SESSION OF 2020
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2346
As Recommended by Senate Committee on
Education

Brief*
Senate Sub. for HB 2346 would amend law related to
free school-administered vision screenings, concurrent and
dual enrollment for high school students, the provision of free
ACT exams and WorkKeys assessments for high school
students, and the state aid schedule for Capital
Improvements State Aid. The bill would also create law
requiring the Department for Children and Families (DCF)
and the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE)
prepare an annual report on the educational outcomes of
foster care students.
School-administered Vision Screenings (Sections 10-11)
The bill would amend state standards for free school-
administered vision screenings to add new definitions and
amend others, modify the frequency of the vision screenings
to specify the grade levels and specific circumstances under
which the screenings would occur, provide for vision
screenings for students in accredited nonpublic schools,
require screenings be performed by a vision screener who
would be required to follow the most recent state vision
screening guidelines, and require vision screening results and
any necessary referral for an examination by an
ophthalmologist or optometrist be reported to the parents or
guardians of any examined student. The bill would also
establish an eight-member Kansas Children’s Vision Health
____________________
*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
and School Readiness Commission (Commission) to ensure
implementation of the provisions of the bill; provide for the
appointment of the members, who would serve without
reimbursement for meeting expenses; and establish the
duties of the Commission.
Definitions
The bill would define the following new terms:
● “Accredited nonpublic school” would mean all
nonpublic elementary and secondary schools
accredited by the State Board of Education (State
Board);
● “Board of education” would mean the board of
education of any school district;
● “IDEA part B” would mean all statewide programs
providing special education and related services to
children with disabilities aged three through five in
accordance with 20 U.S.C. § 1411, and
amendments thereto;
● “School district” would mean any school district
organized under the laws of this state; and
● “Vision screener” would mean any school nurse, or
the nurse’s designee, or other person who is
trained to administer a vision screening test to
students in the state of Kansas in accordance with
this section [Section 1 of the bill].
The bill would amend the definition of “basic vision
screening” to mean an age-appropriate eye testing program
for each child that is implemented according to the most
recent edition of the Kansas vision screening requirements
and guidelines and includes referrals for eye examinations
and necessary follow-ups.

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Frequency of Vision Screenings
The bill would provide children with free basic vision
screenings as follows:
● Annually for children with disabilities aged three
through five years who are participating in IDEA
part B programs;
● At least once each school year for students
enrolled in kindergarten and each of the grades
one through three, five, seven, and ten in a school
district or an accredited nonpublic school; and
● Within the first year of admission for any student
enrolled in a school district or an accredited
nonpublic school.
Entity Responsible for Providing Vision Screening
The bill would require the board of education of the
school district in which a student is enrolled to provide basic
vision screening to every student enrolled in such school
district.
The bill would require basic vision screening be provided
to every student in an accredited nonpublic school by either
the accredited nonpublic school in which the student is
enrolled or, upon request by the student’s parent or guardian,
by the board of education of the school district in which the
student resides.
Performance and Reporting of Vision Screenings
The bill would require basic vision screening be
performed by a vision screener designated by the board of
education or by an accredited nonpublic school. The bill
would require vision screeners follow the most recent state
vision screening guidelines. The bill would require the results

