Education
Families Together
Families Together is the parent training and information center serving Kansas families that include a son or daughter with a disability (birth to age 26). Families Together no longer has regions, but serves statewide with one telephone number.
Text updates December 28, 2022
Map updated April 24, 2023.
Phone Number - (785) 233-4777 or (800) 264-6343
Spanish - (800) 499-9443
Kansas Board of Education
The Kansas State Board of Education is charged with general supervision of public education and other educational interests in the state.
Map updated April 24, 2023
Text updated January 13, 2023.
Unified School District Board Members
District 1
Danny Zeck, (January 2027)
(913) 683-1836
District 1 includes: Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, northern Leavenworth, Jefferson, southern and most of eastern Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley, northern Shawnee, Counties.
District 2
Melanie Haas, Overland Park (January 2025)
(816) 226-7728
District 2 includes: Northeastern Johnson County, Southern and most of Eastern Wyandotte County.
District 3
Michelle Dombrosky, Olathe (January 2027)
(913) 782-1835
District 3 includes: Southern Johnson and Northern Miami Counties.
District 4
Ann Mah, Topeka (January 2025)
(785) 266-9434
District 4 includes: Southern Leavenworth, Northern Johnson, Northern Franklin, Osage and Southeastern Shawnee Counties.
District 5
Cathy Hopkins, Garden City (January 2027)
(913) 634-0445
District 5 includes: the counties of Cheyenne, Clark, Decatur, Ellis, Finney, Ford, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kearny, Lane, Logan, Lincoln, northwestern Marshall, Meade, Mitchell, Morton, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Rawlins, Republic, Rooks, Russell, Scott, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stanton, Stevens, Thomas, Trego, Wallace, Washington, and Wichita.
District 6
Deena Horst, Salina (January 2025)
(785) 827-8540
District 6 includes: the Counties of Geary, Lyon, Morris, southwestern to east central Shawnee, Wabaunsee
District 7
Dennis Hershberger (January 2027)
(620) 931-7459
District 7 includes: the Counties of Barber, Barton, Comanche, Dickinson, Edwards, Ellsworth, Harvey, Kingman, Kiowa, Ness, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rush, and Stafford, and northwestern Sedgwick.
District 8
Betty Arnold, Wichita (January 2025)
(316) 684-7792
District 8 includes: East and south central Sedgwick County.
District 9
Jim Porter, Fredonia (January 2027)
(316) 617-6779
District 9 includes: the Counties of Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Linn, Marion, McPherson, Northern Miami, Montgomery, Wilson, and Woodson
District 10
Jim McNiece, Wichita (January 2025)
(316) 729-9742
District 10 includes: the Counties of southern and western Butler, Cowley, Harper, Sedgwick, and Sumner.
Secretary to the Board: Barbara Hughes (785) 296-3203
Special Education Advisory Council
The Kansas Special Education Advisory Council is appointed by the State Board of Education to represent educational needs of exceptional children. The council gives advice and consultation related to the preparation and administration of the state plan, formulation and review of rules and regulations, consideration of special issues and recommendations concerning special education.
Kansas Special Education Advisory Council
Map updated April 24, 2023.
Text updated October 31, 2023.
