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Board of Regents hears Blueprint for Literacy progress, $8.6 million funding request
Summary
Cindy Lane told the Board of Regents that the system has made quick progress implementing Senate Bill 438 but still needs funding and time: 511 educators have completed a new foundations course, roughly 9,000 of 18,698 elementary educators have some training, and the Blueprint requests $8.6 million to scale credentials, coaching and course redesign.
Cindy Lane, director of the Blueprint for Literacy, briefed the Kansas Board of Regents on a year of work implementing Senate Bill 438 and a system strategic plan designed to raise reading outcomes statewide. Lane said institutions created a common, application‑focused “foundations” course for in‑service educators and revised undergraduate coursework to emphasize the science of reading.
The update highlighted training and credentialing progress. Lane said 511 educators have completed the foundations course since it launched in May 2025, 328 are currently enrolled, and the system has allocated about 1,700 scholarships that cover graduate tuition with a $500 completion stipend. ‘‘We have trained about 9,000 of those 18,698 educators,’’ Lane said, summarizing the system’s reach toward the statutory goal.
Why it matters: Senate Bill 438 and related State Board requirements aim to ensure educators achieve specific structured‑literacy credentials; the law and state board set aggressive timelines and statewide credential goals for elementary‑workforce training. Lane told Regents that the system’s work — curriculum mapping, a common performance assessment, coaching tied to instruction, and stackable micro‑credentials — is intended to produce measurable gains in K‑8 reading outcomes.
Lane drew attention to current student reading levels to frame the need for investment. ‘‘Fifty‑five percent of our kids have basic skills or limited skills in reading,’’ she said, noting that, across grade levels, roughly 44–45 percent of students score at the lowest two levels on state English language arts assessments. Lane said those figures are statewide, affect urban and rural districts, and underscore the workforce and college readiness stakes.
On resources, Lane presented a fiscal request of $8.6 million tied to scaling training, reshaping faculty coursework, expanding micro‑credentials and extending coaching beyond course completion. She said the governor’s budget recommended roughly $8.0 million toward the Blueprint and warned that current system funding extends only through the end of the fiscal year. ‘‘If we do not have success in appropriations, then we’ll have to think about how we ensure teachers have the skills they need,’’ she said.
Board members asked for clarifications about costs and scale. Lane and staff said the system is coordinating with KSDE and building on existing LETRS training; combining prior state work and the system’s new offerings leaves the state about halfway to the total training target for the elementary workforce. Lane closed by highlighting that institutions turned around revised undergraduate courses in a very short window and are now focused on clinical experiences, coaching models and implementation support.
Next steps: Regents endorsed continued Blueprint implementation and signaled support for pursuing the requested appropriations while monitoring outcomes and bringing further details back to the board.