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of the screening and any necessary referral for an
examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist be reported
to the parents or guardians of any examined student and
require any such referral to show no preference in favor of
any ophthalmologist or optometrist.
Kansas Children’s Vision Health and School Readiness
Commission
The bill would require an eight-member Commission be
established to ensure the implementation of the provisions of
the bill, with membership appointed by the State Board and
composed of one member representing each of the following:
optometrists, ophthalmologists, a health organization
dedicated to preventing blindness, the KSDE, the Kansas
Department of Health and Environment, school nurses, public
health nurses, and school administrators.
The bill would require the Commission members serve
without reimbursement for meeting expenses.
The bill would establish the following duties of the
Commission:
● Overseeing the revision of state vision screening
requirements and guidelines at least once every
seven years;
● Providing standardized vision screening referral
letters and eye professional examination reports as
referenced in the Kansas vision screening
requirements and guidelines;
● Identifying state resources that assist in providing
opportunities to offer free or low-cost eye exams for
students who fail vision screenings and are unable
to afford an examination on their own; and
● Establishing a system to collect data from school
health personnel concerning the results of the
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 original screenings and referral outcomes, and
issuing an annual report to the Secretary of Health
and Environment and the Commissioner of
Education.
Concurrent and Dual Enrollment (New Section 2;
Sections 3-7; Section 12)
The bill would amend the Kansas Challenge to
Secondary School Students Act (Act). Specifically, the bill
would amend law related to concurrent and dual enrollment of
high school students at postsecondary educational
institutions.
Authority of School Districts
The bill would allow school districts, at the discretion of
the local board of education, to pay for tuition, fees, books,
materials, and equipment for any high school student who is
concurrently or dually enrolled at a postsecondary
educational institution (postsecondary institution). The bill
would authorize a local board of education to pay all or a
portion of those costs. The bill would require any such
payment to be paid directly to the postsecondary institution by
the school district. Students or their families would be
required to pay any portion of the costs not covered by the
school district. School districts would also be authorized to
provide transportation for concurrently or dually enrolled
students.
The bill would require school districts to grant high
school credit to concurrently or dually enrolled students who
satisfactorily complete course work at a postsecondary
institution.
The bill would prohibit school districts from paying for
technical education courses that are part of the Excel in
Career Technical Education program (also known as SB 155

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courses) administered by the Kansas Board of Regents
(KBOR).
Student Eligibility and Requirements
The bill would amend the definition of “student” in the
Act to require a student to have an individualized plan of
study or an individualized education program. The new
definition of student would be a person:
● Enrolled in grades 10, 11, or 12 in a school district,
or a gifted student enrolled in grades 9, 10, 11, or
12;
● Who has demonstrated the ability to benefit from
participation in the regular curricula of a
postsecondary institution;
● With an individualized plan of study or an
individualized education program;
● Who has been authorized by their principal to apply
for enrollment at a postsecondary institution; and
● Is accepted for enrollment at a postsecondary
institution.
In order to remain eligible for participation, the bill would
require a student to remain in good standing at the
postsecondary institution in which they are enrolled or show
satisfactory progress as determined by their school district.
Requirements on Postsecondary Educational Institutions
The bill would require postsecondary institutions to notify
a student or a student’s parent or guardian if the course in
which a student is enrolled is not eligible for a systemwide
transfer of college credit, as determined by the KBOR.

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Tuition Waiver for Foster Care Students
The bill would expand the Kansas Foster Child
Educational Assistance program to provide a tuition waiver for
foster care students who are concurrently or dually enrolled in
a postsecondary institution. In addition, school districts would
be authorized to pay for any costs that are not waived,
including for fees, books, materials, and equipment.
Reporting Requirements
The bill would require each postsecondary institution
that accepts students for concurrent or dual enrollment to
submit a report to the KBOR. The report would include, but
not be limited to, the following:
● The number of students from each school district
enrolled in the postsecondary institution, including
the number of students in foster care;
● The number of students who successfully complete
the courses in which they are enrolled;
● The tuition rate charged for concurrently or dually
enrolled students compared to the tuition rate
charged for regularly enrolled students; and
● The portion of costs for concurrent and dual
enrollment being paid by school districts.
The KBOR would be required to compile and prepare a
summary report of the reports submitted by postsecondary
institutions. The bill would require this summary report to be
submitted to the House Committee on Education and the
Senate Committee on Education on or before February 15 of
each year.


