Chairman Erickson opened the hearing on SB 437.

Tamera Lawrence, Assistant Revisor, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, gave an overview of the bill.(Attachment 1)

Proponent:

Senator Brad Starnes, District 22, said the technical/vocational colleges have no taxing authority like community colleges. This bill establishes the Technical College Funding Task Force to design and recommend a pilot outcomes-based funding model for technical colleges. The task force would be charged with developing a pilot state funding model that aligns state investment with measurable outcome metrics that may include academic progress and completion, dual and concurrent enrollment, industry credentials and licensure, workforce entry and retention and placement in critical-need, high-wage, and emerging-need occupations. The model must recommend additional appropriations, establish an outcomes-based method for distributing those funds, ensure appropriate distribution across technical colleges and align funding with state goals in economic development, rural revitalization, and workforce development.(Attachment 2)

Jim Genandt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Manhattan Area Technical College, reported that Kansas colleges perform at a nationally recognized level. Public education funding at all levels is largely enrollment-based. Several states have explored outcome-based funding models that align public investment with measurable results and clearer return on investment. Working with Senators and drawing on examples from other states, a framework was developed and it became this bill. The mission is focused and essential - providing workforce education for high-demand occupations that require less than a bachelor's degree, offer sustaining or high wages, and are critical to community well-being, such as entry-level healthcare. This bill would allow partnering with legislators to design and implement a pilot outcomes-based funding model that emphasizes validated skills and credentials, clear evidence of individuals improving their economic mobility and, most importantly, the direct connection between technical college education and employment with Kansas businesses. (Attachment 3)

Neutral Written:

Blake Flanders, President and CEO, Kansas Board of Regents (Attachment 4)

Opponent:

Heather Morgan, Executive Director, Kansas Association of Community Colleges, opposes this bill for several key reasons:

• The bill explicitly calls for additional appropriations.
• Legislative capacity and competing priorities
• The Goals of SB 437 - Can be achieved without creating a new legislative Task Forc
• Community Colleges are the largest providers of two-year and Technical education.
•  A better Path forward:Unified Movement Toward Performance-Based Funding

The goals of accountability and outcomes-based funding can and should be achieved - but through collaboration within the existing Regents framework and across the full two-year system. (Attachment 5)

Discussion followed.

Chairman Erickson closed the hearing on SB 437.