Two candidates competing for a place on the Kansas State Board of Education disagree on whether Kansas schools should create more opportunities for parents to intervene in their children’s education.
Republican Amy Cawvey says they should, while Democrat Jennifer Lloyd says schools already do a good job of letting parents direct education.
Both candidates will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot as they vie to represent District 1 on the board, covering all or part of a dozen counties in northeast Kansas, including northwest Wyandotte County and northern Leavenworth County in the Kansas City area.
Half of the board’s 10 seats are up for reelection this year. Since the incumbents, all of them Republicans, declined to run for reelection, the board will gain five new members. Three of the five members not up for reelection are Democrats, so the board’s partisan balance could even out or shift if two or three Democrats flip their districts’ seats this fall.
Lloyd, an elementary librarian with 28 years of experience as an educator, is from Ozawkie in Jefferson County.
On her Facebook page, Lloyd lists endorsements from the Kansas National Education Association teachers union, Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council, Game On for Kansas Schools, the School Board Project, Kansans for Excellence in Education, the Kansas Federation of Democratic Women and a handful of individuals including former state board member Ann Mah and a state representative.
Cawvey, Kansas chairman for the National School Boards Coalition and a former local school board member, lives in Lansing in Leavenworth County. As a Lansing school board member, she credited opposition to critical race theory for her election in 2021, but later lost reelection.
According to her website, Cawvey is endorsed by current Kansas State Board of Education members Connie O’Brien, Danny Zeck and Debby Potter. Zeck represents District 1 but is not running for reelection. O’Brien and Potter represent even-numbered districts, which are not up for election this year.
She also lists endorsements from a Lansing school board member, half a dozen current and former state lawmakers, Kansans for Life, Moms for Liberty and Kansas Family Voice.
We asked both candidates about their priorities and their positions on issues the board has discussed recently. Responses have been edited for grammar, clarity and Associated Press style.
Click the links below to jump to a question:
- Accreditation standards
- Parental rights
- Nonacademic subjects
- Top three priorities
- Assessing whether strategies are working
- Technology in schools
Meet the candidates
Jennifer Lloyd
Occupation and employer: Elementary librarian
Background and qualifications: I am a graduate of Emporia State University with a bachelor of arts in elementary education and a master’s of library science. I have been a teacher for over 28 years. Working with struggling students has been a big part of my career. I am dedicated to making schools better for all students.
For more information see: Lloyd4ksboard.com
Amy Cawvey
Occupation and employer: Kansas chairman of the National School Boards Coalition
Background and qualifications: I am a former Kansas local school board member. I am also well-trained in budgeting, school board policy and state and federal education law. I work with school board members across the state on these issues.
For more information see: AmyCawveyforKansas.com
Multiple-choice questions
Accreditation standards
Should the Kansas State Board of Education condense its accreditation standards and other regulations for school districts?
- Yes, schools should have more leeway to decide what is important to their communities.
- No, but we should consider seriously overhauling the standards in place.
- No, most of the standards the board already has in place are the correct ones.
- Other/Unsure
Lloyd: Schools need clear, high standards and meaningful accountability, but educators and administrators should not spend unnecessary time navigating duplicative reporting requirements and regulations that do not directly benefit students. I would support a comprehensive review of accreditation requirements to eliminate duplication, simplify reporting, and distinguish between essential state requirements and recommended practices.
Cawvey: The most important change needed is that the state board needs to enforce these standards for accreditation. This is currently not happening. The job of the state board is to use the power of accreditation to ensure state standards and state and federal laws are followed.
Parental rights
Do Kansas parents need more opportunities to direct their children’s education and control what they are taught in public schools, such as exempting them from certain lessons?
- Yes, we need to create more opportunities for parents to intervene in what their children are taught.
- No, we already do a good job at letting parents direct their children’s education.
- No, it’s harmful for children to miss out on lessons that educators have determined are beneficial.
