Weekly Update

April 12, 2024

A generation questions the value of college

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “How Gen Z Is Becoming the Toolbelt Generation," which has sparked a national conversation around the value of traditional college. Even Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs jumped in, saying, "We have been told, ‘You’re screwed if you don’t get a four-year degree’; it’s literally the opposite."

According to the WSJ article, the number of students enrolling in construction trades programs has risen 23% since 2018, and this trend is not just driven by concerns about the cost and value of a college education. The perception of skill trades is changing, and more young workers are attracted to the tangible, hands-on nature of these jobs.

The WSJ article points out that the hardest-skilled trade jobs to fill are those that require college degrees, like controls engineers. So, the point is not for students to ditch the idea of a four-year degree completely. However, many students and families are trying to figure out if a college degree will pay off.

HEA Group, a research and consulting group focused on college access and success, finds that while college graduates typically out-earn non-college graduates, many schools fail to ensure their students receive decent incomes post-graduation.

They report, “Over a thousand institutions (1,022) show the majority of their students failing to earn as much as a typical high school graduate 10 years after they’ve enrolled. Less than half of schools (44%) show an earning premium of $10,000 or more for those who attended.”

Understanding market outcomes

Burning Glass Institute and Strada Education Foundation published a study titled “Talent Disrupted,” using data from online career histories and census microdata to understand the job market outcomes of college graduates in the first decade after graduation. The study found that despite the overall value of a college degree, there is no guarantee of employment in a college-level job after graduation.

They made four recommendations for policymakers, colleges and universities, and students:

Enable every college student to access at least one paid internship.
Ensure everyone can access clear employment outcomes by college and degree program with earnings and occupation data included.
Provide quality education-to-employment coaching to every college student.
Ensure that every student can access degree programs that lead to well-compensated college-level employment.

College offers invaluable opportunities for self-discovery, professional growth, and networking, but its hefty price tag warrants careful consideration. Families have more options than ever to weigh the benefits against the costs, and current market demands have provided students with numerous career and education options.

About Aligned

Aligned is the only state-wide non-profit, nonpartisan business group working in Kansas and Missouri on educational issues impacting the full development of our children, from supporting high-quality early learning to solid secondary programs that provide rigorous academic programs and real-world learning opportunities.

Our vision is that our public education systems in Kansas and Missouri have the resources and flexibility to prepare students to pursue the future of their choice.

We are currently focused on education policies that will strengthen early childhood education, teacher recruitment and retention, and school finance reform.

Learn more about our work.

Missouri News

House experiments with a short and sweet week

House members proved that a two-day workweek can be productive. Despite taking Monday off to enjoy eclipse viewing festivities and leaving town early Thursday, they managed to perfect eleven bills on Tuesday and Wednesday related to antibulling policies, civil proceedings, prior authorization of healthcare, and water exportation.

Action in the Missouri Senate was relatively uneventful, except for one significant development. On Tuesday, the Senate engaged in a 12-hour debate over a House bill aimed at prohibiting public funding, including Missouri Medicaid funding, for abortion facilities and affiliates (Planned Parenthood). The discussion stalled when Democratic Senator Tracy McCreery proposed that would amend the definition of “unborn children” to exclude human embryos created through in vitro fertilization prior to successful implantation in the uterus.

Democrats held the floor for hours trying to get a vote on the amendment; however, the bill's handler, Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman, ended that attempt when she withdrew the initial Senate substitute and introduced a new one. The new substitute passed by a vote of 23-10 along party lines.

The passage of this bill may ease the discussions around SB 748, the hospital provider tax known as the Federal Reimbursement Allowance (FRA), which the General Assembly must pass to fund the state’s Medicaid program and avoid putting a multi-billion dollar hole in the state budget.

Standings So Far:

House Third Read Bills: 89 (including 18 Budget bills)
Senate Third Read Bills: 35

House Committee Activity

Lottery Proceeds - On Tuesday, the House Special Committee on Tax Reform heard HJR 74 (Griffith), which, upon voter approval, changes the allocation of state revenue generated from gaming activities to be dedicated solely to fund public elementary, secondary, and higher education, dividing the proceeds 90% to education and 10% to the Missouri Veterans Commission.

Administration of State Contracts - On Tuesday, the House Special Committee on Government Accountability passed HB 2803 (Lewis), which allows DESE and DSS to contract directly with private or nonprofit providers of certain programs and services rather than require the use of a third-party administrative agent, and limits the percentage of any grant award an administrative agent can retain for administration, by a vote of 10-5.

Education Stabilization Fund - On Wednesday, the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee passed HB 1758 (Pollitt), which proposes establishing an "education stabilization fund" within the state treasury subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. For any fiscal year revenue collections that fall below the consensus calculation estimate on which the appropriation for public education is based, the Governor may transfer funds to the foundation formula by a vote of 15-0.

