Committee hears bill to let virtual schools administer and proctor statewide tests, align testing window

The Senate Committee on Education heard testimony on Senate Bill 382, which would require statewide assessments taken by virtual‑school students to be administered by those students’ virtual school, align the remote testing window with the dates assigned to non‑virtual students in the same district, and permit virtual schools to designate both an assessment proctor and an assessment administrator.

Cassandra Barton, head of school for Insight School of Kansas and Kansas Virtual Academy, told senators remote testing has grown rapidly and that remote participation and outcomes have improved. Barton said remote schools currently get a 10‑day testing window while in‑person schools have 25 days, creating logistical pressure: “If we had a little bit more time, I think it would be more manageable, especially when you have things come up, like technology issues or especially illness.” She added: “If they run out of time in that 10 day period to get the testing done, they just don't finish the testing, which, of course, has a negative impact on our students as well.”

Barton described operational problems with a mandated third‑party proctor vendor — limited proctor availability and scheduling conflicts — and urged allowing virtual schools to proctor their own students using licensed staff who perform the same security and ethics training as brick‑and‑mortar proctors. She also recounted year‑to‑year platform differences that created confusion about whether one device (with an integrated camera) or two devices (one to run the assessment and a second to provide a camera feed) are necessary, and asked the bill to clarify that requirement so families can prepare.

Senators asked technical questions. Senator Sykes sought clarification about Kite, an assessment platform discussed during testimony, and whether integrated camera proctoring is limited to a single vendor; Barton said her testimony reflected the school’s experience, that Kite initially supported integrated camera proctoring for many devices but vendor requirements changed, which led to a second‑device requirement in the second year. Senator Shane asked whether local staff oversight would differ materially from in‑person proctoring; Barton said it would not.

Dr. Frank Harwood, Deputy Commissioner for Fiscal and Administrative Services at the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), offered neutral testimony and requested statutory language to ensure KSDE can monitor virtual testing sessions the same way it monitors in‑person tests. He also clarified that KSDE had paid for the third‑party vendor in past years and that, under the bill, costs for proctors designated by a virtual school would be the virtual school’s responsibility.

The committee recorded no opponent testimony on SB 382 and closed the hearing. No final committee action was taken on SB 382 during this session; the committee then proceeded to hear other bills.