Topeka Buzz: February 12, 2026

Senate passes income verification for school meal funding (after rejecting five floor amendments)

Author

Jason Anderson
February 12, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes

Topeka Buzz 🐝
Thursday, February 12, 2026

School Meals Bill Divides Senate in Session's Tightest Vote

SB 387 passed the Kansas Senate in a narrow 22-18 vote Wednesday, after a contentious floor debate that drew five amendments and split the Republican caucus.

The bill does two big things. First, it requires school districts to collect written proof of household income before counting a student as "at-risk" for state funding purposes…even if that student already qualifies for free meals through other federal pathways. Second, it effectively freezes the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), the federal program that lets high-poverty schools serve free meals to all students, by requiring legislative sign-off before any Kansas school can participate. Senator Shane's adopted amendment restored direct certification as an acceptable verification method, a meaningful concession that lets students already confirmed eligible through SNAP or other federal programs skip the paperwork. But that was the only amendment the majority accepted.

The rejected amendments tell the story of how isolated the bill's supporters were willing to let critics get. Senator Claeys (R) twice tried to soften the bill — first by stripping the CEP restrictions entirely, then by adding a Legislative Post Audit study to evaluate whether the free lunch count is even the right way to measure at-risk need. Both failed. Senator Holscher (D) moved to gut the income verification requirement altogether, keeping only the reduced-price meal reimbursement. That failed too. Senator Schmidt's (D) amendment would have created a state fund to reimburse districts for the cost of all the new verification paperwork; Senator Peck (R) challenged it on germaneness, lost that argument, but the amendment was rejected anyway. Every Democrat voted no on final passage, joined by nine Republicans. The bill now heads to the House, where school funding mechanics and child nutrition politics will collide again.

New Bills Introduced

Senate

  • 🐝🐝 SB 504: The bill bans most post-employment noncompete clauses for Kansas physicians and mid-level clinicians, so they can continue patient care after leaving an employer. A narrow 24-month/15-mile exception allows a buyout for documented recruiting/relocation costs.

  • 🐝🐝 SB 506: Raises penalties for minors who repeatedly possess short‑barrel firearms and creates new 5-, 10-, 20‑year and lifetime bans on weapon possession for people with past convictions. Could increase felony filings and court costs.

  • 🐝🐝 SB 505: Caps ticket resale at face value plus fees unless the venue allows a higher price; bans selling or advertising tickets before they exist without venue permission; blocks misleading ticket-site URLs; violations become deceptive acts under Kansas consumer law.

House

  • 🐝🐝 HB 2774: Increases penalties when a public-facing worker is assaulted or battered while on the job, making some battery cases felonies and raising misdemeanor penalties for assault. Expands who counts as a public-facing worker (retail, transit, health, delivery, government, volunteers).

  • 🐝🐝 HB 2773: Starting with tax years beginning Jan. 1, 2027, this bill splits Kansas alcoholic liquor manufacturers into two tax groups: firms with more than $5M in Kansas property and more than $2M in Kansas payroll use a single-sales-factor; all others use a three-factor formula.

Floor Votes

Wednesday, February 11

Passage (17)

House (6)

Senate (11)

Amendment (2)

House (1)

Senate (1)

Committee Actions

Bills Reported Out

Agriculture and Natural Resources

  • SB 390 (bill be passed as amended): Starting 2027–28, K-12 schools in covered meal programs cannot serve reimbursable or free/reduced-price meals that contain specified additives (like BVO, titanium dioxide, and some artificial colors). Schools must certify compliance during inspections and fix violations.

Child Welfare and Foster Care

  • HB 2524 (bill be passed as amended): Stops foster families from losing their license just because a former foster youth living with them (age 18–25) has certain convictions. DCF can still review older youth or new offenses and applicants can appeal denials to the Secretary.

Commerce

  • SB 335 (bill be passed): SB335 requires public construction contracts to include a mutual waiver of consequential damages, limiting what owners and contractors can claim for downstream losses (like lost rent, revenue, or office costs). It may change bids and dispute outcomes.

Education

  • HB 2663 (bill be passed): If districts miss set goals, their at-risk aid growth could be reduced starting in 2030-31. The bill moves the required cohort from 3rd to 4th grade, gives districts more choice in cohorts, and focuses four-year goals on ELA and/or math.