High School Athlete Compensation - On Wednesday, the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee passed HB 2562 (Gregory), which establishes provisions extending eligibility for a high school student-athlete to earn compensation for the use of the Name, Image, or Likeness if they have signed a letter of intent with an accredited university or college and intend to participate in athletics sponsored by the signing institution, by a vote of 13-2.

Driver's Education - On Wednesday, the House Special Committee on Technology & Innovation passed HB 1688 (Reedy), which requires DESE to develop a required online Driver's Education course for students to complete between the grades of 10 and 12 by a vote of 7-0.

Senate Committee Activity

Pre-K / Early Childhood Funding - On Tuesday, the Senate Select Committee on Empowering Missouri Parents and Children heard HB 1486 (Shields), which removes a cap on the number of students who can be counted toward a school district's enrollment for reimbursement in pre-Kindergarten programs based on free and reduced lunch eligibility.

Media Literacy, Critical Thinking & Appropriate Online Behavior - On Tuesday, the Senate Select Committee on Empowering Missouri Parents and Children heard SB 1311 (Trent), which requires DESE to develop a two-year "media literacy and critical thinking" pilot program for participation by five to seven diverse school districts across the state beginning in the 2025-26 school year with the purpose of promoting a student's ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and participate in all forms of media with an emphasis on appropriate online behavior.

Enrollment of Nonresident Students - On Tuesday, the Senate Select Committee on Empowering Missouri Parents and Children heard HB 1989 (Pollitt), which authorizes the enrollment of nonresident pupils in public schools, subject to school district participation.

Reports

Read our full, unabridged legislative report here.

See all tracked legislation here.

Budget Update

Senator Lincoln Hough, the appropriations chair, announced that he will not hold any budget hearings until the Senate passes SB 748, which renews the sunset on the Federal Reimbursement Allowance. As we wrote above, the passage of HB 2634 (Smith) out of the Senate was a necessary first step. Once the FRA has passed, we expect the Senate will begin crafting its version of the FY2025 budget. With only five weeks of session remaining, some speculate that meeting the Constitutional budget deadline of May 1oth may be in jeopardy.

In other news

Aligned Priority Bills Report for Missouri

SB 727, which includes numerous education-related provisions and Aligned policy priorities, is now on the House Calendar - Senate Bills for Third Reading.

Early Childhood Education and Childcare

Free and voluntary Pre-K for all students who qualify for free- and reduced lunch

HB 1486 (Shields) - Hearing conducted in Select Committee on Empowering Parents and Children - 4/9/24.
SB 871 (Eslinger) -Removed from Senate Hearing Agenda - Senate Select Committee on Empowering Missouri Parents and Children. 3/26/24. NO CHANGE
SB 727 (Koenig) - Education omnibus with ESA's as underlying bill and Pre-K expansion included. Reported Do Pass from Rules-Regulatory Oversight scheduled for 4/11/24.

Childcare tax credit package

HB 1488 (Shields) - Placed on Senate Informal Calendar. 4/10/24.
SB 742 (Arthur) - Placed on Senate Informal Calendar 2/27/24. NO CHANGE.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

Differentiated Pay

HB 1447 (Lewis) - Placed on Informal Calendar on 4/3/24. NO CHANGE.
SB 727 (Koenig) - Education omnibus with ESA's as underlying bill and Pre-K expansion included. Reported Do Pass from Fiscal Review on 4-11-24.

School Finance Reform

Alternative Poverty Metric

SB 1080 (Arthur) - referred to Senate - Select Committee on Empowering Parents and Children on 1/25/24. NO CHANGE.

Other education legislation

Open Enrollment

HB 1989 (Pollitt) - Hearing Conducted in Senate - Select Committee on Empowering Parents and Children on 4/9/24.

Accountability Measures

HB 2184 (Haffner) - Scheduled for Hearing - House Rules Regulatory Oversight on 4-15-24.
SB 1366 (Trent) - Voted Do Pass as substituted. 2/21/24. NO CHANGE.

See the status of all Aligned priority bills here.

Kansas News

In the wee small hours of the morning

The Kansas Legislature adjourned the regular part of the 2024 Legislative Session around 2:30 am last Saturday after voting to suspend the midnight rule and continue its work. Before leaving for a three-week spring break, lawmakers spent several long days and nights in conference committees and on the floor approving bills to send to the Governor's desk.

However, the key to First Adjournment is always passing a budget bill. When legislators return for the Veto Session on April 29, they will have received the April Consensus Revenue Estimating Group's new projections and can adjust the "omnibus" budget then. Sine Die has been set for April 30, leaving only two days for veto overrides and wrapping up outstanding conference committee reports.

Tax issues dominated the headlines this past week in what some described as political chess between the House and Senate. Below is a recap, as well as where several other key issues stand.

Legislature Passes Tax Cuts for Kansans

Shortly before adjournment, the legislature approved the fifth version of a mega tax cut bill, now headed to Governor Laura Kelly’s desk.

