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State Board to hear structured literacy requirements update during January meeting

Members of the Kansas State Board of Education will receive an update on the structured literacy training requirements for licensure during their monthly meeting, Jan. 14-15, in Topeka. 

Targeted groups of Kansas educators, mostly at the elementary level, will be required by July 2028, to be trained in structured literacy. Board members will hear what progress has been made toward creating a structured literacy micro-credential for teachers of special education, English for speakers of other languages and elementary educators with a goal of 100% of these educators having the micro-credential by 2030. They also will hear more information on the status of the Seal of Literacy, data collection and new teacher mentoring related to structured literacy. 

Dr. Cindy Lane, director for the Blueprint for Literacy with the Kansas Board of Regents, also will present board members with an update on the Blueprint for Literacy advisory committee’s development of structured literacy in-service training.     

The establishment of the Blueprint for Literacy and the work of the statewide advisory committee is outlined in Senate Bill 438, passed and signed into law during the 2024 legislative session. This legislation is in addition to the work regarding the science of reading and structured literacy the Kansas State Board of Education has been doing since 2018. 

At the beginning of the board’s January meeting, all the members of the board will be sworn in by Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert. The board will welcome three new members elected in November: Beryl New, Connie O’Brien and Debby Potter. Board members also will vote on the body’s chair, vice chair, board policy committee members and legislative liaisons. 

In other business during their January meeting, board members will: 

  • Receive an annual review and update on the list of at-risk evidence-based programs; 
  • Receive a legislative report and update, including any committee assignment changes and other pertinent information related to the 2025 legislative session that begins on Jan. 13; 
  • Hear a presentation on how the Kansas Content Standards and state assessments are developed; 
  • Hear an update on what activities are occurring across the state related to student mental health; and 
  • Hear a Citizenship Day presentation from the presidents of the Kansas high school Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs). 

 

Click here for the full January agenda and meeting materials.  

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Posted: Jan 8, 2025,
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