School voucher tax credit expansion clears Kansas House in partisan 70-49 vote

TOPEKA — The Kansas House passed HB 2468 on Thursday, expanding the aggregate tax credit limit for contributions to scholarship granting organizations that help fund private school tuition. The bill passed 70-49, with Republicans voting in favor and Democrats uniformly opposed.

Reps. Linda Featherston, D-Leavenworth, and Mari-Lynn Poskin, D-De Soto, argued in their explanation of vote that "until special education is fully funded, we should not be diverting public money from the schools that serve ninety percent of Kansas children." Reps. Lynn Melton, D-Wichita, and Melissa Oropeza, D-Kansas City, went further, saying they would not support "tax credits for white collar workers and millionaires until we have provided significant relief for everyday Kansans."

The bill is part of a broader national push by Republican legislatures to expand school choice programs, often through tax-credit-funded scholarship mechanisms that critics call vouchers by another name. Kansas Republicans argue the credits empower families, while Democrats say the state's constitutional obligation to fund public schools — particularly special education — must come first.

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