KSD Failed to Follow Basic Curriculum Approval Policies for Years

Press Release: Kirkwood School District Admits to Years of Teaching Courses Without Board Approval — Sunshine Requests from Plaintiff Parents Uncovered Years-Long Policy Violation

Excerpt: “Kirkwood School District Policy IF & Administrative Procedure IF-AP(1): ‘Curriculum Development’ require that every course be approved by the Board prior to being taught, but Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Liz Grana admitted at Thursday’s* meeting that a ‘thorough, deep dive investigation into all 223 courses that we offer’ showed that 20 middle school courses had never been through the Board approval process, despite some of them having been taught for multiple years. One unapproved course, ‘Sixth Grade Literacy,’ is a required course for every student at North Kirkwood Middle School, despite never having been approved by the Board.”

The full press release is available HERE.

*Please note that KFEI is aware that this issue is from 2024. KFEI did not post about this at the time and some parents recently asked that others be made aware, particularly in light of the other relevant academic concerns. The discovered courses were run through the process after this was exposed, but it is unclear if effective systems have been put in place to ensure that all required curriculum approvals are proactively taking place now. We hope so! It’s hard to understand how something as basic and as important as this slipped through the cracks for so long.