Governor Laura Kelly told a joint session of the Kansas Legislature she will again fully fund public schools and vowed to oppose any effort to divert public-school dollars to private schools.

"My budget proposal this year will again, for the seventh consecutive year, fully fund our public schools," Kelly said. "I will continue to reject any attempt, no matter what it looks like, to reroute public taxpayer dollars to private schools."

Kelly cited a recent $75 million state investment in special education — described in her address as the largest single-year investment in state history — and said that investment puts Kansas on track to fully fund special education by the 2028–29 school year. She also praised the bipartisan "Blueprint for Literacy," an initiative she said was championed by former state senator Molly Baumgartner and Dr. Cynthia Lane, who stepped down from the Kansas Board of Regents to direct the new effort. The governor said the blueprint aims to bring 90 percent of students to the reading benchmark by 2033.

On childhood hunger, Kelly proposed offering free school lunches to more than 35,000 Kansas students, many in rural areas, and invited Connie Voatz — identified during the address as director of nutrition services for USD 480 in Liberal and president of the Kansas School Nutrition Association — to the chamber. Kelly said 87 percent of students in USD 480 qualify for free or reduced-price meals and that expanding free lunches would reduce stigma and streamline administration for districts.

Kelly framed continued school funding, literacy work and nutrition support as part of preparing children for long-term success and preserving the Kansas way of life.