In his Monday Message, Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass said that at this time decisions related to COVID-19 prevention strategies during the 2021-22 school year remain with local school districts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday updated its Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools, which reiterates the importance of safe, in-person schooling for this coming school year.

“Students benefit from in-person learning, and safely returning to in-person instruction in the fall 2021 is a priority,” the guidance states.

The CDC urge schools to promote vaccination of eligible students and said masks should be worn indoors by all individuals, including students and teachers, who are not fully vaccinated. The guidance also recommends that schools maintain at least 3 feet of distance between students in classrooms.

Glass said that the Kentucky Department for Public Health will provide additional guidance in the coming days.

After the new CDC guidance, Jefferson County Schools decided to require masks for all unvaccinated students and staff attending summer learning programs. The requirement is expected to remain in place until at least July 27 when the board votes on what COVID-related safety requirements will be in place for the 2021-22 school year. Meanwhile, Oldham County Schools is recommending unvaccinated students and staff wear a mask, but it will not be required. Bowling Green Independent officials said the district does not plan to require masks.

For more than two and half hours, educators and lawmakers discussed critical race theory (CRT), a concept educators say is not typically taught in Kentucky K-12 public schools, during the July 6 Interim Joint Committee on Education meeting.

Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, a sponsor of one of at least two bills (BR 60 and BR 69) seeking to ban the concept from classrooms, said the bill is “one of the most vital pieces of legislation” the legislature will focus on when the next session begins in January.

“CRT is identity-based Marxism,” Lockett said, adding that he has heard from many parents, teachers and school board members who say they do not support teaching CRT in schools.

Kentucky of one of at least 21 states where lawmakers have sought this year to ban the discussion of systemic racism, according to EdWeek. Versions of the legislation have already passed in at least seven states, according to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank tracking the legislation.

At the meeting, Education Commissioner Jason Glass explained that critical race theory is an academic theory – primarily used in universities – that is meant to provide a framework for the study of potential causes and effects of racism in society.

Glass explained that the theory is not included in the state’s academic standards and he is not aware of any school teaching the theory.

“At their core, BR 60 and BR 69 are educator gag and student censorship bills,” he said. “Notably these censorship bills circumvent the decisions of school-based councils which have long been entrusted with making curricular decisions in Kentucky schools in keeping with our tradition of local control.”

Under Kentucky’s proposed bills, schools and teachers who violate the prohibitions would be penalized. One of the bills would fine school districts $5,000 per day and the other would allow for teacher’s certifications to be revoked. The bills would not apply to private school teachers.

“This represents yet another specific attack on Kentucky public school educators,” he said.

Glass also explained that CRT is not the same thing as equity – telling legislators that free and reduced-priced meals, special education and teaching non-English speakers English are all examples of equity in public education.

Lockett and Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy, said they both believe Kentucky schools are teaching CRT to students as young as first grade and kindergarten. They did not identify the schools where they believe it is happening.

“We as a General Assembly must take action and ban the harmful and destructive teaching of critical race theory, our parents are demanding it,” he said.

The Council for Better Education (CBE) has withdrawn its request for a judge to keep the tax credit portion of House Bill 563 from taking effect.

The CBE had asked Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepard to not allow the Kentucky Department of Revenue to start approving the tax credits on June 28, the day the new law took effect. The request for a temporary injunction noted that approving the credits would allow public money to flow to private schools in certain counties in the state.

In withdrawing its request, the CBE noted that the revenue department has said in an affidavit that it does not plan to start approving the credits until at least Oct. 11.

Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Sept. 16 in Franklin Circuit Court. The suit, filed June 7, contends that the tax credit portion of the bill is unconstitutional in Kentucky because it sends public dollars to private schools through tax credits.

In addition to CBE, the plaintiffs include Frankfort Independent Schools and Warren County Schools, whose boards of education voted to join the litigation, along with three parents of public school students.

Under HB 563, the state will give up to $25 million annually for five years in tax credits to donors who give to organizations that award funds to education opportunity accounts. Donors can recoup up to $1 million per year in state tax credits.

The accounts can be used by families in counties with at least 90,000 residents to pay tuition for private schools.

On June 24, the Kentucky attorney general’s office issued an advisory regarding changes to the Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act following the regular session of the 2021 General Assembly. The attorney general has created a standardized form by which any resident of the Commonwealth may request to inspect public records.

Because of the changes, the attorney general has updated “The Kentucky Open Records & Open Meetings Acts: A guide for the public and public agencies.”

The attorney general also distributes “Managing Government Records: A Cooperative Undertaking.”

