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Why Kansas education leaders oppose 'school choice' bills

The Kansas House last week narrowly passed a "school choice" bill that would shift public tax dollars to private schools, much to the frustration of public school leaders and Gov. Laura Kelly. The Kansas State Board of Education opposes the bill, saying there's no way to track how students are doing.

The Kansas House narrowly passed a "school choice" bill that will allow families of K-12 students to access upwards of $5,000 in state funding for alternatives to public education — including private schools and homeschooling. But the Kansas Board of Education opposes the bill, arguing that the educations savings accounts — which come with an early estimated cost of $152 million to the state — lack accountability.

On KCUR's Up To Date, host Steve Kraske sat down with Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson to learn how this bill could affect public schools, and how Kansas is planning on moving forward.

Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Laura Ziegler. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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I partner with communities to uncover the ignored or misrepresented stories by listening and letting communities help identify and shape a narrative. My work brings new voices, sounds, and an authentic sense of place to our coverage of the Kansas City region. My goal is to tell stories on the radio, online, on social media and through face to face conversations that enhance civic dialogue and provide solutions.
Paris Norvell is a freelance podcast producer for KCUR Studios,
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
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