Kansas Association of Community College Trustees
700 SW Jackson, Suite 1000 • Topeka, KS 66603-3757 • 785-357-5156 • FAX 785-357-5157
• 19cc@kacct.org
Sheila Frahm, Executive Director
Policy
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700 S. W. Jackson, Ste. 1000, Topeka, Kansas 66603 - (785)-357-5156 |
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Making
Sausage….Those familiar with the
process of making sausage have compared that effort to the legislative
process: in other words, if you
knew what it took to make it, you probably wouldn’t eat it.
That has certainly been the case in Topeka this week.
This was “turn-around” week when, in order to move on in the
process, bills needed to have been passed out of their house of origin.
However, bills sponsored by, referred to or acted upon by the Senate
Ways and Means Committee, the Senate and House Committees on Federal and
State Affairs, House Appropriations and Taxation are not subject to any
deadlines. Consequently, those
with a favorite piece of legislation still languishing in a non-exempt
committee were scrambling to get their bill “blessed” -- have the bill
referred to an exempt committee and then re-referred back to the original
committee -- before “Turn-Around” which actually falls on Monday and is
traditionally a legislative holiday. “Sausage
Legislation” Concerning Community Colleges….Two
“blessed” bills with potentially a great impact on community colleges
are SB 217, requiring tuberculosis testing for students and faculty, and HB
2396, requiring meningitis vaccinations for postsecondary students.
This week Kansas Department of Health and Environment officials
admitted they erred by not including higher education in-put on the proposed
TB screening legislation and called a meeting to discuss postsecondary
concerns. The biggest issue
seems to be whether or not it is necessary to have all new students
and faculty complete a screening questionnaire when the population at
greatest risk is those from certain countries outside the Out-District Tuition
Bill Introduced on Friday….When
the House of Representatives convened for their Friday session, the first
item of business was the introduction of HB 2502, an Appropriations
Committee bill seeking to halt the reduction of out-district tuition for one
more year. Earlier in the week
the House Education Budget Subcommittee voted to remove all SB 345 money
from this year’s budget, which strips the $5.2 million enhancement money
recommended by the Governor as well as the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
This is just another step in the process and offers both the Senate
and House negotiating room when they come together to finalize the budget. Higher Education
Caucus Meets…. Citizens for
Higher Education, a group established in 2002 by statewide business and
civic leaders, whose goal is to emphasize the linkage between higher
education and economic prosperity, called together a group of legislators
and higher education leaders this week to form what they hope will become a
Higher Education Caucus. The
discussion was led by Senators Janis Lee, D-Kensington, and Roger Reitz,
R-Manhattan, and Representative Jeff Jack, R-Parsons.
Plans were made to meet again in two weeks and involve Chambers of
Commerce in the push for higher education funding.
Many legislators and higher education leaders attended including Tom
Burke, president of Kansas City Kansas Community College, and Sheila Frahm
from KACCT. College Education IS
Attainable….A recent letter from
David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, to the editor in
USA Today (2/7/05) took the newspaper to task for suggesting that colleges
and universities turn a “blind eye” to accessibility and affordability
of college for low-income students. Citing
data from the National Center for Education Statistics, he noted that in
1989 students from low-income families made up 36 percent of college
enrollment; a decade later, the number was the same with students in the low
income category attending community colleges up from 40 percent to 42
percent. He went on to note that
colleges and universities spend more on grant aid than the states and the
federal government combined and most of that money goes to students with
financial need. Coming Next Week….
Tuesday, March 1:
Senate Education
1:30 p.m., Rm. 123-S Wednesday, March 2:
Senate Education 1:30
p.m., Rm. 123-S SB 131: Teachers;
non-renewal or termination of contracts
Important Resources to gather legislative and budget
information:
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