TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A special legislative committee studying options for reformatting K-12 public education funding in Kansas is preparing to review conflicting research studies.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the 15-member committee’s task is to lay the foundation of a new school finance formula.

The Kansas Policy Institute is pushing a report that points to the inability of the state’s $3.6 billion program targeting at-risk students to close the academic gap between poor and wealthy students.

The Kansas Association of School Boards released a report this month arguing a link exists between funding of schools and student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Legislators and Gov. Sam Brownback eliminated the old finance formula and imposed a block-grant system for two years. A three-judge panel in Shawnee County District Court ruled the system was unconstitutional, but the decision is being appealed.