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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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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…
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K–3 Literacy Policy Brief: Kansas and Missouri (2025)
Early reading shapes every part of a student’s academic future, yet Kansas and Missouri continue to see stagnant or declining literacy outcomes. Nearly six in ten third graders in both states are not reading on grade level, underscoring the need…
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Webinar: Literacy, Data, and the Science of Reading
On November 12, 2025, Aligned hosted a webinar examining how Kansas and Missouri are translating the “science of reading” into policy and practice. The session walked through recent reading data, what research says about effective early literacy instruction, and how current laws…
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Update – October 2025
This month’s highlights: Top News – New national polling from the PIE Network reveals a major gap between parents’ perceptions of student achievement and actual performance data. Missouri Update – School Funding Modernization Task Force workgroups are developing early proposals for updating the state’s formula. A new…
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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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Webinar: Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems
On September 10, 2025, Aligned partnered with the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) to host a webinar introducing Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDSs) and their role in aligning education and workforce priorities. SLDSs help states connect data across systems, inform policy, and provide valuable…
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Update – August 2025
This month’s highlights: Top Story — Testing & accountability at a crossroads: what the research says, why it matters now, and how systems should evolve. Missouri Update — Funding Formula Modernization Task Force hears Bellwether’s best-practice options; plus Missouri’s SRSA pilot launches, moving…
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Webinar: Property Taxes & Education Funding
On July 16, 2025, Aligned’s second webinar examined the vital link between property taxes and education funding in Kansas and Missouri. Property taxes remain the primary source of local school revenue, yet reliance on property wealth can create disparities between districts. The session…
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Webinar: Special Education Funding in Kansas & Missouri
On May 14, 2025, Aligned hosted the first webinar in its bi-monthly series, focusing on how Kansas and Missouri fund special education. The session provided an overview of how both states allocate resources for students with disabilities, the fiscal pressures facing school…
Resources Hub
Access nonpartisan research and news about the policies shaping education in Kansas and Missouri.