School officials across central Kansas say a newly approved state education law could significantly impact Career and Technical Education programs, reducing funding for school districts, limiting free college credit opportunities and complicating long-standing partnerships between high schools and community colleges.
Leaders from Hutchinson Public Schools, Hutchinson Community College, Buhler USD 313 and Newton USD 373 all say changes tied to House Bill 2485 could force districts and colleges to rethink how workforce training programs operate beginning next school year.
During a recent interview, USD 308 Superintendent Dawn Johnson said the district is still working through the full impact of the legislation but acknowledged some students could lose access to free college credit opportunities tied to Career and Technical Education classes.
“One of the things is a student has to have a 2.0 GPA to get college credit for the course,” Johnson said. “Historically, career and tech ed classes… sometimes students who might have lower grades in some classes would excel in career and tech ed classes.”
Under the changes, students with less than a 2.0 GPA may still take the high school classes and earn industry certifications, but they will no longer qualify for state-paid college credit.
“They can still go to high school, they’re still going to get an industry certificate, they’re just not going to get college credit,” Johnson said. “They can pay for the college credit.”
Johnson said the restrictions appear tied to the state’s concerns over the growing cost of the program.
“I feel like what the state is saying is this was a great thing that we did in 2012, but it’s not financially sustainable,” she said. “I think this program… could be upwards of 60 million next year.”
The original legislation allowed Kansas high school students enrolled in approved Career and Technical Education courses to receive free college credit funded by the state. Johnson said participation has expanded dramatically since the program began.
“It’s grown from 3,800 students in 2012 to more than 18,000 students in the state of Kansas,” she said.
The bill also changes which technical programs qualify for state reimbursement. Programs tied to high-demand industries such as welding, construction and automotive technology would continue qualifying, while some business, marketing, hospitality and media-related pathways may no longer receive free college credit funding.
Johnson said Reno County’s collaborative system involving USD 308, Hutchinson Community College and surrounding school districts makes the changes especially complicated locally.
“We have built a career and tech ed center, and because we have 24 pathways, and because we’ve been able to create some courses that it doesn’t make any sense for the college to create, they’ll just send their kids and we’ll have a merged program,” Johnson said.
She noted some programs currently include both high school and college students learning together in the same facility.
“The house building program — high school and college kids at the same time,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t make sense for us to have a program and for the college to have the same program, and we’re literally in the same block.”
Johnson said the partnerships extend well beyond Hutchinson.
“We have 10 other school districts bringing their students into this program to have those trades,” she said. “We’ve done a good job with the partnerships, the collaboration, but this bill complicates how do we continue to do that in a way that’s good for kids.”
She emphasized modern Career and Technical Education programs are increasingly viewed as direct career pathways rather than alternative tracks for struggling students.
“This is identified as a really good career that kids want to do,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of companies that are looking for welders constantly.”
Johnson also raised concerns about another provision limiting instructors to teaching no more than 10 college credit hours.
“The bill basically stated that a teacher teaching college credit… can only teach up to 10 hours,” she said. “Once that 10-hour max is met, they just can’t get the college credit anymore.”
Dr. Tricia Paramore the President of Hutchinson Community College said the law will require adjustments for both colleges and school districts but said leaders are working to minimize disruptions for students and staff.
Under the new law, community colleges may pay high school instructors up to $600 per credit hour for concurrent classes, with payments capped at 10 college credit hours per semester. Colleges also must cover supplies, materials and coordination costs tied to those courses.
Paramore said the biggest challenges involve programs at the Hutchinson Career and Technical Education Academy, where some instructors currently teach far more than 10 college credit hours each semester. Programs potentially affected include construction, welding, machining, automotive and healthcare pathways.
The law also changes eligibility for Excel in CTE funding, formerly known as Senate Bill 155. Beginning next school year, only programs tied to the Kansas Promise Act list will qualify for state-paid tuition reimbursement.
Students enrolled in programs removed from the approved list will still be allowed to participate, but they would be required to pay the tuition themselves.
Cindy Couchman the Superintendent of Schools for Buhler USD 313 voiced similar concerns.
District officials estimated the law could cost the district between $125,000 and $150,000 annually in funding tied to technical education programs.
Administrators said the changes could reduce access to concurrent college-credit courses while placing new eligibility requirements on students, including a minimum 2.0 GPA and limiting CTE programs to juniors and seniors.
Buhler High School Principal Mike Ellengood said that the schedule for the fall is made, and that they may have students enrolled in classes and that because of the new 10 credit hour limit to teachers, some students may not be able to take the courses they have signed up for.
Couchman and Ellengood argued many students thrive specifically in hands-on technical programs such as welding, CNA, CAD and ag fabrication and warned the restrictions could negatively affect students who rely on those courses to build career skills and improve academically.
Officials also noted local employers including PrairieLand Partners, Superior Boiler, Collins Bus and Grasshopper continue searching for skilled workers trained through local Career and Technical Education partnerships.
Meanwhile, Newton USD 373 administrators say the law could create an even larger financial challenge for their district.
During a recent board discussion, Newton Superintendent Fred Dierksen said House Bill 2485 could eliminate more than $300,000 in annual funding the district previously received through partnerships tied to state “clock hour” funding generated by students enrolled in technical education programs.
According to Dierksen, Newton received approximately $317,000 through the arrangement last year, with previous years exceeding $360,000.
“The sections that I have highlighted up here, they prohibit that going forward,” Dierksen said. “Those clock hours are gone. Okay, they’re gone. We don’t get that anymore.”
The funding helped support programs such as welding, machining and automotive technology.
“So that essentially is over a $300,000 hole in our budget that we utilize on a lot of our CTE programs,” Dierksen said.
District officials stressed the issue is not simply financial, warning technical education programs cost substantially more to operate than traditional classroom courses because of equipment, supplies and facility needs.
“We get no vocational funding for any of those courses,” Dierksen said. “When you think about welding, you think about machining, you think about automotive, that costs a little bit more than it costs to run an English class.”
Board members and administrators also criticized the timing of the legislation, noting the law takes effect July 1 after districts had already begun scheduling students for next school year.
“This was a left-field, ‘Are you kidding me?’ type of thing,” Dierksen said. “It’s really kind of a big deal.”
Newton board member Ashley Hall expressed concern that districts operating regional programs are carrying disproportionate financial burdens.
“We are not a county school district, and we can no longer support these things on our dime for these out-of-school districts,” Hall said.
District officials said they are now discussing potential solutions with neighboring districts and community college leaders, including possible cost-sharing arrangements.
At the same time, board members emphasized they do not want students negatively impacted by decisions made at the state level.
“The students shouldn’t be punished for a decision made by grown-ups,” board member Mallory Carpender said.
A Kansas lawmaker defending House Bill 2485 said the legislation is intended to create more consistency and accountability in concurrent enrollment programs while also expanding literacy reforms and workforce development efforts statewide.
The lawmaker acknowledged concerns remain about how the funding changes could affect individual districts and said implementation issues could be revisited during the next legislative session.