Read the full stored bill text
As Amended by House Committee
{As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole}
As Amended by Senate Committee
Session of 2026
SENATE BILL No. 387
By Committee on Government Efficiency
1-26
AN ACT concerning education; relating to school districts; requiring
school districts to verify the household gross earned income of each
student who qualifies for free meals under the national school lunch
program is deemed an at-risk student; authorizing the state
department of education to reimburse school districts for the cost of
reduced-price meals; requiring legislative authorization to receive
special assistance payments under federal law amending K.S.A. 2025
Supp. 72-5132 and repealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
New Section 1. (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary
For purposes of the Kansas school equity and enhancement act, K.S.A.
72-5131 et seq., and amendments thereto , Each school year, each school
districts district shall verify that each student enrolled in and attending
school in such district who qualified who is deemed an at-risk student , as
defined in K.S.A. 72-5132, and amendments thereto, by such school
district meets the requirements to qualify for free meals under the national
school lunch program by submitting a national school lunch program
application is eligible for such program { satisfies the requirements of
K.S.A. 72-5132(c)(1), and amendments thereto. Such verification may
be conducted through direct certification or} based on written evidence
of the applicant's student's household gross earned income as evidenced
by the form 1040 federal income tax return filed by such student's
parent or person acting as parent. This section does not apply to
students who qualified for free meals under the national school lunch
program by direct certification Such evidence may be submitted as part of
the national school lunch program application or through another
method. If no form 1040 is submitted, then other documentation may
be submitted as evidence of household gross earned income. If a
student does not{ qualify satisfy the requirements of K.S.A. 72-5132(c)
(1), and amendments thereto, through direct certification or} provide
written evidence of such student's household gross earned income, such
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
SB 387—Am. by HC 2
student shall not be deemed an at-risk student for the purposes of the
Kansas school equity and enhancement act. Each such student may
submit an application and be eligible for the national school lunch
program under federal law. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to be verification under the national school lunch act.
(b) Subject to appropriations, the state department of education
shall provide to each school district state aid for each reduced-price
meal served to each student, not to exceed one breakfast and one lunch
per student per school day. The state board shall determine the amount
of such state aid by subtracting the actual federal reimbursement
received for the reduced-price meal by the participating school district
for the breakfast and lunch served to the student plus any amount
reimbursed for such meal pursuant to K.S.A. 72-17,137, and
amendments thereto, from the applicable federal reimbursement rate for
a full-priced meal at the school site, as determined annually by the
United States department of agriculture.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (c) (d) , on and after July 1, 2026,
no school, school district or local education agency shall seek or
implement any authorization from the federal government to receive
special assistance payments as provided in the community eligibility
provision of 42 U.S.C. § 1759a(a)(1)(F) unless the legislature expressly
consents to and approves of such authorization by an act of the legislature.
(c)(d) When the legislature is not in session, a school, school district
or local education agency may notify the legislative coordinating council
that such school, district or agency is seeking the legislative coordinating
council's approval for authorization to receive special assistance payments
as provided in the community eligibility provision of 42 U.S.C. § 1759a(a)
(1)(F). The legislative coordinating council shall meet within 14 calendar
days of receiving such notification. Pursuant to K.S.A. 46-1202, and
amendments thereto, the legislative coordinating council may approve or
deny such request or refer such request to a legislative committee for
review and recommendation.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 72-5132 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 72-5132. As used in the Kansas school equity and
enhancement act, K.S.A. 72-5131 et seq., and amendments thereto:
(a) "Adjusted enrollment" means the enrollment of a school
district, excluding the remote enrollment determined pursuant to
K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 72-5180, and amendments thereto, adjusted by
adding the following weightings, if any, to the enrollment of a school
district: At-risk student weighting; bilingual weighting; career
technical education weighting; high-density at-risk student weighting;
high enrollment weighting; low enrollment weighting; school facilities
weighting; ancillary school facilities weighting; cost-of-living
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
SB 387—Am. by HC 3
weighting; special education and related services weighting; and
transportation weighting.
