Board of Regents outlines Blueprint for Literacy: $10M, credential targets for teachers and seven literacy centers

Dr. Cynthia Lane, who is leading the Board of Regents’ effort on the Blueprint for Literacy, told the Kansas Senate Education Committee at a legislative hearing that the blueprint established by Senate Bill 438 and funded with a $10 million appropriation directs universities to train and credential teachers in structured literacy and to stand up regional Centers of Excellence to support teachers, leaders and families.

The blueprint sets two headline goals: that 100% of the state’s elementary educator workforce hold a credential in structured literacy by 2030 and that, by 2033, 90% of third- through eighth-graders read at level 2 or higher on the Kansas assessment, with 50% of students reaching levels 3 and 4. Lane said the targets imply an average annual improvement of roughly 3% to move students from the lowest achievement band into grade-level proficiency.

Lane reviewed steps already completed under the law. She told the committee that the public universities implemented two undergraduate courses in the science of reading by the Aug. 2024 deadline set in the statute, and that a 6-credit graduate-level…