This webpage is to assist districts in meeting the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and K.S.A 72-5153. The ESSA requires districts to use their federal funds to support evidence based practices. K.S.A 72-5153 (d) states that “the state board shall identify and approve evidence-based best practices for at-risk program and instruction of students receiving at-risk program services. The state board shall review and update such best practices as part of its five year accreditation system review process.” We will continue to update this webpage with approved evidence-based practices.
An at-risk student (as defined by the state board) is one who meets one or more of the following criteria:
a. Is not working on academic grade level.
b. Is not meeting the requirements necessary for promotion to the next grade; is failing subjects or courses of study
c. Is not meeting the requirements necessary for graduation from high school. (e.g., potential dropout)
d. Has insufficient mastery of skills or is not meeting state standards
e. Has been retained
f. Has a high rate of absenteeism
g. Has repeated suspensions or expulsions from school
h. Is homeless and/or migrant
i. Is identified as an English Language Learner
j. Has social emotional needs that cause a student to be unsuccessful in school
k. Is identified as a student with dyslexia or characteristics of dyslexia
Kansas At-Risk Guidelines: https://www.ksde.org/Portals/0/School%20Finance/guidelines_manuals/At%20Risk%20guidelines.pdf
Evidence-based: Any concept or strategy that is derived from or informed by objective evidence that demonstrates a statistically significant effect – most commonly, educational research or metrics of school, teacher, and student performance.