(b) "Ancillary school facilities weighting" means an addend
component assigned to the enrollment of school districts pursuant to
K.S.A. 72-5158, and amendments thereto, on the basis of costs
attributable to commencing operation of one or more new school
facilities by such school districts.
(c) (1) "At-risk student" means a student who is eligible for free
meals under the national school lunch act, and who is enrolled in a school
district that maintains an approved at-risk student assistance program and:
(A) Whose household gross earned income is not more than 130% of
the applicable family size income level in the nonfarm income poverty
guidelines prescribed by the federal office of management and budget, as
adjusted annually in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 1758(b)(1)(B); or
(B) who is qualified for free meals under the national school lunch
act through direct certification.
(2) "At-risk student" does not include any student enrolled in any
of the grades one through 12 who is in attendance less than full time,
or any student who is over 19 years of age. The provisions of this
paragraph shall not apply to any student who has an individualized
education program.
(d) "At-risk student weighting" means an addend component
assigned to the enrollment of school districts pursuant to K.S.A. 72-
5151(a), and amendments thereto, on the basis of costs attributable to
the maintenance of at-risk educational programs by such school
districts.
(e) "Base aid for student excellence" or "BASE aid" means an
amount appropriated by the legislature in a fiscal year for the
designated year. The amount of BASE aid shall be as follows:
(1) For school year 2018-2019, $4,165;
(2) for school year 2019-2020, $4,436;
(3) for school year 2020-2021, $4,569;
(4) for school year 2021-2022, $4,706;
(5) for school year 2022-2023, $4,846; and
(6) for school year 2023-2024, and each school year thereafter, the
BASE aid shall be the BASE aid amount for the immediately
preceding school year plus an amount equal to the average percentage
increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers in the
midwest region as published by the bureau of labor statistics of the
United States department of labor during the three immediately
preceding school years rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount.
(f) "Bilingual weighting" means an addend component assigned
to the enrollment of school districts pursuant to K.S.A. 72-5150, and
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
SB 387—Am. by HC 4
amendments thereto, on the basis of costs attributable to the
maintenance of bilingual educational programs by such school
districts.
(g) "Board" means the board of education of a school district.
(h) "Budget per student" means the general fund budget of a
school district divided by the enrollment of the school district.
(i) "Categorical fund" means and includes the following funds of
a school district: Adult education fund; adult supplementary
education fund; at-risk education fund; bilingual education fund;
career and postsecondary education fund; driver training fund;
educational excellence grant program fund; extraordinary school
program fund; food service fund; parent education program fund;
preschool-aged at-risk education fund; professional development
fund; special education fund; and summer program fund.
(j) "Cost-of-living weighting" means an addend component
assigned to the enrollment of school districts pursuant to K.S.A. 72-
5159, and amendments thereto, on the basis of costs attributable to the
cost of living in such school districts.
(k) "Current school year" means the school year during which
state foundation aid is determined by the state board under K.S.A. 72-
5134, and amendments thereto.
