SESSION OF 2020
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 271
As Recommended by House Committee on
Education

Brief*
House Sub. for SB 271 would create law related to the
distribution of certain information to students in grades 7
through 12 and amend law related to citizenship education.

Distribution of Information
The bill would require the Kansas State Department of
Education (KSDE) to ensure the distribution, electronic or
otherwise, of certain information to all students in grades 7
through 12. Information to be distributed would include:
● The Kansas State Board of Regents (KBOR)
degree prospectus information;
● The program report of the Kansas Training
Information Program; and
● Any other information relevant to students’
understanding of potential earnings as determined
by the Department of Labor and each branch of the
armed services of the U.S. military.
The bill would also authorize KSDE to enter into
memorandums of understanding and other agreements with
state agencies or other entities as needed to accomplish this
task.
____________________
*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
Citizenship Education
The bill would permit accredited high schools to include
instruction on information necessary to pass the
naturalization test administered by the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services as a part of the course of instruction in
U.S. government required of all such high schools.

Background
SB 271, as it passed the Senate, would have extended
the sunset on the high-density at-risk weighting. The House
Committee on Education (House Committee) removed these
provisions and inserted the provisions of HB 2519 and
citizenship education provisions related to those contained in
HB 2573. Upon inserting provisions related to citizenship
education, the House Committee eliminated the provision of
HB 2573 that would have added a citizenship test as a
graduation requirement and made education related to the
naturalization test a permissive element of existing U.S.
government education. The background for HB 2519 and HB
2573 is contained below.

HB 2519
The bill was introduced by the House Committee at the
request of Representative Huebert.
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was offered by a representative of the Opportunity Solutions
Project, stating the bill would give Kansas students helpful
information as they consider their activities after high school.
Neutral testimony was offered by a representative of the
KBOR, who stated the bill was duplicative with information
already compiled and maintained by KBOR. Opponent
testimony was offered by representatives of the Kansas
Association of Community College Trustees, the Kansas
Independent College Association, and the Kansas National

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Education Association, who stated the provisions of the bill
were duplicative with existing information and would divert
resources from educating students to administrative
compliance.
The House Committee amended the bill to eliminate
provisions requiring KSDE to compile and produce a
database of information related to postgraduate outcomes of
various college degrees and replace it with the requirement
that KSDE ensure distribution of the existing information
described above.
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on HB 2519 as introduced, the Department of
Education indicates the bill would increase annual
expenditures by $595,580 to develop and maintain the
database. The requirement for this database was eliminated
by the House Committee’s amendments. A revised fiscal note
on the bill, as amended, was not immediately available. Any
fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected in The FY
2021 Governor’s Budget Report.

HB 2573
HB 2573 was introduced by the House Committee at the
request of Representative Huebert.
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by the Attorney General and Representative
Huebert, stating HB 2573 would enhance civics education in
Kansas. Written-only proponent testimony was offered by
Conservative Leaders in Education and Excellence in
Education. Opponent testimony was offered by
representatives of the Kansas Association of School Boards
and the Kansas National Education Association stating the bill
would not improve civics education and unnecessarily
impeded on the authority of local school boards. Written-only
testimony in opposition was offered by Olathe Public Schools
USD 233 and USD 229 Blue Valley Schools.
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 HB 2573 was withdrawn from the House Committee and
referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on
February 26, 2020.
According to the fiscal note provided by the Division of
the Budget on HB 2573 as introduced, the KSDE estimates
that additional expenditures of $400,000 from the State
General Fund would be required to administer exams
required by the bill. The requirement for the exam was
removed by the House Committee’s amendments. Any fiscal
effect associated with HB 2573 is not reflected in The FY
2021 Governor’s Budget Report.


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Statutes affected:
As introduced: 72-5151
As Amended by Senate Committee: 72-5151
Version 3: 72-3217