Session of 1998
House Concurrent Resolution No. 5049
By Select Committee on Higher Education
3-5
9
A PROPOSITION to amend sections 2, 3, 6 and 7
of article 6 of the
10 constitution of the
state of 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 House of Repre-
14 sentatives and
two-thirds of the members elected (or appointed) and
15 qualified to the
Senate 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: Sections
2, 3, 6 and 7 of article 6 of the
19 constitution of the state of Kansas are
hereby amended to read as follows:
20
``§ 2. State board of education and
state board of regents
21 Kansas council on
higher education. (a) The legislature shall provide
22 for a state board of
education which shall have general supervision
23 of public schools,
educational institutions and all the educational
24 interests of the
state, except educational functions delegated by law
25 to the state
board of regents Kansas council on higher
education.
26 The state board of
education shall perform such other duties as may
27 be provided by
law.
28 (b) The
legislature shall provide for a state board of
regents
29 Kansas council on
higher education and for its control and super-
30 vision or
coordination of public institutions of higher education.
31 Public institutions of
higher education shall include universities and
32 colleges granting
baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate degrees and
33 such other
institutions and educational interests as may be provided
34 by law. The
state board of regents Kansas council on higher
edu-
35 cation shall
perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law.
36 (c) Any
municipal university shall be operated, supervised and
37 controlled as provided
by law.
38
§ 3. Members of state board of education
and state board
39 of
regents Kansas council on higher education. (a)
There shall be
40 ten members of the
state board of education with overlapping terms
41 as the legislature may
prescribe. The legislature shall make provi-
42 sion for ten member
districts, each comprised of four contiguous
43 senatorial districts.
The electors of each member district shall elect
HCR 5049
2
1 one person
residing in the district as a member of the board. The
2 legislature
shall prescribe the manner in which vacancies occurring
3 on the board
shall be filled. Subsequent redistricting shall not dis-
4 qualify any
member of the board from service for the remainder of
5 the member's
term.
6
(b) The state board of regents
Kansas council on higher edu-
7 cation
shall have nine 11 members with overlapping
terms as the
8 legislature may
prescribe. Members shall be appointed by the gov-
9 ernor as
provided by law, subject to confirmation by the senate.
10 One member
shall be appointed from each congressional district
11 with the
remaining members appointed at large, however, no two
12 members shall
reside in the same county at the time of their ap-
13
pointment. Vacancies occurring on the
board council shall be filled
14 by appointment by the
governor as provided by law. The terms of
15 office of members
appointed to the council shall be prescribed by
16 the legislature,
but no such term of office shall be longer than six
17 years.
18
(c) Subsequent redistricting shall not
disqualify any member of
19 either board
from service for the remainder of his term. Any mem-
20 ber of
either the board or the council may
be removed from office
21 for cause as may be
provided by law.
22
§ 6. Finance. (a) The legislature may
levy a permanent tax for
23 the use and benefit of
state institutions of higher education and
24 apportion among and
appropriate the same to the several institu-
25 tions, which levy,
apportionment and appropriation shall continue
26 until changed by
statute. Further appropriation and other provision
27 for finance of
institutions of higher education may be made by the
28 legislature.
29 (b) The
legislature shall make suitable provision for finance of
30 the educational
interests of the state. No tuition shall be charged
31 for attendance at any
public school to pupils required by law to
32 attend such school,
except such fees or supplemental charges as
33 may be authorized by
law. The legislature may authorize the state
34 board of
regents Kansas council on higher education to
establish
35 tuition, fees and
charges at institutions under its control and su-
36 pervision.
37 (c) No
religious sect or sects shall control any part of the public
38 educational funds.
39
§ 7. Savings and transition
clause. (a) All laws in force at the
40 time of the adoption
of this amendment and consistent therewith
41 shall remain in full
force and effect until amended or repealed by
42 the legislature.
All laws inconsistent with this amendment,
unless
43 sooner
repealed or amended to conform with this amendment,
shall
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3
1 remain
in full force and effect until July 1, 1969.
2
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of the
constitution to
3 the
contrary, no state superintendent of public instruction or
county
4
superintendent of public instruction shall be elected after
January
5 1,
1967.
6
(c) The state perpetual school fund or any part
thereof may be
7 managed
and invested as provided by law or all or any part
thereof
8 may be
appropriated, both as to principal and income, to the
sup-
9 port of
the public schools supervised by the state board of
educa-
10 tion.
The legislature shall provide for the transition of
authority
11 from the state
board of regents to the Kansas council on higher
12 education on or
before July 1, 2000.''
13 Sec. 2. The
following statement shall be printed on the ballot with
14 the amendment as a whole:
15 ``Explanatory
statement. This amendment would require the leg-
16 islature to provide
for a Kansas council on higher education and to
17 provide for the
council's control and supervision or coordination of
18 public institutions of
higher education by July 1, 2000. The council
19 would have 11 members
appointed by the governor subject to con-
20 firmation by the
senate. Members would have overlapping terms of
21 office of up to six
years, as provided by law.
22 ``A vote for
this proposition would require the legislature to pro-
23 vide for a Kansas
council on higher education which would control
24 and supervise or
coordinate public institutions of higher education
25 by July 1, 2000, and
would remove the requirement for a state board
26 of regents.
27 ``A vote against
this proposition would retain the requirement for
28 a state board of
regents and for its control and supervision of state
29 universities and would
provide for the general supervision of com-
30 munity colleges,
technical colleges and vocational education schools
31 to remain with the
state board of education.''
32 Sec. 3. This
resolution, if approved by two-thirds of the members
33 elected (or appointed) and qualified to the
House of Representatives and
34 two-thirds of the members elected (or
appointed) and qualified to the
35 Senate, shall be entered on the journals,
together with the yeas and nays.
36 The secretary of state shall cause this
resolution to be published as pro-
37 vided by law and shall cause the proposed
amendment to be submitted
38 to the electors of the state at the general
election to be held on November
39 3, 1998.
40