Kan. Admin. Regs. § 91-31-31

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 49, December 5, 2024

Section 91-31-31 - Definitions

As used in this article of the department's regulations, each of the following terms shall have the meaning specified in this regulation:

(a) "Accreditation" means the process of documenting that an education system meets requirements established by the state board.

(b) "Accreditation cycle" means the period of time from the beginning of the needs assessment to the point at which the state board grants an accreditation rating to an education system.

(c) "Accreditation rating" means the status granted by the state board upon recommendation of the accreditation review council.

(d) "Accreditation review council" means the body of education professionals charged with providing a recommendation of accreditation rating to the state board at the end of each accreditation cycle.

(e) "Accreditation year" means the final year, or step, of an education system's accreditation cycle.

(f) "Accredited" means the status assigned to an education system that meets the following conditions established by the state board:

(1) The education system is in good standing.

(2) The education system provides conclusive evidence of improvement in student performance.

(3) The education system provides conclusive evidence of a process of continuous improvement.

(g) "Area for improvement" means the specific issue to be corrected, as determined by the accreditation review council, that an education system shall complete in order to improve the education system's accreditation rating.

(h) "Chief administrative officer" means the person hired by a governing body to lead the work of achieving the education system's mission and to oversee all aspects of the operation of the education system.

(i) "Commissioner" means commissioner of education.

(j) "Conclusive evidence" means data that is sufficient to the accreditation review council to justify its recommendation of accredited to the state board.

(k) "Conditionally accredited" means the status assigned to any of the following:

(1) A new education system seeking accreditation;

(2) an education system seeking accreditation after one or more years of not seeking accreditation; or

(3) an education system about which both of the following are true:

(A) The education system is in good standing; and

(B) the education system provides neither conclusive evidence of growth in student performance nor conclusive evidence of a process of continuous improvement.

(l) "Corrective action plan" means the set of actions developed by an education system in response to areas for improvement identified by the accreditation review council.

(m) "Credit" means formal acknowledgment by an education system's governing body for criteria-based accomplishment. In Kansas K-12 education, this term is usually expressed as a number of units of credit.

(n) "Curriculum standards" means statements adopted by the state board specifying what students should know and be able to demonstrate in specific content areas.

(o) "Education system" means a Kansas unified school district, the Kansas state school for the blind, the Kansas school for the deaf, an organized body of non-public schools, or an independent private school.

(p) "Education system leadership team" means the group of education system employees that leads the education system's work toward an accreditation rating during an accreditation cycle.

(q) "Education system site council" means the group of people from outside of the education system from whom the education system leadership team receives input related to the education system's work toward an accreditation rating during an accreditation cycle.

(r) "Final analysis" means the process of reviewing education system-level data at the end of an accreditation cycle.

(s) "Foundational structures" means programs, models, or practices prerequisite to receiving an accreditation rating of "accredited" from the state board.

(t) "Framework" means a defined set of practices that together encompass the work that education systems do to prepare successful Kansas high school graduates.

(u) "Goal area" means one area of performance selected by an education system for specific focus during its accreditation cycle.

(v) "Governing body" means either of the following:

(1) The board of education of any public education system; or

(2) the decision-making authority of any private education system.

(w) "Independent private school" means a non-public school that, for accreditation purposes, is not affiliated with other non-public schools.

(x) "In good standing" means in compliance with, or working with the state board to achieve compliance with, all applicable federal and state statutes and regulations.

(y) "Kansas assessment program" means the evaluation that the state board conducts in order to measure student learning within the Kansas curriculum standards.

(z) "Kansas education systems accreditation" and "KESA" mean the Kansas model for the accreditation of education systems that offer any grades kindergarten through grade 12.

(aa) "Needs assessment" means a systematic process of scoring state board-approved rubrics and examining current data supporting KESA results for the purpose of determining needs or gaps between current conditions and desired conditions.

(bb) "Not accredited" means the status assigned to an education system that is described by either of the following:

(1) Is not in good standing; or

(2) fails to provide conclusive evidence of either improvement in student performance or a process of continuous improvement.

(cc) "On-site visit" means a visit at an education system by either the education system's outside visitation team or its state technical assistance team.

(dd) "Outside visitation team" means a group of trained education professionals selected by an education system to collaborate with the education system in a coaching or mentoring role, supporting the education system for the duration of an accreditation cycle.

(ee) "Outside visitation team chair" means the member of the outside visitation team who has been specifically trained and appointed to act as the leader of the group for the duration of an accreditation cycle.

(ff) "Private education system" means either of the following:

(1) An organized body of non-public schools; or

(2) an independent private school.

(gg) "Public education system" means any of the following:

(1) A Kansas unified school district;

(2) the Kansas state school for the blind; or

(3) the Kansas school for the deaf.

(hh) "Qualified admissions" means the set of criteria allowing a high school graduate guaranteed admission into Kansas public universities.

(ii) "School" means an organizational unit that provides educational services in a logical sequence of elements that may be structured as grade levels, developmental levels, or instructional levels.

(jj) "School leadership team" means the group of employees of a school leading that school's work toward an accreditation rating during an accreditation cycle.

(kk) "School site council" means the group of people not employed by the school with whom the school leadership team consults.

(ll) "State board" means the Kansas state board of education.

(mm) "State board-approved rubrics" means the methods used by an education system during the needs assessment to evaluate the education system's current condition.

(nn) "State technical assistance team" means a group of persons appointed by the commissioner to assist "not accredited" public education systems in achieving an upgraded status.

(oo) "Successful Kansas high school graduate" means a high school graduate who has the academic preparation, cognitive preparation, technical skills, employability skills, and civic engagement to be successful in postsecondary education, in the attainment of an industry-recognized certification, or in the workforce, without the need for remediation.

(pp) "Unit" means the number or amount, expressed in fractions or decimals, of credit assigned to a specific achievement. A full unit is credit that is awarded for the successful demonstration of competency and knowledge of a content area.

Kan. Admin. Regs. § 91-31-31

Authorized by and implementing Article 6, Section 2(a) of the Kansas Constitution and K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 72-5170; effective July 1, 2005; amended by Kansas Register Volume 40, No. 38; effective 10/8/2021.