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Session of 2026
HOUSE BILL No. 2663
By Committee on Education
Requested by Representative Estes
2-3
AN ACT concerning education; relating to school district at-risk student
accountability plans; modifying the requirements for student cohorts
and achievement goals for such plans; amending K.S.A. 2025 Supp.
72-3574 and repealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 72-3574 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 72-3574. (a) Each participating school district board of education
shall submit annually to the state board of education an at-risk student
accountability plan to attain at-risk student proficiency in accordance with
this section and to ensure the provision of programs and services that are
above and beyond regular education services to students who are eligible
for at-risk programs and services. Such plan shall be submitted to the state
board of education on a form and in the manner required by the state
board. The purpose of each school district's at-risk student accountability
plan is to:
(1) Demonstrate that the school district is using evidenced-based
instruction, as defined in K.S.A. 72-5153, and amendments thereto, for the
education of students who are identified as eligible to receive at-risk
programs and services;
(2) measure longitudinal academic improvement in a quantitative
manner;
(3) establish quantitative student academic improvement goals for
certain identified student cohort groups and strive to meet such goals
through the provision of evidence-based instruction that is provided to
such cohort groups above and beyond regular educational services;
(4) ensure that at-risk education fund moneys are expended in
accordance with the law by providing services above and beyond regular
education services; and
(5) continue the process of identifying certain student cohort groups
and providing evidence-based instruction above and beyond that of a
regular education to such identified student cohort groups until the school
district achieves the state board of education's goal to have 75% of all
students achieve proficiency by scoring at performance level 3 or 4 on the
state assessments for English language arts and mathematics.
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(b) Each at-risk student accountability plan shall identify not fewer
than one cohort group of students who are enrolled and attending grade
three four each school year that such cohort group is required to be
identified and not fewer than one cohort group of students enrolled in and
attending kindergarten or any of the grades one through eight each school
year that such cohort group is required to be identified. Except as provided
in this subsection, one of the student cohort groups identified by the school
district for either such grade level shall be the students who are eligible for
free meals pursuant to the national school lunch program. for the other for
each grade level, the school district shall may identify any other student
cohort group that corresponds to one of the subgroups identified for state
assessment purposes or shall identify a cohort group of students who are
identified as eligible to receive at-risk educational programs and services
pursuant to the same at-risk identification criteria established pursuant to
K.S.A. 72-5153a, and amendments thereto. A school district shall not
identify a cohort group of students pursuant to this subsection if such
cohort group is comprised of 10 or fewer students. If both cohort groups of
students who are eligible for free meals are comprised of 10 or fewer
students no cohort group of students comprising 11 or more students can
be formed using any of the subgroup descriptions provided in this
subsection, the school district shall identify another cohort group pursuant
to this subsection consult with the state department of education to
determine appropriate alternative student cohort groups that are
comprised of 11 or more students.
(c) (1) Each participating school district board of education shall
establish a four-year quantitative academic improvement goal for each
identified student cohort group in accordance with this subsection and
shall repeat such process every four years as provided in this section. The
academic improvement goal established for a cohort group pursuant to this
section shall be related to the achievement of academic proficiency in the
areas of English language arts and or mathematics. Once a school district
establishes a four-year quantitative academic improvement goal for a
cohort group on the school district's at-risk accountability plan, the school
district shall not revise or revoke such goal for such cohort group in order
to meet or exceed such goal.
(2) To attain the four-year quantitative academic improvement goal
for each identified student cohort group, the school district board of
education shall identify and implement two through four targeted supports
or interventions for each identified student cohort group. Such supports or
interventions shall be selected from the state board of education's list of
approved at-risk educational programs established pursuant to K.S.A. 72-
5153, and amendments thereto. The purpose of the targeted supports or
interventions is to provide evidence-based instruction above and beyond
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regular education services to the identified student cohort group and
evaluate whether such targeted supports or interventions have a positive
impact on academic improvement. A school district board of education
may select different targeted supports or interventions for each identified
student cohort group and may change such targeted supports or
interventions if the chosen targeted supports or interventions are not
having a positive impact on academic improvement.
(d) (1) Each participating school district board of education shall
conduct a four-year or five-year longitudinal academic evaluation of each
student cohort group identified on the school district's at-risk student
accountability plan to evaluate whether such students improved upon
attainment of academic proficiency and met or exceeded the quantitative
academic improvement goal established by the school district board of
education.
(2) To evaluate whether the student cohort group that is first
identified in grade three four pursuant to this section is achieving at a level
that is sufficient to meet or exceed the quantitative academic improvement
goal established for such cohort group, the school district shall select and
specify in the school district's at-risk accountability plan not more than two
quantitative measures to evaluate the cohort group's achievement. One of
such quantitative measures used by the school district shall be the English
language arts and or mathematics state assessments assessment . The
school district may choose one additional quantitative measure to evaluate
such cohort group's progress from the list of approved quantitative
measures in paragraph (4).