  • SB 341 (bill be passed as amended): Creates statewide rules for college courses taught in high schools. Colleges must buy materials when districts don’t and pay a set per-credit supplement to teachers (starting 2026), while limiting other compensation.

Elections

  • HB 2503 (bill be passed): Removes the option to hold many local elections by mail, moving them back to regular or in-person election dates. Affects county extension council votes, bond and tax measures, annexations, and other local referenda.

Federal and State Affairs

  • SB 391 (bill be passed): SB391 bars cities and counties from requiring landlords to rent to people whose rent comes from Housing Choice Vouchers or other voluntary assistance. It also blocks local limits on screening, security deposits, and tenant first-refusal rules.

  • SB 65 (bill be passed as amended): Irrigation districts over 35,000 acres can choose mail-ballot elections for board members (except the first election) and boards can set director terms at 2–4 years. Districts mail, count, and pay for ballots; results are certified to the county.

Financial Institutions and Pensions

  • HB 2590 (bill be passed): Married couples may put assets into Kansas community property trusts that treat trust property as community property during marriage; trustees get new powers and trusts can limit beneficiary notice and set rules at death or divorce.

  • HB 2591 (bill be passed): Allows Kansas banks and credit unions to report suspected financial exploitation of adult account holders to law enforcement or DCF, notify a trusted contact, and place temporary holds on transactions; provides liability protection for good‑faith actions.

Insurance

  • HB 2602 (bill be passed): Kansas bill creates voluntary portable benefit accounts for independent contractors and allows hiring parties to contribute or set up opt-in withholding. It adds state income tax subtractions for certain contributions starting tax year 2027.

Judiciary

  • HB 2357 (substitute bill be passed): Seals eviction court files for many renters when a case is filed, limits who can share that information, and lets tenants seek e-expungement after 3 years; courts must consider mediation and allow remote appearances.

  • HB 2444 (bill be passed as amended): Makes people who commit new felonies while on felony supervision more likely to go to prison and face higher secured bonds. Also stops counting the same jail days more than once when sentences run back-to-back.

  • HB 2614 (bill be passed): Keeps crime victim compensation records private but allows the board to share specific records with law enforcement, prosecutors, or DCF for child abuse/neglect or fraud investigations. Courts can privately review records and only release them if it’s safe.

  • HB 2613 (bill be passed): The Crime Victims Compensation Board will set and pay for sexual assault medical-forensic exams so victims are not billed and counties no longer must cover the cost. The board can make rules and use the state victims fund to pay these fees.

  • SB 413 (bill be passed): Stops attorneys from telling juries specific dollar amounts, ranges, formulas, or per‑day estimates when asking for pain and suffering or other noneconomic damages. Affects trial lawyers, injured parties, insurers, and trial tactics.

Public Health and Welfare

  • SB 448 (bill be passed): Allows providers to give antibiotics to a patient’s sexual partners without examining those partners for certain STDs when partners are unlikely to seek care. Requires patient counseling and KDHE-written materials; limits use to identifiable partners exposed within 60 days.

Taxation

  • HB 2408 (bill be passed as amended): The bill tells county appraisers to include land-lease restrictions from county-recognized community land trusts when setting property tax values. CLT homeowners may see lower or more stable tax assessments; local revenue effects are likely small.

Transportation

  • HB 2606 (bill be passed): Changes the definition of “conviction” for Kansas commercial driver’s licenses to include certain court and administrative outcomes (like bail forfeiture, pleas, or paid fines). Affects CDL holders, employers, and state reporting.

  • HB 2615 (bill be passed): The bill names the stretch of US‑75 in Montgomery County from the US‑166 junction to the Kansas–Oklahoma border the Brig Gen George H Wark memorial highway and updates the Purple Heart/Combat Wounded Veterans Highway route; KDOT will install signs.

  • HB 2605 (bill be passed as amended): Designates the stretch of U.S. Highway 36 through Phillipsburg as the “deputy sheriff undersheriff Brandon Gaede memorial highway” and directs KDOT to install memorial signs after required steps. No changes to traffic rules or access.

Bills Referred

Assessment and Taxation

  • SCR 1621: This proposed constitutional amendment would ban all state and local property taxes in Kansas after Dec. 31, 2027, with a possible phased elimination in 2026–27. It does not specify how to replace the lost funding for schools, cities, counties, or special districts.

