News Releases

Our press releases provide timely, accurate information about key initiatives, policy updates, and important events in Kansas education. They serve as an official source for news and announcements from the Kansas State Department of Education, helping educators, families, and communities stay informed about developments that impact schools statewide.

The Kansas State Board of Education will engage districts, parents and students in the coming months around the use of classroom technology and how it is impacting student learning.

During a special meeting on Monday, June 8, members of the State Board resumed discussions on technology used in the classroom and district-issued digital devices (also known as 1:1 devices) and how this technology affects students.

State Board members Melanie Haas and Danny Zeck, who are leading the board’s work on the issue of district technology, emphasized the work will be intentional and evidence-based. Haas said the board needs to bring parents and caregivers, especially, into the discussion since much of the movement on this issue at the national level is the result of parent pressure.

“They need to be partners in any solution we develop,” she said.

Haas said she envisions the State Board taking action on the issue of district-owned technology in time for implementation beginning in August 2027. In the meantime, she said, information and feedback will be gathered from districts, parents, students and other stakeholders.

Also on Monday, three Kansas higher education representatives told the State Board their pre-service education students are taught classroom technology that follows the International Society for Technology in Education (ITSE) standards. They said the use of classroom technology is student-focused and tied to a learning purpose. They also said their pre-service teachers take developmental psychology, so they know what learning methods are developmentally appropriate for their students.

During their regular meeting that began Tuesday, board members voted to make the following adjustments to license requirements for out-of-state teacher, school specialist, and school leadership candidates: 

• A teaching license will require a bachelor’s degree, unencumbered license, application and fee, background check and fee.
• A school specialist license will require a graduate degree, unencumbered license, application and fee, background check and fee.
• A leadership license will require a graduate degree, unencumbered license, application and fee, background check and fee.
• Board members also approved a $20 increase to all license application processing fees, effective Oct. 1, 2026.

Other action items board members approved:

• The distribution of up to $483,014 in federal assessment funds to be sub-granted to the Kansas districts that will pilot an innovative assessment during the 2026-27 school year.
• A Model Code of Ethics for Educators (MCEE), modified for Kansas educators, and based on the model developed by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, or NASDTEC. This code of ethics establishes principles for ethical best practice, mindfulness, self-reflection and self-regulation. 
• The issuance of request for proposal (RFP) for a universal, statewide screener for assessing reading risk to be implemented beginning in the fall of 2027. 
• A waiver application for Orion Education and Training to pilot an adult alternative education program for 15 school districts in the greater Wichita area.
• Agriculture and speech/theatre teacher preparation standards for grades 6-12.
• Recommendations from the Evaluation Review Committee for educator preparation program approvals for Pittsburg State University and Wichita State University.
• Wabaunsee USD 329’s application to become a public innovative district. 
• Items on the consent agenda. (PDF)

Board members heard the following presentations during their June meeting:

• The State Board’s responsibilities regarding House Bill 2299, better known as the “cell phone bill,” passed and signed into law during the 2026 legislative session. Each school district and accredited nonpublic school, on or before Sept. 1, 2026, must certify to the State Board that they have adopted policies and procedures regarding personal technology devices and social media as outlined in the legislation.
• The State Board’s responsibilities regarding violations of HB 2513, the so-called, “student walkout” bill. This legislation was approved as a proviso to the legislature’s budget bill, meaning it will be in effect for only one school year beginning this fall. 
• Board members are expected to vote sometime in the future on the processes they will use for districts’ compliance with the cell phone and student walkout laws. 

Other presentations during the board’s June meeting included:

• An update on KSDE’s school improvement initiatives, including the focus on quality instruction and what district leadership teams did during the statewide 2025-26 school improvement days.
• The processes and methods Santa Fe Trail USD 434 has used to focus on structured literacy.
• How Minneola USD 219 has been able to better engage their high school students in math.
• An overview of KSDE’s potential budget options for Fiscal Year 2028 which begins July 1, 2027.

The board’s next meeting will be July 14-15, in the first floor board room, Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, in Topeka. Board materials and the link to the livestream are available on the board meeting resources webpage.