Members of the Kansas State Board of Education learned more during their monthly meeting this week about the Kansas State Department of Education’s initiative regarding standards-aligned instructional materials that boost student academic success. 

Dr. Renee Nugent, deputy commissioner of the KSDE division of learning services, presented information about what work the agency and its’ partners are doing to elevate the high quality instructional materials (HQIM) Kansas educators are using in the classroom. She said the HQIMs, while still a local decision to use, should align to the Kansas Curricular Standards, the vision for quality instruction (one of the Four Fundamentals of the school improvement model) and be based on research.  

The identification of the materials currently being used in the classroom for Tier 1 instruction for K-12 English language arts (ELA), math and K-8 science was done through a survey sent to districts and accredited private schools this past fall.  

Beginning this year, Nugent said authenticated application users - superintendents, curriculum directors, and select KSDE and service center staff – will have access to the ELA, math and science instructional materials, including a map and list of districts and private accredited schools that reported selecting the materials. She said the users will be able to use filter criteria to understand more about what materials similar districts selected. A more in-depth presentation about the HQIMs will be done later this month for district curriculum leaders. 

During their January meeting, board members approved the following: 

• Guidance for districts on the use of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy in school settings.  
• The elimination of the requirement for districts to submit a separate professional development plan to reduce unnecessary administrative obligations. This will allow districts to focus resources on the locally driven professional learning activities embedded in their school improvement work. 
• The disorganization of Southern Cloud USD 334. The district’s territory and real property, if any, will be attached to Clifton-Clyde USD 224, North Ottawa County USD 239, Beloit USD 273, Concordia USD 333, and Clay County USD 379.  
• The recommendations of the Kansas School for the Deaf task force.  
• The negotiated agreement between the Kansas School for the Deaf and the Kansas National Education Association.  
• Revising Board policy to require State Board approval for contracts and grants of $25,000 or more, an increase from the current $10,000 threshold. The requests from 11 school districts to hold bond elections and from 12 districts to receive capital improvement (bond and interest) state aid.  
• The Evaluation Review Committee’s recommendations for higher education standards for visually impaired, technology and engineering.  
• The initiation of the request for proposal (RFP) for the Kansas Integrated Accountability System (KIAS).  
• The elimination of the requirement that districts submit to KSDE a professional development plan that is separate from the plan that is embedded in their school improvement work.   

Board members also heard the following presentations: 

• The R.I.S.E. (Relationships, Instruction and Emotional Well-being) program, a partnership of Great Bend USD 428 and the Educational Services and Staff Development Association of Central Kansas (ESSDACK) that addresses classroom behaviors in one of the district’s elementary schools.  
• An update on the 2026 legislative session that includes 68 carryover education-related bills from the 2025 legislative session and 16 new bills as of this week.  
• The second part of a presentation about KSDE’s dyslexia initiatives, including an overview of the protocols and expectations for screening, diagnostic assessments, instruction, and intervention and how these initiatives are supported by the KESA school improvement model.   
• The Special Education Advisory Council’s (SEAC) annual report.  
• Presentations from student officers of several Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) regarding how career and technical education (CTE) has positively impacted their high school education and prepared them for their postsecondary pursuits. 
• An update on the events planned for the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.  
• Dr. Reginald Eggleston, superintendent of Geary County USD 475, told board members what he believed led to him being named the 2026 Kansas Superintendent of the Year.  
• Artificial intelligence (AI) in education. 

The board will meet again, Feb. 10-11, in the first floor board room in the Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, in Topeka. Click here for the full agenda and meeting materials. Click here to view the livestream.