(l) (1) "Enrollment" means, except as provided in K.S.A. 2025
Supp. 72-5180, and amendments thereto, whichever is the greater of:
(A) The number of students regularly enrolled in kindergarten
and grades one through 12 in the school district on September 20 of
the current school year plus the number of preschool-aged at-risk
students regularly enrolled in the school district on September 20 of
the current school year;
(B) the number of students regularly enrolled in kindergarten
and grades one through 12 in the school district on September 20 of
the preceding school year plus the number of preschool-aged at-risk
students regularly enrolled in the school district on September 20 of
the current school year;
(C) for any school district that has a military student, as that
term is defined in K.S.A. 72-5139, and amendments thereto, enrolled
in such district, and that received federal impact aid for the preceding
school year, if the enrollment in such school district in the preceding
school year has decreased from enrollment in the second preceding
school year, the enrollment of the school district in the current school
year means whichever is the greater of:
(i) The enrollment amounts determined under subparagraphs (A)
or (B); or
(ii) the sum of the number of preschool-aged at-risk students
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
SB 387—Am. by HC 5
regularly enrolled in the school district on September 20 of the
preceding school year and the arithmetic mean of the sum of:
(a) The number of students regularly enrolled in kindergarten
and grades one through 12 in the school district on September 20 of
the preceding school year;
(b) the number of students regularly enrolled in kindergarten and
grades one through 12 in the school district on September 20 of the
second preceding school year; and
(c) the number of students regularly enrolled in kindergarten and
grades one through 12 in the school district on September 20 of the
third preceding school year; or
(D) for school year 2024-2025, the number of preschool-aged at-
risk students regularly enrolled in the school district on September 20
of the current school year and the arithmetic mean of the sum of:
(i) The number of students regularly enrolled in kindergarten
and grades one through 12 in the school district on September 20 of
the preceding school year; and
(ii) the number of students regularly enrolled in kindergarten and
grades one through 12 in the school district on September 20 of the
second preceding school year.
(2) When enrollment is determined under paragraph (1), if the
school district begins to offer kindergarten on a full-time basis in such
school year, students regularly enrolled in kindergarten in the school
district in the preceding school year shall be counted as one student
regardless of actual attendance during such preceding school year.
(3) A foreign exchange student shall not be counted in the
enrollment of a school district unless such student was regularly
enrolled on September 20 and attending kindergarten or any of the
grades one through 12 maintained by the district for at least one
semester or two quarters, or the equivalent thereof.
(m) "February 20" has its usual meaning, except that in any year
in which February 20 is not a day on which school is maintained, it
means the first day after February 20 on which school is maintained.
(n) "Federal impact aid" means an amount equal to the federally
qualified percentage of the amount of moneys a school district receives
in the current school year under the provisions of title I of public law
874 and congressional appropriations therefor, excluding amounts
received for assistance in cases of major disaster and amounts received
under the low-rent housing program. The amount of federal impact
aid shall be determined by the state board in accordance with terms
and conditions imposed under the provisions of the public law and
rules and regulations thereunder.
(o) "General fund" means the fund of a school district from
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
SB 387—Am. by HC 6
which operating expenses are paid and in which is deposited all
amounts of state foundation aid provided under this act, payments
under K.S.A. 72-528, and amendments thereto, payments of federal
funds made available under the provisions of title I of public law 874,
except amounts received for assistance in cases of major disaster and
amounts received under the low-rent housing program and such other
moneys as are provided by law.
(p) "General fund budget" means the amount budgeted for
operating expenses in the general fund of a school district.
(q) "High-density at-risk student weighting" means an addend
component assigned to the enrollment of school districts pursuant to
K.S.A. 72-5151(b), and amendments thereto, on the basis of costs
attributable to the maintenance of at-risk educational programs by
such school districts.
(r) "High enrollment weighting" means an addend component
assigned to the enrollment of school districts pursuant to K.S.A. 72-
5149(b), and amendments thereto, on the basis of costs attributable to
maintenance of educational programs by such school districts.
(s) "Juvenile detention facility" means the same as such term is
defined in K.S.A. 72-1173, and amendments thereto.
(t) "Local foundation aid" means the sum of the following
amounts:
(1) An amount equal to any unexpended and unencumbered
balance remaining in the general fund of the school district, except
moneys received by the school district and authorized to be expended
for the purposes specified in K.S.A. 72-5168, and amendments thereto;
(2) an amount equal to any remaining proceeds from taxes levied
under authority of K.S.A. 72-7056 and 72-7072, prior to their repeal;
(3) an amount equal to the amount deposited in the general fund
in the current school year from moneys received in such school year
by the school district under the provisions of K.S.A. 72-3123(a), and
amendments thereto;
(4) an amount equal to the amount deposited in the general fund
in the current school year from moneys received in such school year
by the school district pursuant to contracts made and entered into
under authority of K.S.A. 72-3125, and amendments thereto;
(5) an amount equal to the amount credited to the general fund in
the current school year from moneys distributed in such school year to
the school district under the provisions of articles 17 and 34 of chapter
12 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, and
under the provisions of articles 42 and 51 of chapter 79 of the Kansas
Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto;
(6) an amount equal to the amount of payments received by the
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
SB 387—Am. by HC 7
school district under the provisions of K.S.A. 72-3423, and
amendments thereto; and
(7) an amount equal to the amount of any grant received by the
school district under the provisions of K.S.A. 72-3425, and
amendments thereto.
