Kansas lawmakers want tuition refunds for college classes put online due to COVID
Kansas lawmakers want to refund tuition to college students who lost class time or were forced into online courses as a result of the pandemic.
A House panel amended the state’s higher education budget Wednesday to require that colleges, community colleges and technical schools reimburse students for 50% of the tuition paid every day they spent online instead of in the classroom. The amendment would reimburse at 100% for days that students missed class entirely.
The move is the latest in a string of actions taken by lawmakers to show their disdain for online learning in colleges and k-12 schools
Another House committee has approved a measure that, if passed by the House and Senate, would allow parents of k-12 students with at least 120 consecutive hours of online instruction to use their state per-pupil funding on private schools through an education savings account.
Lawmakers have expressed concern that students are falling behind academically and suffering psychologically in online school.
“I’ve talked to many parents who tell me that their kids aren’t learning, that several of them watch their kids cheat on their final exams because they take it together,” said Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Stillwell Republican who introduced the amendment.
Kansas colleges finished their spring semester online last March as the coronavirus began to spread. They’ve adjusted schedules and kept some courses online in an effort to limit new infections.
“It wasn’t something they by any means chose to do, it’s something they felt they had to do. It was a safety measure,” said Rep. Barbara Ballard, a Lawrence Democrat who teaches at KU.
“They were scrambling just like everyone else.”
Using federal relief funds, colleges have already refunded students some fees for lost housing and food services.
Any further refunds would involve thousands of students. Though an exact cost is unknown, it would likely run into the millions, stretching a proposed budget that already assumes a 5.5% cut in higher education.
Some students are already asking for and receiving these refunds.
Over the summer, a Kansas State student filed a lawsuit seeking a tuition refund. Such actions have been filed nationwide. Louisiana passed a bill last year requiring some refunds and New York is considering a similar measure, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Starting point
Members of the House Appropriations committee described their own children’s pandemic-era experiences, arguing that colleges are not providing the education students have paid for.
“Our families are crying for help, they don’t understand it,” Tarwater, the Stillwell Republican, said. “It seems like everybody’s been made whole in this except for the families.”
The Higher Education Budget must be approved as part of the state’s overall budget and pass through the full House and Senate with the governor’s signature. Committee members said Tuesday that they expected details of the refunds to be worked out along the way.
Like much of the state’s budget, the financial impact will be unclear until officials know how much Kansas will receive in the next round of federal stimulus spending.
The Board of Regents did not immediately respond to The Star’s request for comment, but institutions have warned of impending cuts and layoffs under the existing budget.
“It was reckless,” Rep. Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat. “We literally just made a decision to wreck the budgets of our universities without allowing them to testify.”
“We can’t rely on the federal government, we have an obligation as a state to support our universities.”
Tarwater said he would coordinate with the Board of Regents, which governs the state’s colleges, before they are called before the committee in the coming weeks to testify on the issue.
“This is a discussion starter,” Rep. Susan Humphries, a Wichita Republican, said. “A lot of the details still need to be worked out but this holds the regents and the universities, holds their feet to the fires so they know we’re serious about the monies.”
The Star’s Mará Rose Williams contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 2:34 PM.
