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Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top story — Missouri lawmakers advance major early literacy reforms in both chambers, focusing on prevention, intervention, and clearer expectations for third grade reading proficiency. Kansas — The Senate advances bell-to-bell cell phone restrictions for schools while lawmakers also hear testimony on a…
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Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top story — Missouri’s School Funding Modernization Task Force confronts a core structural question: how to update local effort calculations tied to 2004 property values while ensuring assessment practices are consistent across counties. We break down the tradeoffs and what…
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Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top story — A seven-year review of federal data shows enrollment declining in both Kansas and Missouri while staffing per student increases. We break down where growth is concentrated, where roles are shrinking, and what the numbers mean as further enrollment…
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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 story — New statewide data from the Kansas Teacher Retention Initiative offers a clearer picture of where the educator pipeline is most at risk, with mid-career teachers emerging as the highest retention concern. Kansas — Lawmakers preview action on a proposed cell phone…
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Missouri School Funding: Rebuild or Patch?
This analysis first appeared in Aligned’s most recent weekly newsletter. We’re expanding it here to add context on the tradeoffs the Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force is weighing as it works toward recommendations due to Governor Mike Kehoe by…
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Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top Story – Missouri Funding Task Force: The Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force held its first full meeting of 2026, surfacing major design choices around funding targets and student counts — and the tension between building a durable formula and managing…
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Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top News – Federal update: Congress advances FY 2026 education and early childhood funding while states await key ESSA waiver decisions that could reshape accountability and implementation. Kansas Update – Committee activity heats up: Lawmakers dig into Blueprint for…
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Aligned Releases 2025 Annual Report
In 2025, Aligned navigated leadership transition while expanding its policy impact across Kansas and Missouri. The organization deepened engagement with lawmakers, business leaders, and education stakeholders through statewide listening tours, advisory boards, research, and convenings. Highlights include major investments in education finance…
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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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Cell Phone Bans in Schools
Cell phones and other personal devices have become a constant presence in schools, raising concerns about disruptions to student learning. As a result, lawmakers in Kansas, Missouri, and other states across the country are taking a closer look at policies…
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Update – December 2025
This Month’s highlights: Top News – Aligned released its 2026 policy priorities, outlining opportunities to strengthen literacy, school finance, data systems, and early learning. Kansas Preview – We review the State Board of Education’s newly adopted legislative priorities and take a first look at the slow pre-filing…
Resources Hub
Access nonpartisan research and news about the policies shaping education in Kansas and Missouri.