In this edition ...

A large part of the 2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference, hosted by the Kansas State Department of Education, served as an enhanced school improvement day to kick off the second year of KESA 2.0., a slight departure from past conference formats.  

“A lot of people worked long hours to pull that off,” Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson said of the conference, July 28-30, that drew nearly 500 attendees to Wichita’s Hyatt Regency. “I thought the energy was really good. It allowed for more focused time.”  

In the next episode of the KSDE Insight Podcast, Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson will talk with two school leaders about the importance of academic rigor—and why challenging coursework is essential to helping students grow, adapt, and succeed in an ever-changing world.

Members of the Kansas State Board of Education are set to vote on new state assessment scale and cut scores during their monthly meeting, Aug. 12-13, in Topeka.  

These cut scores are for the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) tests administered to students this past spring in grades 3–8 and 10th for English language arts, math and science. 

Systems can begin entering data for the Fall Vacancy Report (FVR) and the Licensed Personnel Report (LPR) for the 2025-26 school year. Systems also have access to submit the FVR anytime on or before Sept. 25.