Kansas Department of Education

Three Republican candidates and three Democratic candidates for Kansas governor did not participate in the forum.

The GOP majority on the 10-member state panel hangs in the balance as elections approach this fall.

Federal law requires schools to verify free and reduced lunch eligibility for a random sample of recipients, but a new bill would require it for every student who receives a free lunch. One school official says the change would turn two months of work into a year-round responsibility.

Kansas' 2026 Teacher of the Year is Rachel Marlow, a music teacher at an Olathe elementary school. Her students say she deserves the award because she goes above and beyond in her classes.

A new law requires human development videos in classrooms, but leaves it up to local school districts to decide what materials students will see and at what ages.

Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson urged districts to cancel breaks or extend the school year to make up for snow days. He is also proposing half-day summer school for young students who are struggling in reading and math.

The beginning of this school years was "a rough couple of weeks," said John Calvert, the director of the Kansas Department of Education's Safe and Secure Schools Unit. School shooting responders must learn from mistakes of the past, he said.

Missouri State Highway Patrol has received 102 tips about school shooting threats since July 1. Schools around the Kansas City area have increased security in response to a wave of threats.

Ward Worley, executive director of Plaza Academy, was charged in September with a misdemeanor. Because it's a private school, the state has no oversight on personnel issues. The mother of the victim has since enrolled her child at a different school.

Ahead of the Nov. 7 election, conservative candidates for school board seats across Kansas have repeatedly asserted that scores on the state standardized test show schools are failing. But experts say that's not necessarily true — and scores are just one part of the picture.

A legislative committee on education offered a glimpse at what Kansas lawmakers could propose during the 2024 session. The Legislature hinted at changing the formula for funding special education and pushing more school choice measures.

Unofficial results show four seats on the Kansas State Board of Education were won by conservative candidates who want to restrict how race and social-emotional learning are taught in schools.