(u) "Low enrollment weighting" means an addend component
assigned to the enrollment of school districts pursuant to K.S.A. 72-
5149(a), and amendments thereto, on the basis of costs attributable to
maintenance of educational programs by such school districts.
(v) "Operating expenses" means the total expenditures and
lawful transfers from the general fund of a school district during a
school year for all purposes, except expenditures for the purposes
specified in K.S.A. 72-5168, and amendments thereto.
(w) "Preceding school year" means the school year immediately
before the current school year.
(x) "Preschool-aged at-risk student" means an at-risk student
who has attained the age of three years, is under the age of eligibility
for attendance at kindergarten, and has been selected by the state
board in accordance with guidelines governing the selection of
students for participation in head start programs.
(y) "Preschool-aged exceptional children" means exceptional
children, except gifted children, who have attained the age of three
years but are under the age of eligibility for attendance at
kindergarten. "Exceptional children" and "gifted children" mean the
same as those terms are defined in K.S.A. 72-3404, and amendments
thereto.
(z) "Psychiatric residential treatment facility" means the same as
such term is defined in K.S.A. 72-1173, and amendments thereto.
(aa) (1) "Remote enrollment" means the number of students
regularly enrolled in kindergarten and grades one through 12 in the
school district who attended school through remote learning in excess
of the remote learning limitations provided in K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 72-
5180, and amendments thereto.
(2) This subsection shall not apply in any school year prior to the
2021-2022 school year.
(bb) (1) "Remote learning" means a method of providing
education in which the student, although regularly enrolled in a school
district, does not physically attend the attendance center such student
would otherwise attend in person on a full-time basis and curriculum
and instruction are prepared, provided and supervised by teachers
and staff of such school district to approximate the student learning
experience that would take place in the attendance center classroom.
(2) "Remote learning" does not include virtual school as such
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
SB 387—Am. by HC 8
term is defined in K.S.A. 72-3712, and amendments thereto.
(3) This subsection shall not apply in any school year prior to the
2021-2022 school year.
(cc) "School district" means a school district organized under the
laws of this state that is maintaining public school for a school term in
accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 72-3115, and amendments
thereto.
(dd) "School facilities weighting" means an addend component
assigned to the enrollment of school districts pursuant to K.S.A. 72-
5156, and amendments thereto, on the basis of costs attributable to
commencing operation of one or more new school facilities by such
school districts.
(ee) "School year" means the 12-month period ending June 30.
(ff) "September 20" has its usual meaning, except that in any
year in which September 20 is not a day on which school is
maintained, it means the first day after September 20 on which school
is maintained.
(gg) "Special education and related services weighting" means an
addend component assigned to the enrollment of school districts
pursuant to K.S.A. 72-5157, and amendments thereto, on the basis of
costs attributable to the maintenance of special education and related
services by such school districts.
(hh) "State board" means the state board of education.
(ii) "State foundation aid" means the amount of aid distributed
to a school district as determined by the state board pursuant to
K.S.A. 72-5134, and amendments thereto.
(jj) (1) "Student" means any person who is regularly enrolled in a
school district and attending kindergarten or any of the grades one
through 12 maintained by the school district or who is regularly
enrolled in a school district and attending kindergarten or any of the
grades one through 12 in another school district in accordance with an
agreement entered into under authority of K.S.A. 72-13,101, and
amendments thereto, or who is regularly enrolled in a school district
and attending special education services provided for preschool-aged
exceptional children by the school district.
