Gov. Andy Beasher on Aug. 10 asked all Kentucky schools to delay in-person instruction until after Sept. 28. As of Friday morning, 126 of Kentucky’s 171 public school districts had said they would comply with the governor’s request.

However, at least seven districts decided to go ahead with in-person classes, including Green County Schools which is scheduled to welcome students back on Monday, Aug. 17.

During a Thursday night webcast with local board members, Interim Commissioner Kevin Brown urged districts to abide by the request citing the increased risk for transmitting the virus. Nearly 400 people watched the webcast which include KDE officials, Lt. Gov. Jackie Coleman and Kentucky public health officials.

Brown said the webcast was in response to controversy surrounding the governor’s recommendation.

“What I am asking local boards of education to do as the chief state schools officer and the interim commissioner of education is to use your position of authority to make responsible decisions based on the expert guidance from those at the state level,” he said, “and I’m talking about the people at public health, to make the decision to delay in-person classes.

“Having said that, we recognize that it is a local decision. While I believe we should have 171 districts that are using that position authority to make responsible decisions, I already know we aren’t going to achieve that,” Brown said.

If districts decide to open before Sept. 28, Brown urged them to work with their local health department on a plan to test students and teachers for coronavirus, abide by all of the Healthy at School guidance including the optional best practices and talk to their board attorney about insurance liability.

Brown said he has talked to nine or 10 districts who were considering not following the recommendation. But he notes that KDE will not stop any district from opening.

For example, when Green County starts on Monday, “the department is not going to show up down there with a KDE enforcement squad and prevent Green County from going to school on Monday,” Brown said. “They are going to school and follow their Healthy at School plan.”

But with the virus at high levels across the state, Brown said it’s unlikely that even the best back to school plans will be successful. If an outbreak occurs, school could be delayed again by health departments, he said.

Just an hour and half before the school board member webcast, Beshear again urged districts to abide by his recommendation.

“I believe there is a time when all of those plans people worked on are going to be really important, I just believe we have to be patient enough to do it at the right time,” he said.

Beshear said that he understands that virtual instruction can’t replace in-person learning and that not being at school can affect students’ mental health. But the risk is too great, he said.

“I just appeal to our schools, I believe that this is a significant risk to the life and health of teachers, of students and of the parents they come home to, of the caregivers,” he said. “I believe in public education, I'm a product of it, I want our kids to be in school, but I'm not going to experiment with our kids.”

For more see, KDE’s summary of the local board member webcast.

KSBA sent new Title IX Sexual Harassment policies and procedures to districts in an Interim Update on July 28. Additionally, the TIXC’s contact information must be provided in all handbooks and publications. KSBA has posted training materials on its website. 

When the school year begins, local boards of education will have the flexibility to grant unlimited emergency leave to district employees.

The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) at its Aug. 6 meeting adopted an emergency regulation that gives boards the authority to approve additional emergency leave due to COVID-19. The change was needed because, under state statute, boards could only grant three days.

The emergency regulation mirrors Senate Bill 177 which allowed boards to grant unlimited leave through the end of the 2019-20 school year.

KSBA has composed a sample resolution for school boards to use to grant district employees additional days of COVID-19-related emergency leave. Providing this new emergency leave is optional. Based on discussion during the KBE meeting, additional guidance on this regulation may be issued.

There is also existing federal leave provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act through Dec. 31. Boards should also consult with district legal counsel.

Many local board members have raised questions about possible COVID-19 related legal liability to the district, the board or individual board members. Todd Allen, interim general counsel for KDE, along with the Kentucky Association of School Administrators and representatives of one of the largest providers of insurance coverage to Kentucky school districts, discussed this topic during the June 9 KDE superintendent webcast.

Representatives from various child welfare groups testified at the July 22 meeting of the Child Welfare Oversight and Advisory Committee, that reporting of possible child abuse and neglect fell precipitously following the closure of in-person instruction last school year.

Click the video above for a special message from KSBA Executive Director Kerri Schelling.

More detailed regional meeting information, including specific meeting times and registration instructions, will be distributed by your region's host district in the weeks prior to each meeting. If you do not receive the information at least two weeks prior to your region’s scheduled meeting, please contact KSBA at your earliest convenience. For questions, please contact Laura Cole at 800-372-2962 or Laura.Cole@ksba.org.

Check KSBA’s Regional Meeting page for additional information and updates, including the dates for each regional meeting.

Note: If you have a conflict on the date of your assigned region’s meeting, you may request to attend another region’s meeting by contacting the host region directly.

This fall, six regional chair seats on KSBA’s board of directors will be up for election. Regional chairs are in a unique position to serve as liaisons for our fall regional meetings while also contributing as members of the association’s board of directors. KSBA will distribute nomination information to board members and superintendents within regions where elections are to be held. Election forms, instructions and submission deadlines can also be downloaded from the Regional Meeting page of KSBA’s website.

The six regional chair positions up for election this fall are Northern Kentucky, Middle Cumberland, Second, Eastern Kentucky South, Fourth and Upper Cumberland.

If you have questions about these elections, or about regional chairperson service, please contact KSBA Executive Director Kerri Schelling at 859-492-1497 or via email.

Details are available at FirstLady.ky.gov/CoveringsforKids, including links to mask-making tutorials and patterns.

Questions can be emailed to Lindsay Bloom.

The campaign will run through August. The graphics and PSAs are available for download.

Registration is required and space is limited to 100 participants. Visit the Learn and Earn web page for detailed webinar descriptions, presenter information, registration details and more. Download a complete schedule (PDF) of the upcoming opportunities.

The Sept. 9 "Learn and Earn" webinar will be a finance session titled Making Sense of Dollars: Presenting Financial Info to Non-Financial Audiences. This webinar counts toward mandated finance training requirements for school board members. Register now!

For questions contact Laura Cole, KSBA director of Board Team Development, via email or at 800-372-2962.

Since 1936, the Kentucky School Boards Association has thrived as Kentucky’s leading advocate for public school boards. KSBA empowers locally elected school board members and the districts they represent through a host of member services and resources. In the wake of unprecedented strain on our Commonwealth's system of common schools, the value of association membership has never been so clear. View a summary of just some of the benefits KSBA provides to members.

Across the Board: Service, Support and Success

A summer surge of coronavirus cases prompted Gov. Andy Beshear to recommend districts not hold in-person classes until late September. The request came just a week before some districts were set to open their doors, but despite the delay, public health officials say all the work to meet the guidelines for in-person instruction will not go to waste. Read about the efforts of districts in the August edition of the Kentucky School Advocate.

KSBA is often called on by media outlets to discuss important school-related issues. Here is a story to which your association contributed in recent weeks.

Aug. 11, WDRB-TV: Opinions from school leaders vary on Beshear's call to delay start of classroom learning

KSBA is accepting nominations for its PEAK Award. The deadline is Sept. 22 and more information is available on our website.

The entry guidelines and links to stories on some of the recent winners, are available on our website. If you have questions, please email or call Matt McCarty at 800-372-2962 ext. 1209.

This edition of KSBA Aware is made possible in part