McNiece has served on board since 2013

Jim McNiece, who joined the Kansas State Board of Education in 2013, is a recipient of the National Associated of State Boards of Education (NASBE) 2018 Distinguished Service Award.

McNiece is being honored along with state education leaders from Colorado and Nebraska, according to a NASBE news release.

The national award honors current and former state board members who have made exceptional contributions to education. It is given to three leaders each year and is the highest award NASBE can give to a state board of education leader.

McNiece joined the Kansas State Board of Education in 2013 and served as chairman from 2015 to 2017. He also chaired NASBE’s board of directors in 2016. McNiece and the entire state board helped Kansas’s commissioner of education set state-level outcomes for the state’s Kansans Can vision for education, which the state approved in 2015.

Two key areas that McNiece has championed are civic engagement and Individual Plan of Study (IPS). He also serves on the Kansans Can School Redesign Project crew. McNiece serves as a legislative coordinator between the State Board of Education and the Kansas Legislature. He has led efforts to build relationships with multiple stakeholders by organizing interactive events with House and Senate Education Committees and roundtable discussions with business leaders and superintendents.

“Jim is a visionary leader,” said Jim Porter, chairman of the State Board of Education. “He has effectively used his considerable skills to help develop the Kansans Can vision. Jim has been an educational leader for decades, and his service on the Kansas State Board of Education and his leadership role in NASBE culminates a distinguished and exemplary career. I am proud that I have the opportunity to know and serve with Jim. This award is well-deserved.”

Patricia Timm, a member of the Nebraska State Board of Education since 2004, and Jane Goff, a member of the Colorado State Board of Education since 2008, also were named as recipients of the 2018 Distinguished Service Awards.

NASBE is a nonprofit organization founded in 1958 to strengthen state leadership in educational policymaking; to promote excellence in the education of all students; to advocate quality of access to educational opportunities; and to ensure continued support for public education.

The 2018 Distinguished Service Awards will be presented at NASBE's national conference from Oct. 17-20, 2018, in Denver, Colorado.