KAIRS PUBLIC POLICY

KAIRS Perspective on Education

Parents are the first and best educators of their children, and they should be able to choose the most appropriate school for their children without financial penalty. KAIRS, therefore, believes that all children should be treated equitably in educational policies, regulations, and funding.

We who represent independent and religious schools respect public education and consider public educators to be partners, not competitors. However, our commitment to the total formation of the human person, rooted in spiritual values, makes our schools unique and distinctive.

We respectfully point out that recent legislation and school funding have been inherently unequal. We believe this discrimination against parents who choose religious or independent schools for their children has been detrimental to educational achievement as a whole, and, in particular, for those who have the fewest choices: low-income families. We believe that a more neutral stance, which respects local decision making, shared religious and community values, and high expectations, for every child, would benefit all families and all schools.

State Board of Education

1. Accreditation

KAIRS urges all member schools to maintain accreditation by a reputable accrediting body. The highest priority of KAIRS is that independent and religious schools remain free to pursue their missions while supporting Kansas’s legitimate concern for the quality of education. More than 40 states recognize several differing models of accreditation without penalizing non-state-accredited schools, and we believe Kansas would benefit from such an approach as well.

2. Access to Federally Funded Services

All parents and students should have full and free access to every federally and state-funded service and program to which they are entitled as residents, citizens, and taxpayers. The Kansas Sate Department of Education should designate an official to serve as a liaison to keep religious and independent schools informed about such programs and arbitrate inter-district disagreements.

State Board of Regents

Qualified Admissions

KAIRS supports higher admission standards for college students but opposes differential treatment for students who graduate from Kansas schools accredited by a process other than Quality Performance Accreditation.

Legislature

1. Teacher Licensure and Renewal

KAIRS believes that teachers should undergo rigorous preparation and ongoing formation. The selection, hiring, and assignment of qualified teachers should be a local decision. KAIRS believes the beginning teachers should be able to use their experience in any school accredited by a reputable accrediting agency in order to move from their conditional to professional license. In addition, KAIRS believes that any school accredited by a reputable accrediting agency should be allowed to form a Professional Development Council in order to assist their teachers in license renewal.

2. Special Education

The current state special education laws should be enforced, fully funded, and:

  1. services should be provided on-site whenever possible;
  2. services should be provided in and by the district where the student attends school;
  3. the district providing the services should be reimbursed as if the student were a district resident.

3. Parent Tax Credits

KAIRS recognizes that parents of students in all school settings incur educational expenses. We believe that all parents should be able to receive a tax credit for their legitimate educational expenses, including tuition.

4. Teacher Tax Credit

All teachers should be able to receive tax credits for out-of-pocket expenses incurred as part of their teaching duties.

5. School Funding

Following the precedents set in higher education and statewide funding formulas, KAIRS recommends that funding for all programs, state and federal, follow the individual, not the system. A voucher concept, particularly one that assists students from lower-income families, is one possible approach, as long as it respects each school’s unique mission.