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Other Amendments
The bill would amend the definition of “accredited
independent institution” in the Act to include only not-for-profit
postsecondary institutions and to specify the institution must
be accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
ACT and WorkKeys Assessments (Section 8)
The bill would require the State Board to provide the
ACT college entrance exam, ACT WorkKeys assessments,
and the pre-ACT at no charge to any person enrolled in any
public or accredited nonpublic school in Kansas. Current law
requires the State Board to provide those examinations at no
charge to students enrolled in public schools.
The bill would also require the State Board to submit an
annual report to the Senate Committee on Education and the
House Committee on Education that includes aggregate
exam and assessment data for all students who were
provided the examinations and assessments by the State
Board.
State Aid Schedule for Capital Improvement State Aid
(Section 9)
The bill would amend the Capital Improvement State Aid
schedule for general obligation bonds issued by school
districts. The bill would exclude Unified School District (USD)
207 (Fort Leavenworth) from the state aid schedule for
general obligation bond issuances approved at an election
held on or after July 1, 2015. The bill would also exclude
students enrolled in virtual schools from the assessed
valuation per pupil (AVPP) used when determining the state
aid schedule for bonds approved at an election held on or
after July 1, 2015. [Note: For bonds approved prior to July 1,
2015, the AVPP used to calculate this state aid would
continue to include virtual school students.]

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 Under current law, Capital Improvement State Aid for
bonds approved at an election held on or after July 1, 2015, is
calculated as follows:
● School districts are ranked according to their AVPP,
as rounded to the nearest $1,000;
● The school district with the lowest AVPP receives
75.0 percent state aid; and
● For every $1,000 in AVPP above the lowest AVPP,
state aid is decreased by 1.0 percent.
The bill would revise the calculation of Capital
Improvement State Aid for bonds approved at an election
held on or after July 1, 2015, as follows:
● School districts would be ranked according to their
AVPP (excluding virtual school students), as
rounded to the nearest $1,000;
● The school district, other than USD 207, with the
lowest AVPP would receive 75.0 percent state aid;
and
● For every $1,000 in AVPP above the lowest AVPP
(excluding USD 207), state aid would be
decreased by 1.0 percent.
Foster Care Report Card (New Section 1)
The bill would require the KSDE and the DCF to prepare
an annual academic report card on educational outcome data
regarding foster care students. The bill would require the
following data for foster care students to be included in the
academic report card:
● The graduation rate;

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 ● The number and percentage promoted to the next
grade level;
● The number and percentage suspended during the
school year;
● The number and percentage expelled during the
school year;
● State standardized assessment scores and the
number and percentage meeting academic
standards;
● The number enrolled in preschool-aged at-risk
programs, Kansas Preschool Pilot program, or
early childhood special education program under
the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act; and
● The total number of foster care students in the
state and how many are enrolled in school districts
and how many are enrolled in accredited nonpublic
schools.
The bill would also require de-identified disaggregated
race and ethnicity data for all of the required data. The bill
would require the academic report card to be submitted to the
House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee
on Education on or before January 15 of each year.
Technical Amendments
The bill would also make technical amendments.

Background
Senate Sub. for HB 2346, as recommended by the
Senate Committee on Education (Senate Committee)
contains the provisions of the following:

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 ● HB 2346, as amended by the House Committee on
Children and Seniors;
● Sub. for SB 335, as recommended by the Senate
Committee;
● SB 337, as amended by the Senate Committee;
● SB 382, as amended by the Senate Committee;
and
● SB 384, as amended by the Senate Committee.
On March 17, 2020, the Senate Committee inserted the
contents of Sub. for SB 335, SB 337, SB 382, and SB 384
into HB 2346 and recommended a substitute bill.
HB 2346 (School-administered Vision Screenings)
HB 2346 was introduced by the House Committee on
Children and Seniors at the request of Representative Dierks.
In the House Committee hearing, a representative of the
Kansas Vision Coalition Task Force testified in favor of the
bill, stating the Kansas Vision Screening Guidelines, which
were last revised in 2004, were updated in 2018 and released
early in 2019 and used evidence-based screening tools and
procedures to create age-specific recommendations. The
proponent stated the bill would amend Kansas vision
screening laws established in 1959, with a minor change in
2001, to reflect the current evidence-based practices and
requirements for vision screening for preschoolers and to
provide a systemic method of regularly reviewing and
updating the guidelines as technology and research change.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by a public
school teacher.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to clarify basic
vision screening would be provided by the board of education
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of the school district in which the student is enrolled, without a
requirement the student reside in the school district.
In the Senate Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by representatives of the Kansas Optometric
Association and the Kansas School Nurses Organization, as
well as by a vision screening trainer. Proponents stat