Aligned's 2026 policy priorities

As we close out 2025 and look ahead to upcoming legislative sessions, we want to outline the priorities that will guide our work in both states. These priorities reflect our internal strategy and core values, as well as challenges and opportunities we see across both states:

• Strengthening students’ academic foundations, especially in reading and math;
• Improving the information environment available for policymakers, business and school leaders; and,
• Better aligning systems so public investments translate more into measurable outcomes.

Together, these priorities form a roadmap for improving student success, supporting the workforce needs of both states over the long run. 

Kansas policy priorities

Kansas enters the 2026 session with several areas where immediate action can meaningfully strengthen student outcomes and improve system performance.

We’ve organized our work into short-term priorities that are ready for legislative consideration this year, and long-term priorities that require sustained effort and thoughtful development.

Short-term priorities

1. Build a Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). Kansas still lacks a fully connected Pre-K-Workforce data system. An SLDS would help policymakers, district leaders, and researchers understand which programs work, where students fall through the cracks, and how education decisions influence the workforce pipeline. Data should be the backbone of modern governance, and Kansas is overdue for a system that helps tie student outcomes to policy and investment decisions.

2. Require phone-free schools. Aligned is supportive of a true bell-to-bell cellphone ban in schools. Teachers and administrators across the state emphasized how large a barrier phones are in getting students to focus on task, as well as worsening student behavioral classrooms. We are now seeing evidence from states like Florida that phone-free schools can reduce these issues over time and improve academic performance.

3. Advance school finance reform. Aligned is pursuing a more transparent, student-centered formula so that we can start to align funding with tangible outcomes. Our overarching goal is to highlight potential changes using data, talk about real tradeoffs in design, ensure that dollars follow student needs, and center student achievement at the heart of any changes to come. 

Long-term priorities

4. Accountability that improves instruction. Kansans want a system that helps schools get better, not a punitive system that undermines trust and reform. The focus must shift away from doing things regardless of student outcomes towards what we can do to improve student outcomes. A modern accountability system should help educators adjust instruction in real time, enable parents to understand real progress, and make it easier for policymakers at all levels to target resources.

5. Strengthening literacy from early grades through middle school. Literacy is the linchpin for every future skill. Kansas has made progress — structured literacy training, new statewide supports, stronger K–3 screening — but the work isn’t done. Stakeholders want consistency, better implementation, and supports that ensure students not only decode but comprehend.


6. Invest in Early Care and Education. Child care access and workforce stability remain urgent concerns. Kansas’ recent investments created momentum, but families and employers are still struggling with affordability and shortages. Continued efforts to streamline programs, expand tax credits, and strengthen the early childhood workforce are essential.

Missouri policy priorities

Missouri’s education landscape presents several needs heading into 2026: a modernized finance system, more flexible access for families, stable early childhood capacity, and improved literacy outcomes.

These priorities highlight where policy action can have the greatest statewide impact and strengthen the state’s long-term education and workforce pipeline.

1. Modernize the school finance formula. Missouri’s formula needs to reflect student needs, modern cost structures, and transparent reporting. Aligning funding with outcomes is a central theme from conversations with district leaders and business partners. A strong formula should be predictable, efficient, and aligned to academic performance.

2. Advance open enrollment with transportation assistance. Families want more flexibility, and districts want clarity. Open enrollment — with transportation supports — creates more equitable access, encourages innovation, and gives parents meaningful options without destabilizing local systems when designed well.

3. Strengthening early care and education. Early childhood education and child care sets up our students for future learning, and the lack of available options poses a key barrier in labor force participation for too many families. Continued support for child care tax credits, Pre-K investments, and early childhood workforce development will help address shortages and stabilize families.

4. Improve literacy statewide. Missouri has made notable progress in structured literacy implementation, but reading outcomes remain too low. Teachers need continued coaching, professional development, and curriculum supports. Strong literacy is directly linked to long-term workforce readiness, and Missouri stakeholders understand the urgency.

We welcome your reflections as we head into session — reply directly to this email to share feedback or questions. 

Kansas News

Kansas State Board of Education sets its own legislative priorities

The Kansas State Board of Education finalized its 2026 legislative agenda at their December meetings, highlighting priorities that reflect ongoing challenges in teacher staffing, student safety, early learning, and school finance.

A major focus is the teacher workforce shortage. KSDE will ask lawmakers to relax rules that make it difficult for retired teachers to return to the classroom. The Board endorsed eliminating existing KPERS penalties for districts rehiring retirees and shortening the required waiting period.

A pre-filed bill, HB 2411, would reduce the waiting period to 45 days and remove earnings limits for returning teachers, provided no prearranged employment agreement exists.

