Kansas education officials outline plan to boost reading skills, require veteran teachers to certify by 2028

Kansas education officials told the Legislature’s Committee on Education that a state-led push to improve literacy combines teacher training, regular screening and assessment, and incentives for educators — and will require veteran elementary teachers who teach reading to meet a new certification requirement by 2028.

Commissioner Randy Watson of the Kansas State Department of Education said the state has more than 8,000 teachers currently enrolled in research-based training programs and about 3,000 teachers who have completed such training. “We should start to see results of that starting with this cycle this spring,” Watson said, summarizing the department’s progress in a committee hearing.

The push centers on three items: (1) teacher training recognized by the state board — including LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling), AIM’s Pathway to Proficient Reading and Keys to Literacy — (2) use of universal screeners and diagnostic assessments to identify students needing additional help, and (3) incentives and potential centers for advanced training and intensive interventions. The state is also using federal COVID relief funds — Watson said up to $25 million has been dedicated to training — to pay for some training costs.

Officials told committee members the state board’s “blueprint for literacy,” passed last year, asks that veteran teachers who teach reading either complete approved training with at least 80% competency or pass an approved exam by 2028. Watson said the requirement applies to educators who teach reading in preschool and elementary settings, reading specialists, school psychologists who test for reading disabilities, and elementary principals and assistant…