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Members of the Kansas State Board of Education focused this week on the draft policy regarding the effective use of instructional technology in Kansas schools during their September meeting, in Topeka. 

Keeping the focus on the board’s goal of high-quality instruction in every Kansas classroom, Education Commissioner Dr. Jake Steel led board members in discussing what their role is and how the Kansas State Department of Education can support districts and nonpublic accredited schools in creating their local instructional technology policies that address the following required areas: 

• Purpose and intended use of technology in elementary and secondary education settings  

• Student technology access and use 

-Technology access and availability 

-Expectations for student use  

-Take-home access 

• Digital citizenship and student well-being  

• Artificial intelligence  

• Privacy and security  

• Technology-use expectations and violations  

The State Board’s next steps include finalizing and acting on the policy in October or November. In the meantime, KSDE staff will develop resources for board members to consider that will help districts and systems formalize their local instructional technology policies. 

In other business this week, the State Board acted to approve recommendations from the Evaluation Review Council (ERC) for educator preparation programs at Bethany College, Newman University and Ottawa University. They also approved recommendations from the Professional Practices Commission for revocation of teaching licenses except in one case where a public censure was approved. 

Presentations the board heard during their September meeting included the following: 

• Dr. Frank Harwood, KSDE deputy commissioner of fiscal and administrative services, briefed State Board members on their responsibilities related to districts holding local bond elections for capital improvements. 

• Dr. Jay Scott, director of the KSDE implementation and supports team, provided an update on the school improvement days that are part of the Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA) process.  

• Dr. Jon Harding, superintendent of the Kansas State School for the Blind, presented an overview of the Kansas City, Kansas school's operations, funding streams and budget priorities. 

• Joelle Allen and Joan Macy, of the Kansas School for the Deaf, briefed State Board members on the Olathe school's outreach programs and services. They emphasized the focus on data and high-quality instruction. 

• Judge Robert J. Wonnell of the Kansas 10th Judicial Court, and Julie Fishburn, director of social studies for Olathe USD 233, presented information about the mock trial that will be streamed live on Sept. 17, to celebrate Constitution Day with third graders across the U.S. and military bases around the world.  

• Adam Topliff, KSDE program consultant for history, government and social studies standards, had board members act as fifth grade teachers and use a high-quality instructional material related to Constitution Day. 

The State Board will meet Oct. 13-14, in the first floor board room of the Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, in Topeka. The agenda and meeting materials will be posted on the board meeting resources webpage. The meeting will be livestreamed here.