Region 1
Jennifer Kurth (2023)
jkurth@ku.edu
Dr. Troy Pitsch (2025)
troy.pitsch@kskps.org
Region includes United School Districts (USD): Unified School Districts (USDs) 202 Turner (Part), 203 Piper, 204 Bonner Springs, 207 Fort Leavenworth, 289 Wellsville (Part), 339 Jefferson County North (Part), 342 McLouth (Part), 348 Baldwin City (Part), 449 Easton (Part), 453 Leavenworth, 458 Basehor-Linwood, 464 Tonganoxie, 469 Lansing, 491 Eudora (Part), 497 Lawrence (Part), 500 Kansas City, 512 Shawnee Mission Public Schools (Part)
Region 2
Rebecca Schultz (2024)
rebecca.schultz@smsd.org
Region includes United School Districts (USD): 202 Turner (Part), 229 Blue Valley (Part), 232 De Soto (Part), 233 Olathe (Part), 512 Shawnee Mission Public Schools (Part)
Region 3
Jennifer Kucinski (2026)
jkucinski@kssdb.org
Region includes United School Districts (USD):229 Blue Valley 229 (Part), 230 Spring Hill, 231 Gardner Edgerton, 232 De Soto (Part), 233 Olathe (Part), 289 Wellsville (Part), 367 Osawatomie (Part), 368 Paola (Part), 416 Louisburg (Part), 491 Eudora (Part), 512 Shawnee Mission Public Schools (Part)
Region 4
Chris Reffett (2025)
creffett@sjeagles.com
Tobias Wood (2026)
twood@ksbor.org
Michelle Warner (2024)
michelle.warner@ks.gov
Charity Porter (2026)
cporter@dreamcatcherscm.com
Region includes United School Districts (USD): 243 Lebo-Waverly (Part), 251 North Lyon County (Part), 287 West Franklin (Part), 320 Wamego (Part), 321 Kaw Valley (Part), 323 Rock Creek (Part), 329 Mill Creek Valley (Part), 330 Wabaunsee East (Part), 336 Holton (Part), 338 Valley Falls (Part), 339 Jefferson County North (Part), 340 Jefferson West (Part), 341 Oskaloosa Public Schools, 342 McLouth (Part), 343 Perry Public Schools, 345 Seaman, 348 Baldwin City (Part), 372 Silver Lake, 377 Atchison County Community Schools (Part), 420 Osage City, 421 Lyndon, 434 Santa Fe Trail (Part), 437 Auburn-Washburn, 449 Easton (Part), 450 Shawnee Heights, 454 Burlingame Public School, 456 Marais des Cygnes Valley (Part), 497 Lawrence (Part), 501 Topeka Public Schools
Region 5
Jose M. Cornejo (2026)
jcornejo@usd497.org
Brooke Moore (2025)
brookemoore@fhsu.edu
Brandon Gay (2026)
brandon.gay@colbycc.edu
Sabrina Rishel (2024)
srishel@gckschools.com
Region includes United School Districts (USD): 102 Cimarron-Ensign, 103 Cheylin, 105 Rawlins County, 106 Western Plains, 112 Central Plains (Part), 200 Greeley County Schools, 208 WaKeeney, 209 Moscow Public Schools, 210 Hugoton Public Schools, 211 Norton Community Schools, 212 Northern Valley (Part), 214 Ulysses, 215 Lakin, 216 Deerfield, 217 Rolla, 218 Elkhart, 219 Minneola, 220 Ashland, 225 Fowler, 226 Meade, 227 Jetmore, 241 Wallace County Schools, 242 Weskan, 254 Barber County North (Part), 269 Palco (Part), 270 Plainville (Part), 271 Stockton (Part), 274 Oakley, 275 Triplains, 281 Hill City, 291 Grinnell Public Schools, 292 Wheatland, 293 Quinter Public Schools, 294 Oberlin, 297 St. Francis Community Schools, 299 Sylvan Grove (part), 300 Comanche County (Part), 303 Ness City, 310 Fairfield (Part), 314 Brewster, 315 Colby Public Schools, 316 Golden Plains, 325 Phillipsburg (Part), 326 Logan (Part), 347 Kinsley-Offerle, 349 Stafford, 350 St. John-Hudson, 351 Macksville, 352 Goodland, 355 Ellinwood Public Schools, 363 Holcomb, 371 Montezuma, 374 Sublette, 376 Sterling (Part), 381 Spearville, 382 Pratt, 388 Ellis, 395 LaCrosse, 399 Paradise (Part), 401 Chase-Raymond (Part), 403 Otis-Bison, 407 Russell County (Part), 412 Hoxie Community Schools, 422 Kiowa County-Greensburg, 428 Great Bend, 431 Hoisington, 432 Victoria. 438 Skyline Schools (Part), 443 Dodge City, 452 Stanton County, 457 Garden City, 459 Bucklin, 466 Scott County, 467 Leoti, 468 Healy Public Schools, 474 Haviland, 476 Copeland, 477 Ingalls, 480 Liberal, 482 Dighton, 483 Kismet-Plains, 489 Hays, 494 Syracuse, 495 Fort Larned, 496 Pawnee Heights, 502 Lewis, 507 Satanta.