(3) To evaluate whether the other student cohort group that is first
identified in kindergarten or any of the grades one through eight pursuant
to this section is achieving at a level that is sufficient to meet or exceed the
quantitative academic improvement goal established for such cohort
group, the school district shall select and specify on the school district's at-
risk accountability plan not more than two quantitative measures to
evaluate such cohort group's achievement. If such identified student cohort
group will take the English language arts and mathematics state
assessments in a school year that such cohort group is evaluated pursuant
to this section, the school district shall use such the appropriate state
assessments assessment to evaluate the cohort group's achievement and
may choose one additional quantitative measure to evaluate such cohort
group's progress from the list of approved quantitative measures in
paragraph (4). If such identified student cohort group will not take the
English language arts and mathematics state assessments in a school year
that such cohort group is evaluated, the school district shall use one or two
quantitative measures to evaluate such cohort group's progress from the
list of approved quantitative measures in paragraph (4).
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(4) Subject to the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3), the
quantitative measures that a school district may use to evaluate whether an
identified student cohort group is achieving at a level that is sufficient to
meet or exceed the quantitative academic improvement goal established
for such cohort group shall only include the following:
(A) The English language arts and or mathematics state assessments
assessment;
(B) a formative assessment approved by the state board of education;
(C) a summative assessment approved by the state board of
education; or
(D) ACT or ACT workkeys assessments.
(e) If the identified student cohort group meets or exceeds the
quantitative academic improvement goal established for such cohort group
at the end of the four-year period, the school district board of education
shall repeat the process established pursuant to this section by identifying
another student cohort group, establishing a four-year quantitative
academic improvement goal for such cohort group and conducting a four-
year or five-year longitudinal academic evaluation of such cohort group in
accordance with this section.
(f) If the identified student cohort group does not meet or exceed the
quantitative academic improvement goal established for such cohort group
at the end of the four-year period:
(1) The state board of education shall deem such school district as not
meeting at-risk improvement requirements on the school district's at-risk
student achievement report published on the state board's website pursuant
to subsection (j) until such school district meets the quantitative academic
improvement goal established by the school district board of education for
the subsequent cohort group identified pursuant to subsection (b) that
replaces the cohort group that did not meet or exceed the four-year
longitudinal academic improvement goal;
(2) the school district board of education shall continue to evaluate
the longitudinal academic performance of such student cohort group for
one additional school year in accordance with this section; and
(3) the school district board of education shall repeat the process
established pursuant to this section by identifying another student cohort
group pursuant to subsection (b), establishing a four-year quantitative
academic improvement goal for such cohort group and conducting a four-
year or five-year longitudinal academic evaluation of such cohort group in
accordance with this section.
(g) (1) Commencing in school year 2030-2031, if an identified
student cohort group does not meet or exceed the quantitative academic
improvement goal established for such cohort group at the end of the one
additional school year that the school district is authorized to evaluate such
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cohort group pursuant to subsection (f)(2), notwithstanding the provisions
of K.S.A. 72-5131 et seq., and amendments thereto, the school district's at-
risk student weighting and high-density at-risk student weighting
entitlements in the school year following such one additional school year
shall be determined and adjusted by the state board as follows:
(A) If only one student cohort group identified on the school district's
at-risk accountability plan fails to meet or exceed the quantitative
academic improvement goal established by the school district board of
education at the end of the one additional school year that the school
district is authorized to evaluate such cohort group pursuant to subsection
(f)(2), the state board of education shall:
(i) Determine the BASE aid amount that was in effect in the final
year of the five-year evaluation period of such cohort group;
(ii) determine the difference between the BASE aid amount in the
current school year pursuant to K.S.A. 72-5132, and amendments thereto,
and the BASE aid amount determined pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(A)(i);
(iii) multiply the amount determined pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(A)
(ii) by 0.50;
(iv) add the amount determined pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(A)(i) to
the amount determined pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(A)(iii); and
(v) multiply the sum determined pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(A)(iv)
by the school district's at-risk student weighting and high-density at-risk
student weighting determined pursuant to K.S.A. 72-5151, and
amendments thereto. The computed amount is the amount of state aid
attributable to the at-risk student weighting and high-density at-risk
weighting that the school district shall be entitled to receive in the current
school year; or
(B) if both student cohort groups identified on the school district's at-
risk accountability plan fail to meet or exceed the quantitative academic
improvement goals established by the school district board of education at
the end of the one additional school year that the school district is
authorized to evaluate such cohort groups pursuant to subsection (f)(2), the
state board of education shall:
(i) Determine the BASE aid amount that was in effect in the final
year of the five-year evaluation period of such cohort groups; and
(ii) multiply the amount determined pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(B)
(i) by the school district's at-risk student weighting and high-density at-risk
student weighting determined pursuant to K.S.A. 72-5151, and
amendments thereto. The computed amount is the amount of state aid
attributable to the at-risk student weighting and high-density at-risk
student weighting that the school district shall be entitled to receive in the
current school year; and
(2) commencing in school year 2030-2031, the state board of
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education shall determine a school district's at-risk student weighting and
high-density at-risk student weighting entitlements pursuant to this
subsection for the school year following the one additional school year that
the school district is authorized to evaluate a cohort group pursuant to
subsection (f)(2) and in which the cohort group identified on the school
district's at-risk accountability plan fails to meet or exceed the quantitative
academic improvement goal established by the school district board of
education at the end of the five-year evaluation period of such cohort
group.
