TOPEKA, Kan. – A school funding bill is turning out to be the gift that keeps on giving for education reform and school choice advocates.

Last week, the Kansas Legislature passed House Bill 2506 that will increase K-12 funding by $129 million, as required by a recent state Supreme Court ruling.

Kansas’ conservative lawmakers didn’t like that court order, but they obeyed it – and even added a few sweeteners to the legislation.

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One such provision included in the bill – which is still awaiting Gov. Sam Brownback’s signature – will establish a tax-credit scholarship program to allow thousands of Kansas students to leave their failing government-run school for the private school of their choice.

If HB 2506 becomes law, as seems likely, the Sunflower State will become the 24th school choice state in the nation, according to Michael Chartier of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.

The potential program would “grant businesses a 70 percent tax credit on the amount they donate to nonprofits that award K-12 scholarships, up to an annual statewide cap of $10 million,” reports Heartland.org.

Tax-credit scholarships “are the most prevalent school choice option” in the U.S., partly because many courts have ruled that the scholarships are comprised of private money and, therefore, not overly subjected to government rules, Heartland.org notes.

As such, any K-12 nonpublic school in Kansas – even religious-based schools – will be eligible to receive the scholarship money for tuition, HutchPost.com reports.

The Kansas scholarship program would be open to students who attend a “failing school” – as designated by the state board of education – and who qualify for free lunch under the federal free and reduced-price lunch program, EdChoice.org reports.

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“A very conservative estimate suggests approximately 35,000 Kansas students could receive scholarships should the funding cap be met by business contributions,” EdChoice.org adds.

The scholarships would reportedly range from $5,000 to $8,000 each. That’s considerably less than the $9,700 Kansas taxpayers pay annually for each public school student.

So not only will the tax-credit scholarship give school choice options to families that couldn’t normally afford private school tuition, but it might help offset the extra $129 million the state has to send to its government schools, per the recent court order.

It’s worth remembering that HB 2506 also eliminates tenure protections for teachers, effectively making educators at-will employees (like the majority of Americans are). This provision has gotten the lion’s share of the media attention, though it might not have the long-term implications the scholarship program may have.

Ending tenure will only affect a small portion of educators; school choice will benefit an untold number of families for years to come.

HB 2506 officially landed on Gov. Brownback’s desk this past Monday, which means he until April 23 to decide whether or not to sign the bill into law, Kansas.com reports. While Brownback has given conflicting signals about his intentions, it’s widely expected the governor will affix his signature to the historic legislation.