TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas State Board of Education members aren't likely to see a final draft of proposed science standards for public schools before April.

State Department of Education official Matt Krehbiel says that means the board wouldn't take a final vote on the standards until at least May. Krehbiel oversees work on the standards and updated the board Tuesday.

Kansas and 25 other states are working on common standards for possible adoption in their public schools. Krehbiel said the final draft of the multi-state group's guidelines should be ready at the end of March, possibly allowing the board to review them for the first time at its April meeting.

Past work on science standards in Kansas has been overshadowed by debates about how evolution should be taught.