A Kansas education official says using a private vendor for state tests would boost costs.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the issue came up after an interim legislative panel released a draft of its public school recommendations. Among those was a recommendation that the state seek a test provider without ties to federal or state government and that it pay for all students to take the ACT.

For more than 30 years, the University of Kansas’ Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation has written and administered the state’s tests in math, reading and other subjects. The Kansas State Department of Education says Kansas has the second-cheapest state tests in the nation.

Deputy education commissioner Brad Neuenswander says changing to a different vendor would cost “much more.”