The path to leading the world in the success of each student starts in early childhood, long before a 5-year-old child walks through a kindergarten classroom door. 

Indicator 6: Preschool Environments for Children Aged 3-5 (Least Restrictive Environment) is an important data point to track as districts seek to improve kindergarten readiness. This refers to the extent to which preschool students with disabilities receive the majority of their special education and related services in the least restrictive environment with their peers who are not disabled.  

The Kansans Can Star Recognition Program recognizes communities that offer quality, inclusive opportunities to young children and their families so that each child enters kindergarten at age 5 socially, emotionally and academically prepared for success. Districts must meet the state performance plan targets for Indicator 6 to be eligible to be recognized in the area of kindergarten readiness. 

A new Projected Indicator 6 Report in the SPEDPro application is now available for districts to download. The report contains the same data as the Projected Dec/Final Dec. 1 report, but now narrows it down to specifically look at Indicator 6A, 6B and 6C targets and results. 

This is a valuable report for districts to proactively pull, prior to Dec. 1, to ensure districts report data accurately and allow time to make corrections prior to the data being finalized and reported to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). A data documentation guide will be coming soon to complement this report. 

For questions on this report, contact KSDE’s Julie Rand, 619 coordinator, jrand@ksde.org, 785-296-1944.