Kansas Digital Learning Landscape
| State virtual school? | NO |
| Multi-district fully online schools? | YES |
| Online learning requirement for graduation? | NO |
| State approval process for online providers? | YES |
| State approval process for online courses? | NO |
Kansas has over 70 virtual schools and online programs approved by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) for the 2022-23 SY, including multi-district fully online virtual schools, education service center programs, and district virtual schools that collectively cover all K-12 grade levels in the state. All schools and programs must be approved to offer full-time options.
Seventeen multi-district fully online schools enrolled 9,372 students in SY 2021-22 after serving 9,932 students during the 2020-21 SY. The KSDE provides a list of virtual schools including enrollments, curriculum providers, grade levels served, whether computers are provided, and more.
Any school or district may choose to provide supplemental online courses or contract with an existing approved virtual school or program for online courses. Approved schools and programs can accept out-of-district students.
The Lawrence Virtual School, the largest virtual school in the state, offers both part- and full-time options for students K-12 and does accept students from across the state.
The Shawnee Mission School District eSchool offers supplemental online courses for district students.
For details of online learning funding in this state see the DLC's report A Review of Online Learning Funding.
State Policies
No major legislation impacting online and/or blended learning was passed January through August 2022.
The KSDE has had a comprehensive set of policies for online schools and programs, including extensive reporting, since enacting its Virtual School Act (2009). The act increased supervision and regulation of all virtual schools by KSDE. All virtual schools programs are audited annually. Extensive documentation is available on the KSDE website, including an explanation of Virtual Education Requirements. State law permits districts to make agreements for inter-district attendance for supplemental online courses.