Kansas lawmakers may comply with a court ruling over school funding when they begin their special session next week, but they could also take a swipe at the courts in the process. The Legislature’s leaders want to avoid a school shutdown in a legal fight over school funding, but some lawmakers are not happy with the Kansas Supreme Court ruling on the matter, calling it judicial over-reach. Patrick Miller, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, says Republican lawmakers have already started a campaign to remove several Supreme Court justices during the upcoming election. Miller says that means there could be attacks against the court as part of the final school funding proposal.
Governor Brownback has said there may have to be other policy issues offered to get enough lawmakers on board to pass a solution to the school funding stand-off. There's already been a constitutional amendment proposed that would block the courts from closing schools in the future. The Legislature returns to Topeka June 23 for a special session focused on school funding issues.