Region 6
Whitney George (2024)
whitneyg@usd383.org
Matthew Ramsey (2024)
mramsey@benedictine.edu
Region includes United School Districts (USD): 107 Rock Hills, 108 North Central-Washington Schools, 109 Republic County, 110 Thunder Ridge, 111 Doniphan West Unified School District 111, 112 Central Plains (Part), 113 Prairie Hills, 114 Riverside, 115 Nemaha Central, 212 Northern Valley (Part), 223 Barnes, 224 Clifton-Clyde, 237 Smith Center, 239 North Ottawa County, 240 Twin Valley, 269 Palco (Part), 270 Plainville (Part), 271 Stockton (Part), 272 Waconda, 273 Beloit,298 Lincoln, 299 Sylvan Grove, 305 Salina, 306 Southeast of Saline (Part), 307 Ell-Saline (Part), 320 Wamego (Part), 321 Kaw Valley (Part), 322 Onaga-Havensville-Wheaton, 323 Rock Creek (Part), 325 Phillipsburg (Part), 326 Logan (Part), 329 Mill Creek Valley (Part), 333 Concordia, 334 Southern Cloud, 335 North Jackson, 336 Holton (Part), 337 Royal Valley, 338 Valley Falls 338 (Part), 340 Jefferson West (Part), 364 Marysville, 377 Atchison County Community Schools (Part), 378 Riley County, 379 Clay Center, 380 Vermillion, 383 Manhattan (Part), 384 Blue Valley, 392 Osborne County, 393 Solomon (Part), 399 Paradise (Part), 400 Smoky Valley (Part), 407 Russell County (Part), 409 Atchison Public Schools, 415 Hiawatha, 426 Pike Valley, 429 Troy Public Schools, 430 South Brown County, 435 Abilene (Part), 473 Chapman (Part), 475 Geary County Schools (Part), 498 Valley Heights
Region 7
Lena Kisner (2024)
lkinser@rcec610.org
Region includes Unified School Districts (USDs): 112 Central Plains (Part), 206 Remington-Whitewater (Part), 243 Lebo-Waverly (Part), 251 North Lyon County (Part), 252 Southern Lyon County (Part), 253 Emporia, 259 Wichita (Part), 262 Valley Center Public Schools (Part), 266 Maize (Part), 267 Renwick (Part), 268 Cheney (Part), 284 Chase County, 306 Southeast of Saline (Part), 307 Ell-Saline (Part), 308 Hutchinson Public Schools, 309 Nickerson, 310 Fairfield (Part), 311 Pretty Prairie, 312 Haven Public Schools. 313 Buhler. 320 Wamego (Part), 323 Rock Creek (Part), 327 Ellsworth, 329 Mill Creek Valley (Part), 330 Wabaunsee East (Part), 331 Kingman-Norwich (Part), 332 Cunningham (Part), 369 Burrton, 373 Newton, 376 Sterling (Part), 383 Manhattan (Part), 386 Madison-Virgil (Part), 393 Solomon (Part), 397 Centre, 398 Peabody-Burns (Part), 400 Smoky Valley (Part), 401 Chase-Raymond (Part), 405 Lyons, 408 Marion-Florence, 410 Durham-Hillsboro-Lehigh. 411 Goessel, 417 Morris County, 418 McPherson, 419 Canton-Galva, 423 Moundridge, 435 Abilene (Part), 439 Sedgwick Public Schools, 440 Halstead (Part), 444 Little River, 448 Inman, 460 Hesston, 473 Chapman (Part), 475 Geary County Schools (Part), 481 Rural Vista, 487 Herington
Region 8
Jessica Lopez (2026)
jdlopez1413@gmail.com
Region includes United School Districts (USD): 259 Wichita (Part), 260 Derby (Part), 261 Haysville (Part), 375 Circle (Part), 385 Andover (Part)
