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Minutes for SB406 - Committee on Education
Short Title
Directing the governor to approve eligible programs for workforce Pell grants and providing requirements for the state workforce development board with regard to eligibility, approval and financing of such programs.
Minutes Content for Mon, Feb 9, 2026
Chairman Erickson opened the hearing on SB406.
Tamera Lawrence, Assistant Revisor, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, gave an overview of the bill. (Attachment 5)
Proponents:
Heather Morgan, Executive Director, Kansas Association of Community Colleges, said this bill proposes amendments to the Kansas Promise Scholarship Program to update the program in light of the recent change in how developmental education is delivered in Kansas. To provide background relevant to this bill, it is helpful to distinguish between remedial education and co-requisite education. Remedial is often called Developmental Education where co-requisite addresses academic gaps through additional support alongside enrollment of the college-level coursework.
Under current Kansas Promise Scholarship policy, remedial courses are not covered by scholarship funds unless they are offered in a designated co-requisite format and required as part of an eligible program. Functionally, the difference in policy is likely to eliminate paying for a five-hour entry level math or English course if the student's academic preparation would indicate that they need additional support to be able to succeed in a traditional three hour section of these courses. One policy could be to simply not pay for the two extra credits. (Attachment 6)
Christian Barnard, Visiting Fellow, FGA Action, reported that this federal reform will only benefit Kansas students if the state implements it quickly and effectively. This bill ensures Kansas is ready by establishing clear responsibilities for the Kansas Workforce Board and creating a pathway for approving as many high-quality programs as possible and leverages the state's existing workforce development infrastructure and casts a wide net for quality programs, positioning Kansas for prompt, effective implementation. (Attachment 7)
Chairman Erickson closed the hearing on SB406.