Commerce

  • HB 2466: Extends Kansas’ angel investor tax credit program through tax year 2031, keeping current credit rules, limits, and transfer mechanisms. The state could forgo up to $8 million per year if credits are fully used.

Education

  • HB 2487: If a parent works in K-12 as a teacher or paraprofessional, this bill clarifies which jobs count for the Kansas education opportunity scholarship and requires a school administrator to certify the employment.

Federal and State Affairs

  • SB 503: Kansas would remove the state felony for owning, selling, or making firearm suppressors, so people would no longer face state criminal charges just for suppressor possession or transfer. Federal rules under the National Firearms Act still apply.

  • SB 502: Lets the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission adopt a set of permanent sports wagering rules. This would let regulators finalize enforceable standards that affect betting companies and Kansas bettors; it takes effect when published in the Kansas Register.

  • HB 2438: Limits online voter registration to .gov websites or sites approved by the Kansas Secretary of State, adds security and data-use rules, and makes using or operating unapproved registration sites a misdemeanor. Rules must be adopted by Jan. 1, 2027.

Judiciary

  • HB 2243: When Kansas DCF investigates a child-in-need-of-care case and a parent is military at certain installations, the department must refer the family to a military family advocacy program and set up MOUs with specified bases. Referrals do not limit DCF’s protective powers.

  • SB 506: Raises penalties for minors who repeatedly possess short‑barrel firearms and creates new 5-, 10-, 20‑year and lifetime bans on weapon possession for people with past convictions. Could increase felony filings and court costs.

  • SB 505: Caps ticket resale at face value plus fees unless the venue allows a higher price; bans selling or advertising tickets before they exist without venue permission; blocks misleading ticket-site URLs; violations become deceptive acts under Kansas consumer law.

  • SB 501: Requires every Kansas law enforcement agency to adopt clear anti‑biased policing policies within a year, train officers, publish annual reports to the Attorney General, and makes direct policy violations a misdemeanor.

Local Government, Transparency and Ethics

  • HB 2433: HB 2433 gives state regulators authority over water transfers and stops counties from requiring local permits, fees, or extra conditions for most water appropriations. Counties still control zoning and sanitary rules for home (domestic) wells.

Public Health and Welfare

  • HB 2478: The bill clarifies that advanced practice registered nurses and registered nurse anesthetists must be included in criminal-history and fingerprint checks when applying for Kansas nursing licenses. Applicants may face fingerprinting, processing time, and a Board-set fee.

  • SB 504: The bill bans most post-employment noncompete clauses for Kansas physicians and mid-level clinicians, so they can continue patient care after leaving an employer. A narrow 24-month/15-mile exception allows a buyout for documented recruiting/relocation costs.

  • HB 2533: Expands access to occupational therapy by letting licensed Kansas OTs and OTAs use an interstate compact to practice in other member states. It requires background checks, data sharing, fees, and lets remote states regulate practice.

  • HB 2534: Creates a Respiratory Care Interstate Compact so Kansas respiratory therapists with an active home license and NBRC credential can practice in other member states. Keeps state licensing power but adds data sharing, fees, and reporting rules.

Transportation

  • HB 2542: Designates a stretch of U.S. Highway 56 in Morton County as the "Bill Tucker memorial highway" and directs KDOT to install memorial signs after required steps. The change is honorary and does not affect traffic rules or road management.

  • HB 2467: Old failures to appear or pay on traffic citations more than five years old can no longer be used to suspend or restrict a Kansas driver’s license. The DMV must mail people notice if their suspension may be eligible to end; the rule can apply retroactively.

Bills Re-referred

Judiciary

  • HB 2460: Allows lawmakers, certain elected officials, and longtime justice employees to ask that government websites hide their home address or property ownership info. Agencies must act within 10 business days; restrictions last 5 years and can be renewed.

  • HB 2357: Seals eviction court files for many renters when a case is filed, limits who can share that information, and lets tenants seek e-expungement after 3 years; courts must consider mediation and allow remote appearances.

Ways and Means

  • SCR 1612: Expands the Kansas Legislature’s power to borrow and pledge the state’s full faith, credit, and taxing power; it does not create debt now. Voters will decide the proposed constitutional change at the August 2025 primary (or earlier special election).

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