Under KRS 160.395, superintendents must distribute the “The Kentucky Open Records & Open Meetings Acts” and “Managing Government Records," either electronically or in hard copy, to each school board member and each school-based decision making council member, within 60 days of receipt of the update and to any new member of both groups within 60 days of the day their term of office begins. The distribution may be made by electronic means​. Superintendents must:

KSBA’s 2021 Summer Leadership Institute is this weekend, July 16-17 at the Marriott Griffin Gate in Lexington. There is still time to register! View a downloadable conference program. Easy online registration for conference attendees can be accessed via the "Register Now" button below or visit the SLI page of KSBA's website.

Prichard Committee President/CEO Brigitte Blom, featured in the video linked blow, will kick off SLI as the Friday evening keynote presenter. She spent a decade as an elected member of the Pendleton County Board of Education and served as a member of the Kentucky Board of Education for six years. Blom will present "Building a Groundswell for a Big Bold Future – With Education at the Core."

Save the dates! KSBA's 2021 Regional Meeting dates are listed below. More details, including meeting times and locations, will be announced in the weeks ahead via the Regional Meeting page of KSBA's website. Districts will receive emailed invitations to their respective regional meetings from the host district/Regional Chair.

Not sure which region your district belongs to? View a listing of districts by region.

KSBA’s 2021 fall regional meeting program will feature roundtable discussions on pressing education topics, focusing on three issues facing local school boards now and in the next legislative session. Each topic will be introduced by a brief informational video, followed by small group discussion facilitated by KSBA staff. Members will be encouraged to share with each other their own thoughts on the issues, allowing KSBA staff to better understand the unique regional perceptions and opinions.

Kentucky Department of Education officials and superintendents explained how they are spending federal COVID-19 relief funding to the General Assembly’s Interim Joint Budget Review Subcommittee on Education on July 7.

KDE Associate Commissioner Robin Kinney told legislators that Kentucky is receiving $3.1 billion from three rounds of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, plus $30 million from Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER). KDE is administering $82 million from two rounds of Emergency Assistance for Non-public Schools funding, she said.

“These funds are very flexible in nature, and so we thought it best for you to hear from some of the folks who are really implementing them at the local level,” she said.

Superintendents from four districts explained their plans for using the funds. Frankfort Independent Superintendent Houston Barber, president of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents (KASS), explained that districts understand that the relief funds are one-time money that should not be used for recurring expenses.

Rockcastle County Schools decided to use the funds to serve the “whole child” in summer programs because of all that students missed this past year, said Superintendent Carrie Ballinger.

One hundred seventy-five high school students recovered academic credit through the camp, and 18 seniors earned their diplomas, she said.

Daviess County Schools Assistant Superintendent Amy Shutt told lawmakers that the influx of federal funding allowed the district to expand mental health services to meet the growing need and to provide more services and with greater speed.

All the new positions are eligible for Medicaid billing, so they can be sustained when ESSER funds are no longer available, Superintendent Matt Robbins said. On Aug. 3, Daviess County Schools will host its first mental health summit, “Rise Up For Resilience” – a free event for 500 educators, featuring nationally-known speakers.

Johnson County Schools has used the relief money to make great improvements in educational technology, said Superintendent Thom Cochran. Students in grades 3-12 had Chromebooks, but the youngest students also needed them.

The district also bought resources to deal with student learning loss and is using them this summer, Cochran said. The district will use the remainder of the federal funding to help remove other barriers to student learning.

Read KDE’s summary of the presentations.

Reminder: KRS 160.340 requires that board policies be kept up to date by filing annual amendments no later than Aug. 15. If your district has questions about specific board policies and/or procedures, please contact your assigned KSBA policy consultant as soon as possible.

Participants will be responsible for purchasing their own copies of the book, available via Amazon or by ordering through your preferred book retailer. Please sign up for the study no later than Friday, July 23. Participating board members are eligible to receive two hours of elective board credit pending submission of a credit form following the study's conclusion.

Visit KSBA's Summer Leadership Institute web page for additional information including schedule at-a-glance and hotel accommodations.

KSBA will offer the next installment of its popular Learn and Earn webinar series at noon Wednesday, Aug. 11. The hour-long training is entitled "Governance Core," based on the book about successful school board governance, and will touch on ideas such as the governance mindset, unity of purpose and a shared moral objective. These values keep student success at the center of school board service and include consideration of innovative strategies. Politics can distort good governance by encouraging preconceived notions about issues. The course teaches that effective solutions consider diverse views and all the evidence before making decisions. Good governance is a key to community support and long-term success of school districts. Click the button below to register. (Meets mandated ethics training requirements)

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