Members of the Kansas State Board of Education will consider approving American Sign Language (ASL) as part of the higher education educator preparation standards for Pre-K-12 world languages during their monthly meeting, Sept. 10-11, in Topeka. 

A committee of ASL educators and world languages educators convened to review the world languages preparation standards and revise them to include features of ASL, such as expanding references to speaking to include signing, and identifying a minimum proficiency level for ASL educators. This was after the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) received inquiries from an ASL task force about Pre-K-12 ASL teacher qualifications as a content area for which the KSDE teacher licensure program didn’t have an established license.  

With growing interest from students who want to learn ASL, the review committee was able to identify a process to incorporate ASL into the revised world languages standards and create a pathway to licensure with the intent of attracting skilled ASL signers to the education profession.   

In other business during their September meeting, board members will receive an update on the list of eligible, evidence-based at-risk programs as well as the districts that will participate in the at-risk accountability plan pilot.   

At its Feb. 2024 meeting, board members approved an updated programs and practices list that includes 72 programs and 78 practices.  

These have peer-reviewed evidence to support at-risk students and may be used to provide students with additional educational opportunities, interventions and services above and beyond regular education services. Click here for more information about at-risk funding and other aspects of the at-risk program. 

The following are a few of the other items on the board members’ September agenda:  

• A presentation on the LETRS® training teachers and other staff will receive as part of the KESA 2.0 school improvement model’s science of reading structured literacy fundamental.  
• An overview of the required reports KSDE staff must submit to the Kansas legislature and the trainings in which school district staff and students are required to participate. 
• A preview of the Kansas Assessment Program’s enhanced instructional mini tests, interim and summative assessments and reports. 
• A presentation on the Kansas Future Teachers Academy, a five-day intensive program, where participants share in a variety of activities that will help them to better understand what teachers do. Students in the academy learn from Kansas Teacher of the Year winners, Horizon Award winners, and other respected Kansas educators. 
• A student showcase presentation from Elise Davis, a senior at Mill Valley High School, De Soto USD 232, and Akshay Nair, a senior at Blue Valley West High School, Blue Valley USD 229, about their experience attending the prestigious National Youth Science Camp in West Virginia this past summer.  

Click here for the full agenda and meeting materials for the September meeting.