Members of the Kansas State Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, April 9, in Topeka, and on Wednesday, April 10, they will tour the Kansas State School for the Blind and Kansas School for the Deaf in Kansas City and Olathe, respectively.

On Tuesday, board members are expected to act on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kansas Board of Regents to establish the Kansas Advisory Council for Indigenous Education (KACIE). This action will formalize the partnership among the State Board, regents and KACIE for consultation related to Indigenous education in Kansas. The four tribal nations in the state – Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, and the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska - have endorsed the proposed MOU that was signed by the regents on March 21, 2024. 

Board members are expected to act on the Accreditation Review Council’s (ARC) recommended accreditation status for school districts and education systems that had previously been conditionally accredited. The board is also slated to act on the recommendations of the Evaluation Review Committee. These recommendations are for educator higher education preparation provider accreditation for Kansas State University along with preparation program approvals for Bethel College, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Pittsburg State University, Tabor College, The University of Kansas, and Wichita State University.

In other agenda items, board members will hear from Dr. Kellen Adams, superintendent of Leavenworth Unified School District 453, as part of the Month of the Military Child celebration. Leavenworth USD 453 is a Purple Star district, recognized for its support of military students and their families. Administrators and families from two other Purple Star districts – Ft. Leavenworth USD 207 and Derby USD 260 – visited the Kansas Statehouse on March 27 for a Month of the Military Child proclamation signing with Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.

The KSDE’s teacher licensure team will provide an overview of the American Board of Certification and Teacher Excellence (ABCTE). This is an alternative educator preparation provider designed to capture career changers who wish to become educators. This will be followed by updates on SB 407 and HB 2521, legislation that would require the State Board to authorize teaching licenses to people who complete an alternative teacher certification program. Board members also will receive literacy requirements for teacher certification.

Presentations on school bus safety are also part of the March 9 board agenda. An amendment to the current school bus safety regulation will be proposed that would require transportation supervisors to avoid establishing bus stop locations that would require students to cross any roadway.

Other agenda items scheduled for April 9 include the following:

• Hear an overview of the College and Technical Education (CTE) program and receive a list of the CTE scholars.
• Act on recommendations of the Professional Practices Commission (PPC).
• Hear a presentation of the school improvement model as part of the Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA) update.
• Receive ESSER III allocation recommendations.
• Receive an update on legislative issues impacting Kansas education.
• Hear a special music presentation by the kindergarten class at Williams Science and Fine Arts Magnet School, Topeka USD 501.

On Wednesday, April 10, board members will visit the Kansas State School for the Blind in the morning where they will go on a campus tour. Following the tour, the board will receive presentations on the school’s accomplishments, the Family Infant-Toddler (FIT) program, and the school’s accreditation and new curriculum and will hear from a parent..

In the afternoon, the board will hear presentations from elementary and secondary students at the Kansas School for the Deaf, along with discussions on literacy, early intervention and graduation requirements.

The April board meeting begins at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9, and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 10. To see the full agenda, click here.