A bill that would mandate Kentucky school boards to offer 15 minutes of public comment at meetings passed the House Education Committee Tuesday.

The bill, HB 121, comes as school board meetings across the state have become contentious with parents and community members on both sides of divisive issues seeking to have their voices heard.

Under current law, school boards are not required to accept public comments, however most boards do. All boards in the state have adopted polices on public participation in meetings; some require speakers to address items on the agenda, some set time limits and some require speakers to sign up in advance, according to KSBA’s Policy Service staff.

Education Committee Chairwoman Rep. Regina Huff, R-Williamsburg, the bill’s sponsor, said that while most school boards allow public comment, she has heard from some constituents who could not speak at meetings.

“So this is an opportunity for them to speak and know that they have that opportunity to speak and know the time limit,” she said. Huff noted that board members do not have office hours so the meeting might be the only place a resident could speak directly to the board.

Rep. Lisa Willner, R-Louisville, who served on the Jefferson County school board, asked if there were provisions for safety if the public comment got of out hand.

“This past summer we saw nationwide, not just here in Kentucky, a rise of death threats against school board members against potential school board candidates,” she said.

Jefferson County Schools suspended public comment at board meetings in October after concerns about violence at the meetings, however Huff said the bill was not directed solely at Jefferson County.

“There were other counties where parents were feeling like they didn’t have the opportunity to speak,” she said. “There’s issues that are playing before us now where parents are engaged, and I think we should be excited that they’re engaged and want to participate.”

The bill specifies that if no one asks to speak before the start of the comment period, board members don’t have to sit waiting for 15 minutes. The bill will now go the full House.

KSBA’s 2022 Annual Conference (Feb. 25-27 in Louisville) is just one month away. Visit the conference page of KSBA’s website to begin online registration, review a complete conference schedule and to access limited-time conference hotel rates. Districts also have the option of viewing/printing a hard-copy schedule and registration form.

Special conference-rate hotel accommodations are filling up quickly, and the deal expires Feb. 7. Review the hotel options and book your room as soon as possible!

KSBA will once again display beautiful banner artwork depicting the conference theme, “Connect the Dots.” We invite districts to submit student-designed banners for display in conference materials and in the banner gallery area. KSBA will once again collect banner art electronically. View banner instructions and specifications. The banner artwork deadline has been extended until Feb. 14.

Friday’s keynote presenter Denise Ryan (pictured below) brings with her two things everyone likes: chocolate and motivation! Ryan will highlight nine key concepts to help individuals get more out of work and life. Attendees will gain insights into unique leadership styles. The session includes a chocolate tasting to demonstrate not only how to appreciate chocolate, but also life itself. Being an education leader just got a whole lot sweeter!

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will use a $2 million, four-year federal grant to assist leaders at career and technical education (CTE) centers across Kentucky.

SREB will work with Kentucky education leaders to create and evaluate the SREB Career and Technical Education Leadership Academy for center directors. Magnolia Consulting, a research organization based in Virginia, will be the co-principal investigator and will evaluate the study.

The project will develop a model professional learning program and then determine how well the model works. The results will help shape future programs.

“There is a great deal of research on leadership in other education areas, but none on how to improve professional development of CTE center principals/directors,” said David Horseman, associate commissioner of KDE’s Office of Career and Technical Education. “This will be something that can be shared nationally when completed to improve leadership development in CTE centers.”

SREB and KDE will survey leaders at Kentucky’s CTE centers to understand their professional development needs. Topics may include labor market data analysis, career pathway development, coaching new and experienced teachers, project-based learning, developing industry partnerships for work-based learning and integrating CTE with academic courses.

The Career and Technical Education Leadership Academy will include a five-day summer institute for center directors, plus four days of additional workshops, onsite leadership coaching between workshops, virtual learning sessions among participants and job-embedded activities that participants complete in their centers.

KDE is recruiting 10 center directors for the pilot with the goal of offering the curriculum to 40 to 50 directors in the third and fourth years of the grant.

KSBA is currently requesting proposals for our 2022 Learn and Earn webinar series. If you have an informative topic that is relevant to board members and district leaders, consider submitting a proposal for one of our one-hour webinars to be offered each month from March – November 2022. Submit a short proposal form online and view additional details on KSBA’s Learn and Earn webpage. The deadline to submit proposals is Feb. 4.

Monies raised by the West Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund for Our Schools will be allocated directly to districts in the impacted communities, much of it administered through local family resource and youth service centers (FRYSCs) for services to families displaced or otherwise impacted by the tornadoes.

Photo: The WKEC board of directors gathered on Jan. 26 at KSBA headquarters in Frankfort for its monthly meeting. WKEC Executive Director Gretchen Wetzel is pictured far left. KSBA Director of Policy & eMeeting Services Katrina Kinman, who serves as KSBA liaison to WKEC, is pictured far right.

Convenient, self-study school safety training is now available to Kentucky’s school board members and their districts thanks to the SafetyInSchools.com Threat Preparedness Program. SafetyInSchools has partnered with boards and districts across the country to deliver safety training specifically addressing the threats to and vulnerabilities of schools.

Current topics available for credit include:

View/download the training information and registration form. Upon completion of this online training, KSBA will be alerted and board training credit will be awarded automatically. Board members who complete both modules will receive four hours of Level IV/V elective credit in the KSBA Academy of Studies. EILA credit has been approved for these courses.

The Kentucky Organization of Superintendents’ Administrative Assistants (KOSAA) 17th Annual Conference is Friday, Feb. 25 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, coinciding with KSBA’s Annual Conference. Visit the KOSAA webpage to view additional details or click here to begin easy online registration. This year's theme is "Lights, Camera, Action!" Attendees will learn about KSBA services, network with fellow KOSAA members, receive a tutorial on the new eMeeting portal and learn valuable tips for meeting agendas and minutes.

The 2022 Spring Meeting of the Kentucky Council of School Board Attorneys (CSBA) will also meet during the KSBA Annual Conference. CSBA will gather from noon until 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25 and from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. This year’s meeting will take place at the Louisville Marriott Downtown. Visit the CSBA webpage to view additional details or click here to begin easy online registration. This year's training topics include qualified immunity, open records, open meetings, legislative update, case law update and other topics of interest.

KSBA is often called on by media outlets to discuss important school-related issues. Here are some of the stories to which your association contributed in recent weeks.

Bill advances setting comment time at school board meetings -- Bowling Green Daily News, Jan. 25

Lawmakers move to expand school choice law, despite ongoing lawsuit -- Bowling Green Daily News, Jan. 13

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