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Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top story — Kansas lawmakers advance SB 517, a sweeping literacy bill focused on strengthening implementation, accountability, and early intervention as the state pushes toward a 90% third-grade reading goal. Kansas — Cell phone ban signed into law. And several education bills await…
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Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top story — Kansas’ bell-to-bell cell phone ban has cleared both chambers of the Legislature and now sits on Governor Laura Kelly’s desk, putting the state one signature away from adopting one of the strongest school-day device restrictions in the…
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Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top story — Missouri’s literacy infrastructure is in place, but implementation is lagging. New state data shows just 34% of PreK-5 teachers have completed or enrolled in science-of-reading training, even as a rural coaching collaborative delivers striking early results. Kansas —…
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Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top News – State of the states; we break down what Missouri and Kansas governors signaled on education and workforce policy. Missouri Update – Early momentum builds around accountability, open enrollment, child care, and literacy, alongside a closer look…
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2025 Kansas Cradle to Career Listening Tour
At Aligned, we believe Kansas thrives when education and workforce systems work together. That belief guided us this year as we launched the Kansas Cradle to Career Listening Tour, a chance to step into communities to hear directly from Kansans about…
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Update – September 2025
This month’s highlights: Top News – The U.S. Department of Education announced over $1.1 billion in redirected funding, with investments for HBCUs, TCUs, charter schools, and civics programs.Missouri Update – Working groups of the School Funding Modernization Task Force began meeting, including one that now features Aligned’s own Torree…
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Supreme Court Weighs Religious Charters
A closely watched U.S. Supreme Court case could open the door for religious organizations to operate publicly funded charter schools. The outcome could have sweeping implications for charter school governance, religious liberty, and state education policy nationwide. In 2023, Oklahoma’s Statewide Virtual Charter…
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Weekly Update
This week’s highlights: Top News – Congress Weighs Child Tax Credit Expansion Missouri Update – Kehoe replaces state board president Kansas Update – Legislative Session Recap Additional Highlights – Under the hood of the North Kansas City School District‘s nationally recognized Automotive Technology Program Read our…
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Open Enrollment: Debunking the Myths
With the Missouri House recently passing HB 711 (Pollitt), the conversation around open enrollment and the misconceptions have intensified. While some fear this policy will destabilize public schools, the reality is far less dramatic. Open enrollment is a form of public school choice where…
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Weekly Update
This week’s highlights: Top News – Ambiguity Abounds in Federal Education Policy Missouri Update – Open Enrollment: Debunking the Myths Kansas Update – Aligned’s Role in HB 2303 and the State Longitudinal Data System Additional Highlights – Spring Break: A Student-Inspired Tradition Read our…
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Weekly Update
This week’s highlights: Top News – Across Kansas and Missouri, voters are being asked to weigh in on school bond proposals that will shape the future of their local schools. From basic facility upgrades to new construction, these bonds are becoming a common tool…
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Weekly Update
This week’s highlights: Top News – School choice remains a top priority for Governor Mike Kehoe’s administration, and this week, Missouri lawmakers made progress on one key component—open enrollment. Missouri Update – Bills related to educator tax deductions, hazing legislation, and open enrollment…