Bill
HB 2176
HB 2176 requires private Kansas high schools to have their enrollment numbers boosted by multipliers tied to championships, boosting class placement with a one-class cap.
Status and timing
- Introduced: January 28, 2025 (Rep. Poetter Parshall).
- Current status: Referred to the House Committee on Education.
- Fiscal note issued: February 19, 2025 (Division of the Budget — indicates no fiscal effect per Department of Education and Kansas Association of School Boards).
- Sunset: The multiplier provisions expire June 30, 2030.
Purpose
- Require the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) to apply a numeric multiplier to the reported student attendance of all private high schools (grades 9–12) when determining school classifications for activities, with rules for how the multiplier is calculated and limits on reclassification.
Key provisions
- Multiplier application: Each private school's reported student attendance is multiplied by that school's multiplier factor; the resulting number is used for KSHSAA classification of activities.
- Cap on upward movement: A private school may be classified at most one class higher than it would be without the multiplier.
- Football exception: The multiplier may not be used to change a school's classification between six-person, eight-person, and 11-person football groupings.
- No appeal: A change in classification that results from applying the multiplier is not appealable.
- Championship multiplier (applies only to private schools that have won 5+ state championships in the preceding five school years):
- 5–9 championships: championship multiplier = 1.15
- 10+ championships: championship multiplier = 1.30
- Championship count = cumulative team state championships across all team activities in the prior five school years.
- Additional multipliers (only apply if championship multiplier applies):
- Geographic population multiplier (based on the public school attendance territory where the private school is physically located):
- Located in territory of a 5A or 6A public school: +0.30
- Located in territory of a 3A or 4A public school: +0.15
- Located in territory of a 1A or 2A public school: +0.00
- Socio-economic population multiplier (based on percent of students eligible for free/reduced-price meals):
- ≤ 20% FRL: +0.15
- > 20% FRL: +0.00
- If the private school does not collect/report FRL eligibility, it is treated as 0% eligible.
- Final multiplier: Sum of the championship, geographic, and socio-economic components.
Who is affected
- Primary: Private high schools (grades 9–12) in Kansas — those with a history of winning state championships are most likely to see larger multipliers and possible upward reclassification.
- Secondary: Public high schools and leagues — may face different competitive matchups or scheduling impacts if local private schools are moved to higher classes.
- KSHSAA: Required to implement the classification methodology and apply the multipliers in annual classification determinations.
Budgetary/procedural impact
- Division of the Budget fiscal note (Feb 19, 2025): Department of Education and Kansas Association of School Boards report no fiscal effect from enactment.
- The provision is time-limited (sunsets June 30, 2030), requiring legislative reauthorization to remain in force after that date.
Definitions (from bill)
- “Private school”: any non-unified-district school offering any grades 9–12.
- “Public school”: unified school district-operated school offering any grades 9–12.
Implication summary
- HB 2176 creates a rules-based mechanism to adjust private schools’ enrollment figures for classification, targeting schools with recent sustained competitive success for upward adjustment while capping movement to one class. The change aims to affect competitive balance in interscholastic activities but is limited in scope (time-limited, football exception) and, per the fiscal note, not expected to have state budget implications.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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