The session-long battle has been between Republican leadership’s desire to move to a single-rate income tax vs. the current three-bracket system supported by the Governor. House Bill 2036 landed between a two-tier structure with the bottom rate eliminated.

The final agreement passed on Saturday does the following:

Lowers the top income tax rate from 5.7% to 5.55% for single filers earning up to $23,000, lowers the second rate from 5.25% to 5.15% for single filers earning up to $15,000, and eliminates the bottom bracket.
Fully eliminates the income tax on social security benefits.
Accelerates the full elimination of the sales tax on food to July 1, 2024.
Reduces the statewide school levy from 20 mills to 19.5 mills.
Increases the residential property tax exemption from the mill rate from $42,000 to $100,000.
Increases the personal tax exemption for single filers from $2,250 to $9,160 and $2,320 for dependents.
Increases the standard deduction by 3%, making it $3,605 for single filers.
Abolishes the Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction and County and City Revenue Sharing Funds

Despite the House passing the bill unanimously and the Senate 24-9, no one is 100% thrilled with the final proposal. However, it allows legislators to go home to their constituents with a vote on tax cuts in a critical election year.

HB 2036 is estimated to cost the state roughly $1.55 billion over three years. Governor Kelly has publicly asked for a lower fiscal note, so it’s unclear to many whether she will sign it and whether the legislature can override her if she doesn’t.

Senate Bill 28 passed the legislature before adjournment and includes a budget for FY 2025 of $25 billion, including $10.4 billion for the State General Fund (SGF). Overall funding is slightly lower than last year. Legislators will consider an Omnibus budget during the Veto Session. Key items in SB 28 include:

$10.0 million for small-town infrastructure assistance grants to support technical assistance and drinking water and sewer system upgrades for towns with populations less than 1,000.
$36.0 million to continue developing Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul of airplanes at the airports in Salina ($35.0 million with a $1 for $1 match) and Topeka ($1.0 million).
$48.3 million, including $18.6 million SGF, to increase the average reimbursement rate for agency-directed personal care services on the Frail Elderly (FE) waiver to $30 per hour.
$45.8 million, including $17.8 million SGF, to add 500 slots each to the I/DD (Intellectual & developmental disabilities) waiver and the PD (physical disability) waiver.
$75.0 million SGF to construct a new cancer research facility at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
$25.0 million SGF for a state match for the Kansas State University (KSU) Ag Innovation Initiative.
$10.0 million SGF for the Career Campus match for the Lansing Correctional Facility.
$5.0 million, all from the Public Use General Aviation Airport Development Fund, will increase support for the Kansas Airport Improvement Program, which grants grants to airports to maintain runways and facilities. This is financed by a transfer from the State Highway Fund.
$18.0 million, all from federal ARPA funds, for the 2026 World Cup games for FY 2026.

State General Fund spending over the next three years is projected to increase from $10.3 billion to $10.8 billion. Ending balances are projected to remain positive for the foreseeable future, with the ending balance in FY27 projected to be $1.7 billion.

Additional Items of Interest for Veto Session

Here are a few education bills expected to have additional debate during the Veto Session on April 29th and 30th.

Childcare: Senate Bill 96 establishes and updates the law regulating childcare centers and childcare homes, establishes the Kansas Office of Early Childhood, modifies license capacity and staff-to-child ratios, and establishes staffing requirements, including professional development training. The conference committee report passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate.

Education Budget: Senate Bill 387 provides funding for K-12 education. The first bill, which required money from other specific weightings to be used for special education, was sent back to the committee. The conference committee met and agreed upon a second bill, which is awaiting action during the Veto Session.

Key 2024 Legislative Deadlines

April 29 - Veto Session begins

In other news

Marie Watkins Oliver to be honored in Hall of Famous Missourians. PHOTO CREDIT: Missouri State History of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Oliver headed to Hall of Famous Missourians

On Monday, the Missouri House will induct the bust of Marie Watkins Oliver into the Hall of Famous Missourians. Oliver is hailed as the "Betsy Ross of Missouri" as she played a crucial role in designing the Missouri state flag.

She was born Marie Oliver on Jan. 11, 1854, in Ray County and graduated from Richmond College. She died in 1944 at the age of 90. This honor comes more than 100 years after Missouri adopted her flag design.

According to the Southeast Missourian, "The original flag was designed on paper, and was introduced to the Missouri Legislature in 1909, but did not pass out of the House of Representatives. In 1911, the original flag was destroyed when the Capitol building burned. Marie Oliver then again set to work making another flag, which was finally approved as the official Missouri flag in 1913, when another nephew, Charles C. Oliver, representative of Cape Girardeau County in the General Assembly, introduced the bill."

Marie Watkins Oliver is the great-great-grandmother of Aligned board member David Oliver.

All our best,