(h) Each participating school district board of education shall
continue to follow the school district's at-risk student accountability plan
and update the plan annually or as may be necessary to repeat the process
established pursuant to this section every four years by identifying another
student cohort group, establishing a four-year quantitative academic
improvement goal for such cohort group and conducting a four-year or
five-year longitudinal academic evaluation of such cohort group in
accordance with this section. Such process shall continue until the school
district achieves the state board of education's goal to have 75% of all
students who took the statewide assessments during the preceding school
year achieve academic proficiency by scoring at performance level 3 or 4
on the statewide assessments in both English language arts and
mathematics.
(i) (1) For school years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, the provisions of
subsections (a) through (h) shall be implemented as a pilot program by 10
school districts selected by the state board of education for participation in
such pilot program. When selecting the 10 school districts that will
participate in such pilot program, the state board of education shall select a
diverse array of school districts with consideration given to a school
district's size, location, student demographics and level of staff
participation and prior training in the science of reading.
(2) Commencing in school year 2026-2027, the provisions of
subsections (a) through (h) shall be implemented by all school districts,
including the school districts that participated in the pilot program during
the immediately two preceding school years. A school district that
participated in the pilot program may identify new student cohort groups
in such school year.
(j) (1) Each school district board of education shall submit annually
to the state board of education an at-risk student achievement report on a
form and in the manner established by the state board that includes:
(A) Subject to the provisions of subsection (i), the school district's at-
risk student accountability plan to attain student proficiency established in
accordance with this section that includes the cohort groups identified by
the board of education of the school district and the quantitative academic
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improvement goals established for such cohort groups;
(B) subject to the provisions of subsection (i), the current progress of
the school district's plan to attain at-risk student proficiency and an
estimation of whether the school district expects to meet or exceed the
longitudinal academic improvement goals established by the school
district board of education pursuant to this section;
(C) the expenditures made from the school district's at-risk education
fund, which shall be submitted:
(i) In school years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 by the school districts
that are participating in the pilot program established pursuant to
subsection (i); and
(ii) in school year 2026-2027 and each school year thereafter, by all
school districts;
(D) the at-risk educational programs, services and resources and the
provisional at-risk educational programs that the school district is using to
support student achievement for students identified as eligible to receive
at-risk program services and the targeted supports and interventions from
the state board of education's list of approved at-risk educational programs
that the school district is using to provide evidence-based instruction
above and beyond regular education services to achieve the longitudinal
academic improvement goals established for each cohort group;
(E) the number of students identified as eligible to receive at-risk or
provisional at-risk educational programs and services who were served or
provided assistance under the school district's approved at-risk program;
and
(F) the data and research that the school district utilized to determine
what programs and services are needed to implement the district's
approved at-risk program.
(2) Each school district may provide a supplemental narrative to
accompany the school district's at-risk student achievement report to
provide information regarding annual progress reports or reasons why the
school district was able to meet or not meet the longitudinal academic
improvement goals established for each cohort group identified on the
school district's at-risk student accountability plan pursuant to this section.
(3) To achieve uniform reporting of the number of students who are
provided at-risk programs and services above and beyond that of a regular
education, school districts shall report the information required pursuant to
this subsection in a uniform manner required by the state board.
(k) Commencing in school year 2026-2027, the state board of
education shall publish the plans and reports submitted by all school
districts on the state board of education's website through the link on the
state department of education's website homepage titled "accountability
reports" with such reports published under a link titled "school district at-
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risk student accountability plans and reports." Commencing in school year
2026-2027, each school district board of education shall publish the school
district's report on the school district's website and provide a link to the
state department of education's website where all such reports are
displayed.
(l) On or before January 31 each year, the state department of
education shall prepare and present a summary of the reports submitted
pursuant to subsection (j) to the house of representatives standing
committee on K-12 education budget and the senate standing committee
on education or any successor committees.
(m) As used in this section, "longitudinal" means the repeated
examination and progress monitoring of the same individuals of a
particular cohort group of students over a period of time.
(n) The provisions of this section shall take effect and be in force
from and after July 1, 2024.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 72-3574 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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