Board members also supported moving school employees from KPERS 3 to the more robust KPERS 2 plan, which districts see as essential for retaining teachers — particularly in border communities competing with Missouri’s retirement package.

The Board also emphasized student safety and well-being, with strong support for legislation aimed at reducing school bus stop-arm violations and continued backing of the School Mental Health Advisory Council’s recommendations. Members framed both issues as part of their responsibility to ensure students are safe and supported throughout the school day.

Early childhood and workforce preparation remain priorities as well. The Board continues to call for expanded early learning opportunities and stronger kindergarten readiness supports. It also voted to support efforts that give high school students more exposure to workforce pathways, credentials, and real-world learning experiences to help them transition successfully into employment.

On the funding front, the Board again urged the Legislature to meet the statutory requirement of covering 92% of special education excess costs. Members highlighted the ongoing strain that chronic underfunding places on general education budgets.

Additional funding-related priorities include increasing state participation in bond and interest aid, allowing more state aid for transportation, sustaining support for teacher apprenticeships, and improving cybersecurity capacity across districts.

Kansas prefiling: Off to a quiet start

Compared with Missouri, Kansas has seen a limited number of pre-filed education legislation so far. It’s worth noting that some bills that were not passed last year can carry over to the 2026 session. We expect more pre-filings after the publication of this newsletter and as we enter the new year.

Officially two education bills have been filed by legislators:



• H.B. 2409 would prohibit school districts from starting the academic year before Labor Day. This would mark a significant shift, as most Kansas districts currently begin in mid-August. Representative Rhiley filed this legislation last year and told State Affairs in a statement that the bill would garner “more consistent days of learning” and fewer days off in the school calendar. Notably, the bill does not mention the implications for athletic competitions that start in the summer, including football, volleyball, tennis, golf, and cross country.
• As we just mentioned, H.B. 2411 would reduce the waiting period for retired teachers to return to the classroom from six months to 45 days. The bill would remove earnings limits for retired teachers. This move would place Kansas in line with other states looking to address teacher shortages by enticing retirees to return to work. 

In addition to official pre-filings, we are aware of some significant legislation that will be introduced ahead of session.

First, a bell-to-bell cell phone ban with other provisions related to teacher communication via social media is forthcoming (Aligned is broadly supportive). A few individual pieces of legislation supporting teachers are also anticipated, and we will get you more details when we know more.

We are watching closely for legislation tied to school finance, early literacy implementation, as well as data and accountability — areas that remain in active policy discussions but have yet to appear or be spoken of in bill form. 

In other news

• In a tough economy, education is critical in cradle to career pipeline
• SCCC, Western Kansas community colleges formalize landmark collaborative agreement
• University of Kansas Joins Program to generate more special education doctorates

Missouri News

Proposed funding changes revealed

Missouri’s School Funding Modernization Task Force working group phase is coming to a close, with the four groups narrowing in on proposals to take back to the wider task force. Here’s an overview of the proposals currently taking shape.

Updating how students are counted and weighted

The Student Counts group is weighing a major shift: moving Missouri from funding based on attendance to funding based on enrollment.

Although current law phases in a hybrid attendance/enrollment model by 2030, the group is considering whether a full transition to enrollment — supported by Aligned and others — would more accurately reflect who schools are responsible for educating and align Missouri with best practice.

Other proposed adjustments include:

• Low-income students: The group is likely to recommend identifying low-income students through Direct Certification rather than free/reduced-price lunch eligibility, and may add a concentrated poverty weight to better reflect need.
• Special education: Members support creating three tiers of funding based on how much time students spend outside the general classroom. Aligned previously recommended a tiered system based on a student’s diagnosis, not time out of general classrooms, to avoid financially incentivizing restrictive placements. Decades of research show students with disabilities perform better when included in general classrooms. Notably, Texas recently moved away from time-based tiering and adopted a severity-based model.
• Other student populations: Given Missouri’s relatively small number of English learners, the group discussed reducing the current 0.60 EL weight. There is little interest in new weights for gifted students or CTE programs.

Across all discussions, the strongest consensus is to eliminate thresholds that currently limit how many students in certain groups receive additional funding.

Setting a base amount of funding

The Funding Targets group is refining how Missouri defines the adequacy target—the baseline funding level every district should receive.

Key proposals include:



• Using a set of “successful schools” to calculate the adequacy target, much like the current practice.
• Updating regional cost adjustments by replacing the Dollar Value Modifier with a wage-based measure, the Comparable Wage Index for Teachers, to better reflect labor market differences across the state.
• Recalculating the adequacy target every two years, with phase-ins to prevent sudden swings.
• Conducting a deeper review of the methodology every six years.