Region 9
Lindsey Graf (2025)
lgraf@usd244ks.org
Paul Buck (2024)
paul@paulbucklaw.com
Barney Pontious (2024)
bpontious@usd101.com
Region includes Unified School Districts (USDs) : 101 Erie, 205 Bluestem (Part), 206 Remington-Whitewater (Part), 234 Fort Scott, 235 Uniontown, 243 Lebo-Waverly (Part), 244 Burlington, 245 Leroy-Gridley, 246 Northeast, 247 Cherokee, 248 Girard, 249 Frontenac Public Schools,250 Pittsburg, 252 Southern Lyon County (Part), 256 Marmaton Valley, 257 Iola, 258 Humboldt, 263 Mulvane (Part), 282 West Elk, 283 Elk Valley, 285 Cedar Vale, 286 Chautauqua County Community, 287 West Franklin (Part), 288 Central Heights, 289 Wellsville (Part), 290 Ottawa, 344 Pleasanton, 346 Jayhawk, 348 Baldwin City (Part), 358 Oxford (Part), 362 Prairie View, 365 Garnett, 366 Woodson, 367 Osawatomie (Part), 368 Paola (Part), 375 Circle (Part), 386 Madison-Virgil (Part), 387 Altoona-Midway, 389 Eureka, 390 Hamilton, 394 Rose Hill Public Schools (Part), 396 Douglass Public Schools (Part), 398 Peabody-Burns (Part), 402 Augusta (Part), 404 Riverton, 413 Chanute Public Schools, 416 Louisburg (Part), 434 Santa Fe Trail (Part), 436 Caney Valley, 445 Coffeyville, 446 Independence, 447 Cherryvale, 456 Marais des Cygnes Valley (Part), 461 Neodesha, 462 Central,.463 Udall (Part), 465 Winfield (Part), 470 Arkansas City (Part), 471 Dexter, 479 Crest, 484 Fredonia, 490 El Dorado, 492 Flinthills, 493 Columbus, 499 Galena, 503 Parsons, 504 Oswego, 505 Chetopa-St. Paul, 506 Labette County, 508 Baxter Spring
Region 10
Heath Peine (June 2024)
hpeine@usd259.net
Jennifer King (2024)
jking7@usd480.net
Marvin Miller (2026)
mjmiller@abilityed.com
Jim McNiece (ex officio)
jmcniece@ksde.org
Region includes United School Districts (USD): 205 Bluestem (Part), 206 Remington-Whitewater (Part), 254 Barber County North (Part), 255 South Barber, 259 Wichita (Part), 260 Derby (Part), 261 Haysville (Part), 262 Valley Center Public Schools (Part), 263 Mulvane (Part), 264 Clearwater, 265 Goddard, 266 Maize (Part), 267 Renwick (Part), 268 Cheney (Part), 300 Comanche County (Part), 331 Kingman-Norwich (Part), 332 Cunningham (Part), 353 Wellington, 356 Conway Springs, 357 Belle Plaine, 358 Oxford (Part), 359 Argonia Public Schools, 360 Caldwell, 361 Anthony-Harper, 375 Circle (Part), 385 Andover (Part), 394 Rose Hill Public Schools (Part), 396 Douglass Public Schools (Part), 402 Augusta (Part), 438 Skyline Schools (Part), 440 Halstead (Part), 463 Udall (Part), 465 Winfield (Part), 470 Arkansas City (Part), 509 South Haven, 511 Attica
Ex Officio
Leslie Girard
lesli@familiestogetherinc.org
Rocky Nichols
rocky@drckansas.org
Mike Burgess
mike@drckansas.org
John Harding
jharding@kssdb.org
Luanne Barron
jbarron@kssdb.org
Idalia Shurman
idalia.shurman@knea.org
Director of Special Education and Title Services
Bert Moore
(785) 291-3097