KSDEweekly: Thursday, June 12, 2025

Thursday, June 12, 2025 | Issue 143

In This Week's Edition

Feature Stories

State Board votes to continue the modified emergency substitute teacher license
KSDE Insight Podcast, “Keeping Kids Safe Online: Summer Tips for Parents”
Picture of the Week: Winners of annual state school transportation safety competition celebrate

Accountability, Accreditation, and Assessments

Upcoming Events, Trainings and Recognition

Feature Stories

Kent Reed, (left) a member of the KSDE Career, Standards and Assessment Services team, presents information to the Kansas State Board of Education this week about the current state health standards.

State Board votes to continue the modified emergency substitute teacher license

Members of the Kansas State Board of Education voted this week to continue with the modifications made to the state’s emergency substitute teacher licenses.

The modifications include the requirement of a high school diploma, completion of a KSDE-approved online training course and verification of hire for each school district the applicant wishes to serve as a substitute teacher. Individuals may substitute up to 75 school days a semester and no more than 25 consecutive days in the same assignment in one school district. A background check will continue to be required for all applicants.

KSDE Insight Podcast: "Keeping Kids Safe Online - Summer Tips for Parents"

available now

When school’s out, screen time often goes up—and so does the risk of online threats.

In the latest episode of the KSDE Insight Podcast, “Keeping Kids Safe Online: Summer Tips for Parents,” Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson and his guests discuss how parents can help protect their children from online predators and other digital dangers during the summer months.

Joining Watson are the following:

Jennifer Slagle, youth suicide prevention coordinator, Office of Kansas Attorney General Kris W. Kobach
Crystal Marks, senior special agent, Kansas Bureau of Investigation
John Calvert, head school safety specialist, Kansas State Department of Education

Picture of the Week:

Winners of annual state school transportation safety

competition celebrate

Pictured above: Kristy Evers, a bus driver for Goddard USD 265, congratulated her district teammate, Taunya Terhune. Along with Neil Swenson, they were the top team winners at the 55th Annual Kansas State Pupil Transportation Association (KSPTA) Safe Driving competition on June 4. (Submitted by Goddard USD 265)

Pictured below: Jerry Guerrero, a driver for Garden City USD 457, was named the 2025 State Safe Driver Champion (KSPTA website).

More than 75 of Kansas’s best school bus drivers put their skills to the test at the 55th Annual Kansas State Pupil Transportation Association (KSPTA) Safe Driving Competition, hosted by Goddard USD 265, on June 4.

Each year, this event—known as the Bus 'Road'eo—brings together drivers from across the state to showcase the critical skills they use every day to transport students safely. Drivers navigated a closed-course competition, completed written safety exams, and were scored by trained evaluators, including Kansas Highway Patrol troopers riding alongside them.

Send pictures of students, staff or other district personnel to be recognized for their accomplishments to ksdeweekly@ksde.gov, with a description of the photo, and it may be featured in KSDEweekly!

Accountability, Accreditation and Assessments

Early fall 2025 KESA 2.0 in-person

information sessions scheduled

School districts and systems are invited to attend in-person KESA 2.0 information sessions this August and September for updates on the latest developments and valuable insights into the accreditation process.

Please note: The early fall 2025 information will be a repeat of the spring session information for those who couldn’t attend the spring sessions.

Reminder: June 20 deadline approaching for Every Child Can Read Act report

Each Kansas school district is required to submit a report for their third grade students to comply with the Every Child Can Read Act, a legislative statement of intent regarding the promotion of academic achievement in schools to ensure all students move toward grade-level proficiency in literacy, especially by the third grade.

Upcoming Events, Trainings and Recognition

Collaboration key component of

2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference

Why should you attend the 2025 KSDE Great Ideas in Education Conference?

A key component of this year's Great Ideas in Education Conference, July 28-30, is designed for district leadership teams (DLTs) to collaborate with each other as the second full year of KESA 2.0 is about to begin.

Click on the video above to hear more from Dr. Ben Proctor, KSDE deputy commissioner of the division of learning services, as to why DLTs will find this year's Great Ideas conference valuable.

Be sure to do the following:

Register online by July 15: KSDE Conference Registration
Make a room reservation: Lodging
For more details and the complete schedule: Conference Schedule
Contact Pat Bone, pat.bone@ksde.org, with registration inquiries.

Regional child care roundtable discussion

set for June 26 in Hays

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Child Care Licensing System Improvement Team and the team supporting the All In For Kansas Kids statewide strategic plan for early childhood  have hosted roundtable discussions for the past several months to engage communities in strengthening child care in Kansas.

The final regional roundtable of the year will be Thursday, June 26, in Hays.

Calendar

June

12: KSDE Insight Podcast, “Keeping Kids Safe Online: Summer Tips for Parents” available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

17: Building Opportunities for Outstanding Teachers (BOOST) summit, 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fort Hays State Memorial Union, in Hays. Sponsored by Educate Kansas. Register here. Contact Cris Seidel, crisseidel@educatekansas.org, with questions.

17: “Systemic Implementation of Universal Design for Learning” (UDL) online course; 11 a.m. Click here to register. Contact Janet Peters, jpeters@upcnet.org, with questions.

19: Juneteenth. KSDE offices closed.

20: Every Child Can Read Act report due. Contact Dr. Ben Proctor, ben.proctor@ksde.gov, with questions.

25-26: KSDE SETS Leadership Conference, Hyatt Regency, in Wichita. Register here and review the draft agenda here. Contact Brad Schwartz, blschwartz@pittstate.edu, with questions.

26: Northwest Regional Child Care Roundtable, 6:30 – 8 p.m., BriefSpace, 219 W. 10th Street, in Hays. Register here. Contact Meghan Kluth, mkluth@ku.edu, with questions.

27: “Using Ages and Stages Screeners (ASQ) to Engage with Families and Support Child Development,” 9-11 a.m., virtual. Register here. Contact Stacy Clarke, sclarke@ksde.gov, with questions.

30: CPA independent auditor reports (non-single audit) due to the Kansas Department of Administration’s Municipal Services. Click here for instructions. Contact KSDE’s Fiscal Auditing, auditing@ksde.gov, or (785) 296-4976 with questions.

30: Chronic absenteeism data submission window closes. Contact Dr. Robyn Kelso, robyn.kelso@ksde.gov, with questions or assistance.

July

4: Independence Day. KSDE offices closed.

8-9: Kansas State Board of Education meeting. Click here for the agenda and meeting materials.

15: Deadline to register for 2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference. Make room reservations here. Contact Pat Bone, pat.bone@ksde.gov, with questions.

28-30: Great Ideas in Education Conference, Hyatt Regency, in Wichita. Contact Pat Bone, pat.bone@ksde.gov, with questions.

August

4: Preparing for the Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot, virtual, 3:30 – 4 p.m. Register here. Contact Stacy Clarke, stacy.clarke@ksde.gov, with questions.

5: Preparing for the Kindergarten Readiness Snapshot, virtual, 10 – 10:30 a.m. Register here. Contact Stacy Clarke, stacy.clarke@ksde.gov, with questions.

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The Kansas State Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: KSDE General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, KSDE, Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, Suite 102, Topeka, KS 66612, (785) 296-3201.