During its Dec. 9-10 meeting in Topeka, the Kansas State Board of Education will receive an update on the agency’s school improvement initiative designed to boost student academic success.  

Dr. Renee Nugent, deputy commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education’s Division of Learning Services, will provide an overview of KSDE’s emerging School Improvement Framework, which is grounded in Kansas’ Four Fundamentals: Structured Literacy, Standards Alignment, Balanced Assessment and Quality Instruction. Her presentation will explain how KSDE is working to unify state and federal requirements, including KESA 2.0, At-Risk accountability, Title I/ESEA and the Needs Assessment, into one coherent model of continuous improvement. 

Dr. Nugent’s presentation will also include an update on the progress of the School Improvement Working Group. This includes information gathered from a statewide review of support systems and plans for building a data-informed, user-friendly platform that provides districts with clearer guidance, stronger alignment, and more targeted supports. 

The State Board will also hear Dr. Nugent present data recently collected on what high quality instructional materials (HQIM) districts and systems are using to support their curricula. Districts have identified the instructional materials used for Tier 1 (or Core) instruction, and the year those materials were adopted, for K-12 English language arts, K-12 mathematics, and K-8 science. Additionally, they were asked to list the primary screener used to identify a student for being at risk of reading difficulties and to identify the instructional materials used in Pre-K.  

Dr. Jay Scott, director of the KSDE accreditation and design team, will also update board members on the 2025-26 school improvement days. These days allow similar districts and systems to collaborate on their school improvement action plans that are part of the KESA accreditation process. 

The State Board’s December agenda also includes the following action items:   

• Act on the 2026 legislative priorities.  
• Act on requests from Olathe USD 233 and Newton USD 373 to hold bond elections and receive capital improvement state aid. 
• Act on a request to renew the contract with the Bruman Group to support the administration of Perkins V at $20,000 annually. 
• Act on a recommendation for 2025-26 supplemental AmeriCorps funding for Derby USD 260. 
• Act on contract requests for Cheney USD 268, Holton USD 336 and Manhattan Catholic School for testing revisions to the Healthier Kansas menu. 
• Act on regulations governing the state teacher mentor program. 
• Act to ratify the negotiated agreement with the Kansas School for the Deaf’s affiliate of the Kansas National Education Association. 
• Approve and sign a resolution supporting the placement of tactile (Braille) flags in all Kansas schools. 

Board members will also hear presentations regarding the following: 

• An overview of the basics of KSDE literacy initiatives specific to dyslexia and school-based practices that identify students who are at risk for reading difficulty and what definition the International Dyslexia Association is using for dyslexia and dyslexia initiatives. 
• Thomas Fulbright, an educator in Topeka USD 501, will describe the single class period lesson plan that earned him third place in the national 2025 Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s Building Better Citizens Innovative Curriculum Contest. 
• A look at artificial intelligence (AI) literacy frameworks and how they function. 

Click here for a full agenda and meeting materials.