SESSION OF 2025
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT BRIEF
SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 45
As Agreed to March 25, 2025
Brief*
Sub. for SB 45 would establish a statutory calculation, for purposes of accreditation, of the
four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate for each school district and any schools within the
district, including virtual.
Graduation Calculation Rate
The bill would require, for purposes of accreditation, a school district to calculate the four-
year adjusted cohort graduation rate for the school district and the district’s schools, including
virtual schools, and exclude students who:
●Had not earned sufficient credits to be expected to graduate in the same school year
as the student’s cohort at the time that the student transferred to and enrolled in the
school or school district; or
●Were enrolled in the school or school district but subsequently transferred to a non-
accredited private school in Kansas or another state.
Repealed Graduation Calculation
The bill would repeal the current statutory four-year adjusted cohort calculation for only
virtual schools that is found in KSA 72-3713.
[Note: The current calculation is similar to the one described above but does not allow for
the exclusion of students in a virtual school who transferred to a non-accredited private school.]
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*Conference committee report briefs are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express
legislative intent. No summary is prepared when the report is an agreement to disagree. Conference committee
report briefs may be accessed on the Internet at https://klrd.gov/
1 - 45 Conference Committee Action
The Conference Committee agreed to the provisions of Sub. for SB 45, as recommended
by the Senate Committee on Education. The Conference Committee further agreed to amend
the bill to clarify which students would be excluded from the graduation rate calculation, as
follows:
●Any student who had not earned sufficient credits to be expected to graduate in the
same school year as the student’s cohort at the time that the student transferred to
and enrolled in the school or school district; or
●Any student who was enrolled in the school or school district but subsequently
transferred to a non-accredited private school in Kansas or another state.
Background
The bill was introduced by the Senate Committee on Education at the request of Senator
Thomas.
Senate Committee on Education
In the Senate Committee hearing, proponent testimony was provided by a representative
of the Insight School of Kansas. The proponent stated that the bill would help virtual schools by
treating a student who transfers from the virtual school to a non-accredited private school the
same as if the student had transferred between brick and mortar schools by removing the
students from the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate. The proponent said currently those
students remain as part of the cohort and so virtual schools are penalized by graduation rates
appearing to be lower than they may actually be.
Opponent testimony was provided by a representative of the Kansas Association of
School Boards. The opponent stated that the organization supports the authority of the State
Board of Education regarding matters of accreditation. Additionally, the opponent stated that the
bill would create a double standard where virtual schools would be able to calculate their four-
year adjusted cohort graduation rates differently than allowed for brick and mortar schools when
calculating their four-year adjusted cohort graduation rates.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by the State Board of Education.
No other testimony was provided.
The Senate Committee amended the bill to make the four-year adjusted cohort graduation
rate applicable to all schools, not just virtual schools, and to remove references to
“homeschooling” and placed the amended contents into a substitute bill. [Note: The Conference
Committee retained these amendments.]
2 - 45 House Committee on Education
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony was provided by a representative
of the Insight School of Kansas, who stated that the graduation rates of Kansas virtual schools
are negatively impacted when students transfer to homeschooling or non-accredited private
schools, and these graduation rates could impact the virtual school’s accreditation status.
Neutral testimony was provided by a representative of the Kansas Association of School
Boards, who noted the State Board of Education’s authority to set accreditation standards and
requested that the Committee maintain parity in how schools are treated for the purposes of
accreditation.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by a representative of the State Board of
Education, who indicated the bill would require the calculation of two different graduation rates
for every school district in the state: one in accordance with federal law and one under the bill.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to clarify that the graduation rate would be
determined by excluding students who:
●Transferred to and enrolled in the school or district after completing grade eight and
who had not earned sufficient credits to be expected to graduate in the same school
year as the student’s cohort at the time the student first enrolled in the school; and
●Were enrolled in the school but subsequently transferred to a non-accredited private
school in Kansas or another state.
[Note: The Conference Committee did not retain these amendments.]
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of the Budget on the bill, as
introduced, the State Department of Education indicates that enactment of the bill would have
no fiscal effect.
Education; K-12; graduation rate; virtual schools
ccrb_sb45_01_032525.odt
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