Members of the Kansas State Board of Education received a final set of recommendations during their November meeting that will serve as guidance for school districts’ policies regarding students’ use of digital technology. 

Ava Gustin, a senior at Mission Valley High School, Mission Valley USD 330, and Brian Houghton, principal of Fredonia Jr.-Sr. High School, Fredonia USD 484, co-chairs of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time (pictured above), outlined the recommendations that address the following topics chosen by the State Board: 

• Students' personal device use in school;  
• Screen time and mental health; and  
• Parental oversight of district-owned devices.  

“We wanted to make sure everything was grounded in research,” Houghton told board members about how the 36-member task force formulated the recommendations (See p. 28 of the November board materials.) Board members are scheduled to vote on the final set of recommendations during their December meeting. 

Also, during the meeting, board members heard an update on the second iteration of the Kansas Education Systems Accreditation, or KESA 2.0, and how the structured literacy training is progressing.  

Dr. Ben Proctor, deputy commissioner of KSDE’s Division of Learning Services, told board members the next cohort of teachers will begin receiving training in January, particularly in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS®. He said districts will be shifting more of their LETRS® training to local certified facilitators (LCF) when the ESSER funding for structured literacy training concludes at the end of January 2026. 

Dr. Cindy Lane, director of the Blueprint for Literacy for the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR), updated state board members on the efforts to create a structured literacy course for students majoring in education at the state’s regents institutions and private/independent colleges. The proposed course will be presented to state board members and the board of regents for approval during their respective December meetings. She also said the Centers for Excellence in Literacy, as outlined in Senate Bill 438, that will be located at the regents institutions are expected to be operational in January. 

House Sub for SB 387 establishes the Education Funding Task Force, which is required to review the current school finance system, academic reporting and achievement goals to report recommendations to the governor and the legislature on or before Jan. 11, 2027, on the establishment of a new school finance formula. The current school finance formula expires on July 1, 2027. 

Board members approved Brad Neuenswander, superintendent of Jefferson West USD 340, and Cory Gibson, superintendent of De Soto USD 232, to represent rural and urban school districts, respectively, to serve on the Education Funding Task Force. The board chose Vice Chair Jim Porter to represent the state board on the 11-member task force. 

Dr. Frank Harwood, KSDE deputy commissioner of fiscal and administrative services, updated board members on how statutory open enrollment has impacted districts. He said 24,250 K-12 students attended a non-resident school district at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, a decrease of 224 students from 2023-24.  

Also, during the November meeting, board members received: 

• An overview of the board’s priorities for the 2025 legislative session. Board members will vote on these in December. 
• An update from KSDE Career Standards and Assessment Services (CSAS) staff on the creation of toolkits, professional development and technical assistance for districts to align their English Language Arts and English learners; math; science; and history, government and social studies curricula. 
• Information about accreditation for Healy USD 468. The district currently has fewer than 10 students, the state board’s minimum number of students for accreditation.  
• The annual report on the activities of the Kansas State High School Activities Association. 
• A presentation from Kelly Bielefeld, superintendent of Wichita USD 259, about various aspects of the 46,550-student school district, including the bond issue the district’s patrons will be voting on in February. 

The Kansas State Board of Education will meet next on Dec. 10-11 at the Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, in Topeka.