- Other/Unsure
Lloyd: Parents should have a strong voice in their child’s education, and schools should make it easy for parents to understand what their children are being taught. I support transparency, meaningful parent involvement and reasonable opportunities for parents to request an alternative when a lesson conflicts with religious beliefs or other legally protected rights.
Cawvey: Parents have the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Their parental rights do not stop at the classroom door.
Nonacademic subjects
Should Kansas schools place significant focus on things that are not directly related to core academic subjects, such as mental health, social-emotional learning, life skills and character development?
- Yes, if they are handled well.
- No, it’s rarely appropriate for schools to teach on those subjects.
- Some of those subjects are appropriate while others are not.
- Other/unsure
Lloyd: I believe schools should educate the whole child, while keeping strong academic achievement at the center of our mission. Students cannot learn effectively if they do not feel safe, supported and connected to the adults and students around them. These areas should support, not replace, strong instruction in reading, writing and mathematics.
Cawvey: No, Kansas schools should focus on increasing student achievement and not other areas that are a parent’s responsibility.
Short-answer questions
If elected to the board, what would be your top three priorities to improve education in Kansas?
Lloyd: 1. Protect local control: Local educators, school boards and communities know their students best. The state should set high expectations while giving local schools the flexibility to determine how to meet those expectations.
2. Fully fund special education: Kansas needs to live up to its commitment to students with disabilities and the districts serving them. Adequate special education funding strengthens resources for every student.
3. Maintain high academic standards: Every Kansas child deserves a strong academic foundation. I will prioritize literacy, reading, mathematics and student achievement while recognizing that students also need the relationships, support and life skills that help them succeed.
Cawvey: My three priorities include increasing student achievement, ensuring the state board fulfills its statutory duty by using accreditation to ensure state and federal laws are followed, and protecting parents’ rights. Every decision should be looked at through the lens of whether it will increase student achievement, follow state and federal law and protect parental rights. We also need to reduce classroom disruptions and ensure student and teacher safety.
How should the board assess whether its strategies to improve education are working?
Lloyd: The Kansas State Board of Education should measure success by looking at student outcomes, not simply whether a program or policy was implemented. We need clear goals, measurable benchmarks and regular reviews of the data. That should include academic achievement and growth in reading and mathematics, graduation rates, attendance, postsecondary readiness and outcomes for students with disabilities and other student groups. Kansas assessments provide important information about student progress, but they should be one measure, not the only measure. Feedback from teachers, parents, administrators and students can help the board understand what is working and what is not. If a strategy is not producing the desired results, we should be willing to change it.
Cawvey: Assessments are needed to track progress. The Legislature did a great job of passing the Blueprint for Literacy, but then the state board turned around and lowered standards that were to be used as benchmarks for tracking how well this strategy is working. This undermined the entire process. We can’t lower standards so Kansas looks better on paper and graduate students who are not prepared for college or the workforce.
What additional guidelines and/or restrictions would you like to see related to use of technology in schools, including but not limited to screen time in the classroom, artificial intelligence and personal electronic devices?
Lloyd: I would like clear, age-appropriate guidelines for technology use in Kansas schools. Technology should enhance learning, not replace quality instruction or meaningful teacher-student relationships. Schools should set reasonable limits on noninstructional screen time, especially for younger students, while balancing technology with books, hands-on learning, collaboration, physical activity and face-to-face interaction. Artificial intelligence should be used thoughtfully and transparently. Students should learn to use AI responsibly, understand its limitations, verify information, protect personal information and recognize plagiarism and academic dishonesty. AI should support learning, not replace it. Policies should respect local control and allow districts to meet their communities’ needs.
Cawvey: I would like to see screen time eliminated in K-2. The educators and administrators I have spoken to think this is very easy to implement. The dangers of too much screen time at this age are well documented. Right now many students are given an iPad in kindergarten. We need to return to pen and paper. At the older grades a return to real textbooks is not only better for student achievement, but it is fiscally responsible.
