STATE FUNDING GUIDE

Kansas

SB 438 established the Blueprint for Literacy: science of reading micro-credentials for elementary teachers by 2030, regional Centers of Excellence in Reading, and a ban (effective July 1, 2025) on instructional materials that use three-cueing as the primary basis for word recognition. Blueprint dollars flow to the Board of Regents for training rather than district materials budgets; the practical purchasing lever for reading intervention is Kansas at-risk state aid, which must be spent on State Board-approved evidence-based programs.

Kansas Blueprint for Literacy (Senate Bill 438, 2024)

How schools fund reading intervention in Kansas

The state-level programs below are the streams Kansas districts most often use for evidence-based reading intervention purchases, alongside the federal streams available everywhere.

At-Risk Pupil Assistance funding (at-risk weighting, K.S.A. 72-5151 et seq.)

Districts receive at-risk weighting in the school finance formula, and state law requires those funds to be spent on evidence-based programs approved by the Kansas State Board of Education; reading intervention curricula on KSDE’s approved at-risk list can be purchased with these funds, and districts can seek provisional approval for a program not yet listed.

Blueprint for Literacy appropriation

The Legislature appropriated $10 million to the Kansas Board of Regents for Blueprint implementation, including science of reading teacher training and Centers of Excellence — free professional learning for district staff rather than district curriculum purchases.

Approved-list note: Kansas at-risk funds must be spent on programs on KSDE’s State Board-approved evidence-based list (with a provisional application process), and SB 438 separately prohibits three-cueing-based instructional materials after July 1, 2025.

Official state resource →