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SEAC debates value of single‑question Indicator 8 parent survey and seeks committee to recommend improvements
Summary
Members questioned whether Kansas' single‑question Indicator 8 survey meets districts' needs for actionable feedback; KSDE and partners noted a longer family engagement survey exists and SEAC agreed to form a subcommittee to explore options and district access to disaggregated results.
The committee discussed Indicator 8 (parent survey) and whether the current KSDE one‑question instrument provides useful, actionable information for districts and families. KSDE staff said the single question was adopted to improve response rates for the federal State Performance Plan (SPP/APR) requirement, but several SEAC members argued districts need more useful qualitative and subgroup information.
"The first slide of the PowerPoint is what our current survey veil. It's a 1 question survey to all parents with students with disabilities to the school district facilitate involvement as a means for improving services and results for your child," a KSDE presenter explained. SEAC members pointed out that the longer family engagement survey used by multiple programs (MTSS, school mental health, Title programs) already collects far more detail and is fielded to families, and that many local districts use that tool for building‑level improvement.
Nut graf: Committee members raised three core issues: (1) the single question meets the federal reporting requirement but provides little qualitative insight for districts, (2) districts want disaggregated local reports to diagnose problems but KSDE said raw responses are currently anonymized and not routinely distributed in a way that would identify small counts, and (3) duplication and survey fatigue are concerns for families who receive multiple instruments across programs.
KSDE staff and members recommended forming a SEAC subcommittee to work with KSDE evaluation staff and TASN (the family engagement survey vendor) to identify options for (a) a minimal Indicator 8 instrument that meets federal needs and (b) supplementary questions or a pathway that allows parents who choose to provide more detail to do so and enable district‑level reporting while protecting anonymity. Volunteers—Brooke Moore, Leslie Gerard and others—offered to join the subcommittee; KSDE agreed to schedule a follow‑up meeting with evaluation staff and TASN representatives to explore technical feasibility, thresholds for reliable district reports and language to explain the survey’s purpose to parents.
Ending: SEAC formed a small working group to review Indicator 8, examine linkages to the longer family engagement survey, and recommend a design that balances federal reporting requirements, district utility and parent anonymity.
