Kansas is one of 29 states and two territories seeking to create a standardized agreement and data sharing protocol with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) that would allow states to access accurate, secure and standardized data on military service. 

In November 2023, Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson led the effort to have other state education officers sign an open letter to the DOD to ask the military to provide states with the data to be able to count enlisted military in postsecondary success.  

The letter reads in part:  

“As state leaders, we are dedicated to ensuring all students leave high school ready for success in college or careers, and we believe that serving our country is one viable pathway a student might choose to pursue. Unfortunately, the lack of standardized and timely data on military enlistment and persistence makes it almost impossible for states to consider military service as a successful post-high school outcome and to confirm if students were successfully prepared to serve.” 

Watson met with military leaders in Washington, D.C., in April to formally request the establishment of a working group to develop a portal between K-12 education and the DOD to securely share the necessary data to count military service as a postsecondary effectiveness measure. 

Kansas, Ohio, and Washington were selected to be in a working group with the DOD facilitated by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). Meeting twice monthly, the group is working to build the process to allow states to receive the data from the DOD.  

“Since 2015, Kansas has used a metric to measure the postsecondary success of our high school graduates,” said Commissioner Watson. “We appreciate the work of CCSSO and our military in working to see that states like Kansas will have access to our students who enlist and are in service of our country. By adding this data to state education records, we will get a complete picture of post-high school outcomes and use it to improve our education practices moving forward." 

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and three other U.S. senators introduced a bill, the Military and Educational Data Integration Act, that would help with this initiative. For more information, click here. 

The Kansas State Department of Education will continue to provide updates as progress is made.