Each year, KSBA releases a summary of legislative priorities for advancing education and strengthening districts. KSBA's top priorities for the 2021 regular session of the General Assembly are:

Visit KSBA’s website for a detailed breakdown of each priority or view/download a printable version.

As the number of coronavirus cases continues to soar across the state, there are more cases in Kentucky schools and more quarantines of students and staff.

In the first two days of this week, 2,705 students and 549 staff in Kentucky schools were put in quarantine because of exposure to the virus. In addition, 440 students and 236 staff were reported positive so far this week on the state’s K-12 dashboard.

During the Kentucky Department of Education’s Superintendent’s Webcast on Tuesday, public health officials explained the importance of quarantines in stopping the spread of the virus. Quarantines are required when a person has been within 6 feet of a positive person for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period – even if both people were wearing a mask, said Alyson Cavanaugh, a Centers for Disease Control epidemic intelligence service officer.

“It’s not a punishment for students, it’s not a punishment for faculty, it’s not a punishment for sports teams. The reason we are doing it is we know that this is a mechanism and a tool that can help to save lives,” she said.

Several superintendents have told KDE that their local health departments are overwhelmed and are no longer able to contact trace all the positive cases, Commissioner Jason Glass said.

Dr. Connie White, deputy public health commissioner, said schools can help health departments by providing as much information as possible about school contacts.

“We hired 800 to 900 new people in the state of Kentucky to do this and that worked until about three weeks ago, and it’s just gotten blown out of the water in the last couple of weeks,” she said.

The rise in cases and quarantines has also led to a rise in the number of districts that have moved from in-person instruction to virtual. This week at least 75 of Kentucky’s 171 school districts moved online.

There were 80 counties in the red category on the state’s Nov. 5 incidence map, the map districts were to use to determine instruction for this week. Of the 121 school districts in red counties, at least 69 decided to use virtual instruction.

Glass noted that the decision on whether to follow the state’s COVID-19 Mode of Instruction Metric tool is up to local school boards under Kentucky law.

“When we see a community go in the red it really should lead to a serious conversation at the local level with the school board, with the department of public health about what is happening, where are the cases coming from,” he said. “And then a prudent decision based on that information.”

Registration is now open for KSBA’s 2020 Winter Symposium, Dec. 4-5 in Louisville. The annual symposium is the last major training event offered before the end of the calendar year, the deadline for completion of state-mandated school board training hours. 

Book your hotel stay now for KSBA’s Winter Symposium at a special reduced conference rate. This special rate of $144 expires after Nov. 13 so act now!

Safety is priority No. 1 and KSBA is working closely with the host hotel to ensure a safe event for all. Measures will be taken to offer a socially distanced experience in adherence to current state and federal public health guidelines. View/download our frequently asked questions document that addresses these comprehensive efforts. Attendees will be encouraged to do their part to protect themselves and fellow guests from the spread of COVID-19.

If you do not wish to register online, you may download a hard copy registration form.

After asking all state agencies to prepare for an 8 percent budget cut – a cut that would mean $43 million less in education spending – Gov. Andy Beshear announced Nov. 4 that cuts to the current fiscal year budget will not be needed.

“This is really good news because it means areas like education, health care and public safety will not face cuts like we thought they would at time when their services are so essential,” Beshear said.

The budget is now predicted to have a $99 million shortfall for the current fiscal year, which ends in June 2021, much lower than anticipated due to greater flexibility in spending CARES Act funds and better than expected revenues.

State Budget Director John Hicks told legislators Wednesday that the next fiscal year – which begins July 1 – could be a concern because CARES Act funding expires at the end of this year and Congress has not passed new emergency funding for states. The General Assembly will take up a new budget in January.

The state Division of Emergency Management hosted a webinar on Tuesday during which new guidance was released by FEMA, regarding the eligibility for federal reimbursement for school district expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the spring, FEMA communicated with state agencies, including emergency management and the Kentucky Department of Education, that school districts should keep an accounting of COVID-related expenses for possible federal reimbursement from FEMA. The guidance released Tuesday now indicates that while it is still possible for some expenses to be reimbursed, the category of expenditures will be greatly reduced compared to what was expected.

Because many district finance officers have already submitted their requests for FEMA reimbursement, or are in the final stages of preparing these submissions, it is important for everyone to be aware of the new FEMA guidance. The webinar on schools and educational facilities will be repeated at 9 a.m. (ET) Nov. 17. Please contact your state emergency management FEMA liaison for more information.

The Council for Better Education has released overviews of 2020 SEEK data for each Kentucky school district.

CBE has also provided a helpful dashboard document showcasing the historical trends (2008 – 2020) of local and state funding sources. For more information, visit the CBE’s website. 

The application deadline for the 2020-21 First Degree Scholarship program has been extended to Nov. 18. One male and/or one female student is eligible per public school district, selected by the local school board. Applicants must also meet other criteria, including being the first members of their immediate families to graduate from a postsecondary institution.

For nine consecutive years, the First Degree Scholarship program has funded a limited number of $2,500 scholarships for eligible Kentucky high school seniors to attend accredited postsecondary institutions. The 2021 award will mark a decade of supporting students! Scholarship funds are raised by the KSBA Educational Foundation, Inc., and are made possible by the generous contributions of donors like you.

Six school board members were elected to KSBA’s Board of Directors during the virtual Fall Regional Meetings. The new regional chairs will join the board on Jan. 1 and will each serve a three-year term.

The six new regional chairs are:

Look for more information on each of the new members of KSBA's Board of Directors in the November issue of the Kentucky School Advocate.

Over the next several months, KSBA will be spotlighting our Tier 1 and Tier 2 Affiliate Members in Q&A videos. The videos will provide information on the services the companies provide to school districts and why they choose to support public education.

This week’s spotlight is Performance Services. Dave Dowdell, Business Development Manager of Performance Services, joined KSBA's Matt McCarty for a Zoom conversation.

Check out all of our Affiliate members on our website.

This edition of KSBA Aware is made possible in part