The Kansas State Department of Education’s Accreditation and Design (AD) team will present an updated Kansas Education Systems Accreditation (KESA) model to the Kansas State Board of Education next week.

The first version of KESA focused on a system’s results.

The new, proposed KESA model focuses on four fundamentals that will serve as the basis for school improvement in Kansas: 

• Structured literacy: Ensuring the most effective literacy instruction. 
• Balanced assessment system: Using data to inform instruction. 
• Standards alignment: Aligning classroom instruction and resources to standards. 
• Quality instruction: Promoting quality instruction through high expectations.

KSDE’s AD team is proposing to the State Board that the four fundamentals, in addition to the system’s results in the State Board of Education outcomes and compliance, be the basis for accreditation in pre-K-12 systems in Kansas beginning in the 2024-2025 school year.

In the proposed new model, the Accreditation Review Council (ARC) will retain its role of making accreditation recommendations to the State Board. However, ARC members would only review systems with persistent gaps in any of the three areas of accreditation – the four fundamentals, State Board of Education outcomes and compliance.

The State Board will receive the information on Tuesday, Nov. 14, and is scheduled to vote on the recommendation in December.

KSDE’s AD team also will give the KESA Monthly Update from 9-9:45 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14. It can be accessed here.