,621.
Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected
in The FY 2025 Governor’s Budget Report.
Education; Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act; enrollment count
determination; current year; preceding year; second preceding year


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Statutes affected:
As introduced: 72-5132, 72-3712
As Amended by Senate Committee: 72-5132, 72-3712
{As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole}: 72-5132, 72-3712