-
Weekly Update — 05/01/26
This originally appeared in Aligned’s weekly newsletter. Want future updates in your inbox? Sign up today. A promising side effect of cell phone bans Much of our work focuses on legislation, data, and the big debates shaping education and workforce policy.…
-
Weekly Update — 04/24/26
This originally appeared in Aligned’s weekly newsletter. Want future updates in your inbox? Sign up today. Missouri’s assessment pilot and the case for balanced accountability Missouri’s new assessment pilot has given life to an age-old debate in education policy. As we wrote last August,…
-
Missouri Teacher Workforce Series: Part 3
The Fragility of the Missouri Teaching Workforce How Temporary Fixes are Becoming Permanent Solutions in Missouri Classrooms Missouri’s teacher workforce is holding together, albeit in different ways than before. This third report in Aligned’s Missouri Teacher Workforce Series examines how…
-
Weekly Update — 04/17/26
This originally appeared in Aligned’s weekly newsletter. Want future updates in your inbox? Sign up today. Kansas announces new commissioner On Tuesday, the Kansas State Board of Education selected Dr. Jake Steel to succeed Dr. Randy Watson as the state’s…
-
Missouri Teacher Workforce Series: Part 2
The Hollow Core: Missouri’s Vanishing Mid-Career Teachers Missouri’s teacher workforce is not shifting evenly. This second report in Aligned’s Missouri Teacher Workforce Series examines where the loss of mid-career teachers is most pronounced and what those patterns mean for schools,…
-
Weekly Update — 04/10/26
Many of Aligned’s priority bills become law This originally appeared in Aligned’s weekly newsletter. Want future updates in your inbox? Sign up today. As lawmakers returned to Topeka for the final days of session, several of Aligned’s priority bills ranging across…
-
Missouri Teacher Workforce Series: Part 1
Rising Novices, Growing Veterans, and a Shrinking Middle Missouri’s teacher workforce is not as stable as it looks. This first report in Aligned’s Missouri Teacher Workforce Series examines how the composition of the state’s educator workforce has shifted over the…
-
Weekly Update — 04/03/26
This originally appeared in Aligned’s weekly newsletter. Want future updates in your inbox? Sign up today. After months of major design questions, members of the Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force began to converge on key design choices that will…
-
Weekly Update
This Week’s Highlights: Top story — Kansas and Missouri begin shaping how Workforce Pell Grants will work in practice, with legislation in both states outlining program approval and implementation. Kansas — Lawmakers finalize the FY 2027 state budget and wrap up major education bills in conference committees ahead…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
Resources Hub
Access nonpartisan research and news about the policies shaping education in Kansas and Missouri.