Performance incentives proposed

A proposed Missouri Excellence Incentive Program would provide bonus funding for student achievement and growth in priority areas: early literacy, middle-grade math/ELA, and high school college and career readiness.

Bonuses would range from 5–10% of the adequacy target, with some thought to offer more to students who are low-income, English learners, or have disabilities.

The group is working through questions about how rewards are allocated, whether subgroup bonuses are necessary if base weights are strengthened, and how to ensure incentives reinforce the state’s accountability system rather than conflict with it.

Modernizing how Missouri accounts for local funds

Because Missouri’s property tax system is outdated and inconsistent, this group is exploring alternatives that more accurately measure local fiscal capacity.

Options include:

1. Updating existing property values with a two-year lag.
2. Updating values and adding an income factor to reduce assumed revenue for lower-income districts.
3. Creating a local effort index that blends property value, income, and tax-rate effort.

Aligned’s Take: As discussions continue, we are watching two areas closely: whether Missouri will fully move away from its outdated student count model, and whether special education tiering will reinforce — or inadvertently discourage — inclusive practices. We’re eager to continue engaging with the emerging performance incentive framework and to help shape a system that supports strong, measurable outcomes.

Missouri’s early legislative landscape

Missouri’s legislative activity is already accelerating. Pre-filing opened December 1, and lawmakers have introduced more than 1,500 bills — offering us a glimpse at the issues likely to shape 2026.

Open enrollment is emerging as an early focal point, with multiple bills filed and DESE signaling interest at last week’s State Board meeting. Teacher certification, early literacy, and educator workforce issues are also gaining attention amid ongoing shortages and stagnant reading outcomes.

Early childhood remains on the agenda as Representative Shields prepares to reintroduce her childcare tax credit legislation, backed by a broad coalition including Aligned.

Bills we are watching

• S.B. 1314 – Expands parent school choice by allowing statewide public school open enrollment, setting new rules for district capacity, participation, and student transfers. (Note: this is one of several bills we are expecting to be filed this session.)
• H.B. 2112 – Creates the Missouri Teachers Matter Grant Program to support educator recruitment and retention.
•  S.B. 1194 – Establishes new accountability measures for schools, districts, and DESE.
• H.B. 1856 – Raises the cigarette tax and directs new revenue to public education.
• H.B. 2130 / H.B. 2158 – Expands ESA eligibility, updates allowable fund uses, and revises the underlying tax credit structure to broaden program access.
• H.B. 2211 – Advances workforce development initiatives tied to employer needs.
• S.B. 1185 – Moves school board elections to the November general election.
• S.B. 867 – Adds semiannual public reporting requirements for the ESA program.
• H.B. 2123 – Alters higher education funding rules impacting workforce-aligned programs.

In other news

• Public school open enrollment wins tentative support from Missouri education board
• Judge orders rewrite of ballot summary for Missouri public education initiative petition
• Missouri successfully sued to halt student loan SAVE plan

Looking back, looking ahead

As we close out another remarkable year, we want to pause and say thank you. To our readers, supporters, and partners — your time, trust, and engagement have made this year our most meaningful yet.

Whether you tuned in week after week, shared our work with others, or checked in when time allowed, you showed up in ways that truly mattered. Your presence shapes the work we do more than you may realize.

This past year brought new challenges, exciting programs, and plenty of moments that stretched us. Throughout, your feedback, messages, and encouragement kept us grounded and motivated.

Every comment, view, and conversation reinforced the importance of thoughtful research, honest reporting, and staying focused on impact. Knowing this work resonates with a committed and curious audience makes the long hours worthwhile.

Looking ahead, we’re energized by what’s coming next. The year ahead holds new ideas, deeper dives, and opportunities to continue informing, improving, and connecting our community around education and opportunity. We have ambitious plans in motion and can’t wait to bring you along.

Before turning the page, though, we simply want to say how grateful we are. Thank you for being part of this journey. We wish you a joyful, healthy, and inspiring new year — and we’re excited to continue it together.

Have a happy holiday season and we will see you weekly in the new year!

Torree Pederson

President

torree@wearealigned.org

Eric Syverson

Director of Policy & Research

erics@wearealigned.org

About Aligned

Aligned is the only state-wide non-profit, nonpartisan business group working in Kansas and Missouri on educational issues impacting the full development of our children, from supporting high-quality early learning to solid secondary programs that provide rigorous academic programs and real-world learning opportunities.

Our vision is that our public education systems in Kansas and Missouri have the resources and flexibility to prepare students to pursue the future of their choice.

We are currently focused on education policies that will strengthen early childhood systems, expand the teacher workforce, modernize school finance, improve literacy, accelerate data and accountability systems, and support safe, focused learning environments.

Learn more about our work.