Updated Tuesday, 11:09 a.m.: Gov. Sam Brownback announced on his website that he is calling for a special session "to keep Kansas schools open, despite the Court’s threat to close them."
Kansas Democratic lawmakers are pushing their fellow legislators to call a special session to work on school funding. Generally, only the governor calls a special session, but state law says a petition from two-thirds of lawmakers can force the governor to make that call.
Late last month, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the current school funding system was unconstitutional and threatened to close schools if the problem wasn't fixed by June 30. Democratic state Sen. Anthony Hensley says their goal with the petition is to keep schools open.
“That’s why we’re here today," he says. "That’s why we’re promoting this petition drive, because we think it is absolutely imperative that the Legislature come back to town and deal with this problem."
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has not yet said if he’ll call a special session. The governor’s office says the petition, initially signed by just one lawmaker, won’t affect Brownback’s decision.
The governor and other Republican leaders have also said they want to avoid schools closing.
Read the text of the letter here:
