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Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1607
By Committee on Education
2-3
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9 A PROPOSITION to revise article 6 of the constitution of the state of
10 Kansas, relating to education.
11
12 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the State of Kansas, two-thirds of the
13 members elected (or appointed) and qualified to the Senate and two-
14 thirds of the members elected (or appointed) and qualified to the House
15 of Representatives concurring therein:
16 Section 1. The following proposition to amend the constitution of the
17 state of Kansas shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the state
18 for their approval or rejection: Article 6 of the constitution of the state of
19 Kansas is hereby revised to read as follows:
20 ``Article 6.--EDUCATION
21 ``(section) 1. Schools and related institutions and activities. (section) 1. Sys-
22 tem of public education. The legislature shall provide for intellectual,
23 educational, vocational and scientific improvement by establishing and
24 maintaining public schools, educational institutions and related activ-
25 ities a system of public education which may be organized and changed
26 in such manner as may be provided by law.
27 ``(section) 2. State board of education and state board of regents. (a)
28 The legislature shall provide for a state board of education which shall
29 have general supervision of public schools, educational institutions and
30 all the educational interests of the state, except educational functions
31 delegated by law to the state board of regents. The state board of
32 education shall perform such other duties as may be provided by law.
33 (b) The legislature shall provide for a state board of regents and
34 for its control and supervision of public institutions of higher educa-
35 tion. Public institutions of higher education shall include universities
36 and colleges granting baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate degrees and
37 such other institutions and educational interests as may be provided
38 by law. The state board of regents shall perform such other duties as
39 may be prescribed by law.
40 (c) Any municipal university shall be operated, supervised and
41 controlled as provided by law.
42 ``3. Members of state board of education and state board of
43 regents. (a) There shall be ten members of the state board of education
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1 with overlapping terms as the legislature may prescribe. The legislature
2 shall make provision for ten member districts, each comprised of four
3 contiguous senatorial districts. The electors of each member district
4 shall elect one person residing in the district as a member of the board.
5 The legislature shall prescribe the manner in which vacancies occur-
6 ring on the board shall be filled.
7 (b) The state board of regents shall have nine members with
8 overlapping terms as the legislature may prescribe. Members shall be
9 appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the senate. One
10 member shall be appointed from each congressional district with the
11 remaining members appointed at large, however, no two members
12 shall reside in the same county at the time of their appointment. Va-
13 cancies occurring on the board shall be filled by appointment by the
14 governor as provided by law.
15 (c) Subsequent redistricting shall not disqualify any member of
16 either board from service for the remainder of his term. Any member
17 of either board may be removed from office for cause as may be pro-
18 vided by law.
19 ``(section) 4. Commissioner of education. The state board of education
20 shall appoint a commissioner of education who shall serve at the pleas-
21 ure of the board as its executive officer.
22 ``(section) 5. Local public schools. (section) 2. Governance. (a) The legislature
23 shall make suitable provision for governance of the system of public
24 education and the schools and institutions which are parts of the sys-
25 tem. The legislature shall provide for such instrumentalities of gover-
26 nance as may be necessary, and such instrumentalities shall exercise
27 such power and perform such duties as may be prescribed by law.
28 (b) Local Public elementary and secondary schools under the
29 general supervision of the state board of education shall be maintained,
30 developed and operated and managed, under state supervision, by lo-
31 cally elected boards. When authorized by law, such boards may make
32 and carry out agreements for cooperative operation and administration
33 of educational programs under the general supervision of the state
34 board of education, but such agreements shall be subject to limitation,
35 change or termination by the legislature.
36 (c) Public institutions of postsecondary education, and such
37 other public education institutions as may be provided for by law, shall
38 be maintained, operated and managed, under state supervision or con-
39 trol, as provided by law.
40 ``(section) 6. (section) 3. Finance. (a) The legislature may levy a permanent
41 tax for the use and benefit of state institutions of higher education and
42 apportion among and appropriate the same to the several institutions,
43
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1 which levy, apportionment and appropriation shall continue until
2 changed by statute. Further appropriation and other provision for fi-
3 nance of institutions of higher education may be made by the legisla-
4 ture.
5 (b) The legislature shall make suitable provision for finance of
6 the educational interests of the state. No tuition shall be charged for
7 attendance at any public school to pupils required by law to attend
8 such school, except such fees or supplemental charges as may be au-
9 thorized by law. The legislature may authorize the state board of re-
10 gents to establish tuition, fees and charges at institutions under its
11 supervision. system of public education. The legislature may levy a
12 permanent tax for the use and benefit of the system of public education
13 and provide for apportionment and appropriation of the proceeds of
14 such tax.
15 (b) No tuition shall be charged for attendance at any public
16 school or other public education institution to persons who are re-
17 quired by law to attend such school or institution; fees other than
18 tuition may be charged to such persons when authorized by law. The
19 legislature may authorize or require the charging of tuition and other
20 fees for attendance at any public school or other public education in-
21 stitution to persons who are not required by law to attend such school
22 or institution.
23 (c) No religious sect or sects shall control any part of the public
24 educational funds.
25 ``(section) 7. (section) 4. Savings clause. (a) All laws in force at the time of
26 the adoption of this amendment and consistent therewith shall remain
27 in full force and effect until amended or repealed by the legislature.
28 All laws inconsistent with this amendment, unless sooner repealed or
29 amended to conform with this amendment, shall remain in full force
30 and effect until July 1, 1969 1999.
31 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of the constitution to
32 the contrary, no state superintendent of public instruction or county
33 superintendent of public instruction shall be elected after January 1,
34 1967.
35 (c) The state perpetual school fund or any part thereof may be
36 managed and invested as provided by law or all or any part thereof
37 may be appropriated, both as to principal and income, to the support
38 of the public schools supervised by the state board of education.``
39 Sec. 2. The following statement shall be printed on the ballot with
40 the amendments as a whole:
41 ``Explanatory statement. The education article of the state con-
42 stitution is very explicit in specifying the manner in which certain func-
43 tions in the field of public education are to be performed. For example,
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1 the education article specifies that the function of governance of public
2 schools and other public education institutions will be performed by
3 the state board of education or the state board of regents. Since the
4 education article is so explicit with regard to the performance of certain
5 functions in the field of public education, the legislature is restrained
6 from providing for changes in the performance of such functions by
7 statute even though changes may be deemed necessary or desirable
8 by the people.
9 ``A vote for this proposition would not mandate a change in public
10 education policy or governance. A vote for this proposition would
11 amend the education article to make its operation more flexible so that
12 the legislature, and through its members, the people, would have more
13 freedom in providing for public education policy and governance.
14 ``A vote against this proposition would continue in effect the pres-
15 ent operation of the education article.''
16 Sec. 3. This resolution, if approved by two-thirds of the members
17 elected (or appointed) and qualified to the senate and two-thirds of
18 the members elected (or appointed) and qualified to the house of
19 representatives, shall be entered on the journals, together with the
20 yeas and nays. The secretary of state shall cause this resolution to be
21 published as provided by law and shall cause the proposed amendment
22 to be submitted to the electors of the state at the general election in
23 the year 1998 unless a special election is called at a sooner date by
24 concurrent resolution of the legislature, in which case it shall be sub-
25 mitted to the electors of the state at such special election.