Volume 40 - Issue 24 - June 17, 2021
State of Kansas
Board of Education
Notice of Hearing on Proposed Administrative Regulations
The Kansas State Board of Education will conduct a public hearing at 1:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, Tuesday, September 14, 2021, in the Board Room of the Landon State Office Building, 900 SW Jackson Ave., Suite 102, Topeka, Kansas, to consider the adoption of proposed rules and regulations of the Kansas State Board of Education on a permanent basis.
This 60-day notice of the public hearing shall constitute a public comment period for the purpose of receiving written public comments on the proposed rules and regulations. All interested parties may submit written comments prior to the hearing to the Secretary of the Kansas State Board of Education at the below address or by email to plhill@ksde.org. The address for the Kansas State Board of Education is Landon State Office Building, 900 SW Jackson Ave., Suite 102, Topeka, KS 66612. All interested parties will be given a reasonable opportunity to present their views orally regarding the adoption of the proposed regulations during the public hearing. In order to provide all parties an opportunity to present their views, it may be necessary to request that each participant limit any oral presentation to five minutes. The hearing shall be conducted in compliance with the public hearing procedures of the Kansas State Board of Education.
Any individual with a disability may request an accommodation in order to participate in the public hearing, and may request the proposed regulations and economic impact statements in an accessible format. Requests for accommodation to participate in the hearing should be made at least five working days in advance of the hearing by contacting Wendy Fritz at 785-296-5363 (or TDD 785-296-8172) or by email to wfritz@ksde.org. The north entrance to the Landon State Office Building is accessible. Handicapped parking is located at the south end of the Landon State Office Building, across the street from the north entrance to the building, and on Ninth Street, just around the corner from the north entrance to the building.
A summary of the proposed regulations and economic impact follows.
A copy of the proposed regulations and economic impact statements may be obtained by contacting the Office of General Counsel at the address above prior to the date of the hearing or by email to ogc@ksde.org.
K.A.R. 91-31-31
Accreditation is the manner by which the Kansas State Board of Education recognizes Kansas schools’ abilities to meet the minimum requirements established by the State Board. Amendments to this regulation are made to update definitions of terms used throughout the accreditation regulations.
K.A.R. 91-31-32
This regulation is amended to change the accreditation model from the Quality Performance Accreditation system to Kansas Education Systems Accreditation. The regulation explains the manner and timing by which Kansas education systems will receive and/or maintain their accreditation status. Public school districts and private education systems which voluntarily participate in the accreditation process must fully participate in the accreditation system, must have in place a method of collecting kindergarten-entry data approved by the Kansas State Board of Education, must have an individual plan of study program for each student starting in the 8th grade, must have a method of assessing all students’ social emotional growth, must provide evidence of the foundational structures for each accreditation cycle, must offer curricula that allow students to meet the requirements of the State Scholarship Program, and offer appropriate instruction to allow students to achieve the Rose Capacities listed in K.S.A. 73-3218.
K.A.R. 91-31-33
As amended, this regulation requires each education system participating in Kansas Education Systems Accreditation to provide any data requested by the Kansas State Board of Education.
K.A.R. 91-31-34
The governing body of each education system, whether that be the locally-elected public school board or other decision-making body for private systems, must hire appropriately licensed staff, maintain a minimum enrollment of 10 or more students as of September 20th of each year, allow credit to transfer from one accredited education system to another, and permanently maintain each student’s records. The governing body must also follow certain specified rules pertaining to interscholastic athletics.
K.A.R. 91-31-35
The governing body of each education system, whether that be the locally-elected public school board or other decision-making body for private systems, must adopt policies specifying that pupils are eligible for graduation after completion of the following graduation requirements: four units of English language arts, three units of history and government, three units of science, three units of mathematics, one unit of physical education, one unit of fine arts, and six units of elective courses. At least 21 units of credit shall be required for graduation, but education systems may require a higher number of credits to graduate.
K.A.R. 91-31-36
This regulation requires each education system to select an outside visitation team. The outside visitation team will receive training as determined by the Kansas State Board of Education. One meeting shall take place between the outside visitation team and the education systems’ leadership team at least once each year.
K.A.R. 91-31-37
This regulation explains the process by which an education system’s governing body may appeal any accreditation status recommendation made by the accreditation review council prior to any final determination to be made by the Kansas State Board of Education.
K.A.R. 91-31-38
The three classifications of education systems participating in the Kansas Educational Systems Accreditation process are accredited, conditionally accredited, and not accredited. An education system which is conditionally accredited must develop and implement an approved corrective action plan. Upon successful completion of that corrective action plan, the conditionally accredited education system will receive full accreditation from the Kansas State Board of Education.
Any public education system deemed to be not accredited by the Kansas State Board of Education will be assigned a state technical assistance team to guide the system in achieving an upgraded accreditation rating. State technical assistance teams are appointed by the Commissioner of Education and provide guidance to the non-accredited education system until it attains an accreditation rating of at least conditionally accredited. Any public education system which fails to achieve an accreditation rating of at least conditionally accredited after one full year may be sanctioned by the Kansas State Board of Education.
K.A.R. 91-31-39
The Kansas State Board of Education revokes this regulation because it is unnecessary and repetitive of other regulations. A regulation is not needed in order for the Kansas State Board of Education to issue a letter of accreditation or a press release announcing a school’s accreditation status.
K.A.R. 91-31-40
A public education system may be sanctioned by the Kansas State Board of Education if it fails to maintain an accreditation rating of at least conditionally accredited. The possible sanctions include a recommendation that the system’s personnel or resources be reassigned or reallocated within the same system, a recommendation that the public education system be assigned a state technical assistance team to provide guidance until it achieves an upgraded accreditation rating, a recommendation to the state legislature that it approve a reduction in state funding for the education system by an amount that will be added to the locally-imposed property tax, a recommendation that the legislature abolish or restructure the public education system, and/or a letter of notification and a press release announcing the public education system’s accreditation status.
K.A.R. 91-31-41
As amended, this regulation requires each education system participating in the Kansas State Board of Education’s accreditation system to provide on the home page of its official web site a link to the Kansas State Department of Education’s report card.
K.A.R. 91-31-42
Any education system may request a waiver from one or more accreditation requirements imposed by the Kansas State Board of Education.
K.A.R. 91-31-43
Each accredited education system shall develop and implement written policies for annual child abuse and neglect mandated reporter training of all employees. The training will address child abuse and neglect reporting requirements when any school employee has reason to suspect that a student has been harmed as a result of physical, mental, or emotional abuse or neglect or sexual abuse.
The Kansas State Board of Education does not anticipate any significant financial or economic impact to this agency, other state agencies, or to the public as a result of these regulations.
Dr. Randy Watson
Commissioner of Education
Doc. No. 049227