(2) (A) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the
following shall be counted as one student:
(i) A student in attendance full time; and
(ii) a student enrolled in a school district and attending special
education and related services, provided for by the school district.
(B) The following shall be counted as 1/2 student:
(i) A student enrolled in a school district and attending special
education and related services for preschool-aged exceptional children
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
SB 387—Am. by HC 9
provided for by the school district; and
(ii) a preschool-aged at-risk student enrolled in a school district
and receiving services under an approved at-risk student assistance
plan maintained by the school district.
(C) A student in attendance part-time shall be counted as that
proportion of one student, to the nearest 1/10, that the student's
attendance bears to full-time attendance.
(D) A student enrolled in and attending an institution of
postsecondary education that is authorized under the laws of this state
to award academic degrees shall be counted as one student if the
student's postsecondary education enrollment and attendance together
with the student's attendance in either of the grades 11 or 12 is at least 5/6 time, otherwise the student shall be counted as that proportion of
one student, to the nearest 1/10, that the total time of the student's
postsecondary education attendance and attendance in grades 11 or
12, as applicable, bears to full-time attendance.
(E) A student enrolled in and attending a technical college, a
career technical education program of a community college or other
approved career technical education program shall be counted as one
student, if the student's career technical education attendance together
with the student's attendance in any of grades nine through 12 is at
least 5/6 time, otherwise the student shall be counted as that proportion
of one student, to the nearest 1/10, that the total time of the student's
career technical education attendance and attendance in any of grades
nine through 12 bears to full-time attendance.
(F) A student enrolled in a school district and attending a non-
virtual school and also attending a virtual school shall be counted as
that proportion of one student, to the nearest 1/10, that the student's
attendance at the non-virtual school bears to full-time attendance.
(G) A student enrolled in a school district and attending special
education and related services provided for by the school district and
also attending a virtual school shall be counted as that proportion of
one student, to the nearest 1/10, that the student's attendance at the
non-virtual school bears to full-time attendance.
(H) A student enrolled in a school district and attending school on
a part-time basis through remote learning and also attending school in
person on a part-time basis shall be counted as that proportion of one
student, to the nearest 1/10, that the student's in-person attendance
bears to full-time attendance.
(I) A student enrolled in a school district who is not a resident of
Kansas shall be counted as 1/2 of a student.
This subparagraph shall not apply to:
(i) A student whose parent or legal guardian is an employee of the
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
SB 387—Am. by HC 10
school district where such student is enrolled; or
(ii) a student who attended public school in Kansas during school
year 2016-2017 and who attended public school in Kansas during the
immediately preceding school year.
(3) The following shall not be counted as a student:
(A) An individual residing at the Flint Hills job corps center;
(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), an individual confined in
and receiving educational services provided for by a school district at
a juvenile detention facility; and
(C) an individual enrolled in a school district but housed,
maintained and receiving educational services at a state institution or
a psychiatric residential treatment facility.
(4) A student enrolled in virtual school pursuant to K.S.A. 72-
3711 et seq., and amendments thereto, shall be counted in accordance
with the provisions of K.S.A. 72-3715, and amendments thereto.
(5) A student enrolled in a school district who attends school
through remote learning shall be counted in accordance with the
provisions of this section and K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 72-5180, and
amendments thereto.
(kk) "Total foundation aid" means an amount equal to the
product obtained by multiplying the BASE aid by the adjusted
enrollment of a school district.
(ll) "Transportation weighting" means an addend component
assigned to the enrollment of school districts pursuant to K.S.A. 72-
5148, and amendments thereto, on the basis of costs attributable to the
provision or furnishing of transportation.
(mm) "Virtual school" means the same as such term is defined in
K.S.A. 72-3712, and amendments thereto.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 72-5132 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 2. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31