Now that Senate Bill 128 has become law, school districts and boards have several deadlines to meet to implement the bill, which allows districts to offer students a supplemental school year.

The Kentucky Department of Education has issued guidance to help districts follow the new law. The guidance is designed to help districts provide information to students and families before they make decisions about requesting the extra year.

It also has information on the impacts to districts in order to help school board members decide whether to approve the requests. For example, schools where students remain in high school an extra year will see lower graduation rates because federal law uses the 4-year adjusted cohort rate. Schools with a 4-year graduation rate lower than 80% are classified as Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools. The guidance also urges districts to think about staffing allocations, special education and other factors.

Students have until May 1 to submit a request to school boards, and boards have until June 1 to decide whether to accept all requests, or no requests. Boards must then submit their implementation plan, along with any requests for regulatory waivers, to the Kentucky Board of Education by June 16.

Some districts, such as Rockcastle County, have created easy to use guides to help parents understand the pros and cons of holding their students back a year.

Some superintendents have said they will likely not ask their boards to approve the requests for an extra year. Bullitt County Schools Superintendent Jesse Bacon told the Pioneer News that after discussions with central office staff, principals and athletic directors, he would not be recommending the supplemental year.

“There is too much potential for unintended consequences,” he said. “Additionally, I believe avenues already exist for students in grades K-8 to repeat a grade level if they choose to do so.”

View/download the full agenda with detailed information on speakers and topics. Use the "Register Now" button below to begin easy registration. Registration is limited to 100 viewers and the cost is $150 per person.

On the second to last night of the 2021 General Assembly, legislators passed House Bill 563, the school choice and supplemental school year bill.

Legislators overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of the bill that will allow students in the state’s eight most populous counties to grants funded by scholarship tax credits to pay for private school tuition.

The House voted 51-42 to override the veto, with House Education Committee Chairwoman Regina Huff, R-Williamsburg, who voted against the bill when it first passed House, switching her vote to yes. The Senate easily overrode the veto with a 23-14 vote.

The bill, which will not go into effect until the 2022-23 school year, requires districts to adopt non-resident polices and allows non-resident students to count in average daily attendance for funding purposes.

KDE’s Director of Government Relations Chuck Truesdell said during Wednesday’s KBE meeting that though state money could follow the student, the question remains how local tax money would follow students from one district to another.

“That will be somewhat tricky, because there’s a great deal of legal precedence that local funds are local funds and they can’t be transferred between the two districts,” he said.

The bill also allows $25 million in tax credits to those who donate to account granting organizations which then provide grants to families. Students in Boone, Campbell, Daviess, Fayette, Kenton, Hardin, Jefferson and Warren counties could use those funds to pay for private school tuition. In all counties, students can use the grants for other educational expenses, including public school tuition.

See KSBA's section by section breakdown of HB 563.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, during which time we elevate the detrimental issues of abuse and neglect among children while celebrating the importance of family. Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky (PCAKY) offers a wide variety of helpful resources including a #CAPM2021 social media toolkit, family tips, training opportunities and research.

Deborah Yetter of the Louisville Courier-Journal, in a March 3 article, discusses how Kentucky has repeatedly ranked among the worst in the nation for its rates of child abuse and neglect. One local forensic pediatrician describes the prevalence of abuse as "one of most serious public health issues pertaining to kids" in Kentucky.

The weekend is packed with 50 informative breakout sessions, inspiring keynote speakers and the largest exhibitor tradeshow in KSBA history! This year’s conference theme is “Kentucky School Boards: Champions for Education.” The conference weekend also coincides with the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Organization of Superintendents’ Administrative Assistants.

Violinist, composer and speaker Kai Kight – KSBA’s Friday keynote presenter – extends a special message for attendees (via the video linked below). 

Special hotel rates are available to conference attendees at nearby participating hotels, but the deadline to take advantage of these deals is Friday, April 30. Currently two of the three conference hotels are sold out of special rate rooms, but there is still limited space available at the SpringHill Suites Louisville Downtown at the discounted rate of $139 per night. Make your reservations now.

Gov. Andy Beshear appointed Bowling to fill the seat held by her late husband Mike Bowling who died in February. As she was sworn in on Wednesday, Jamie Bowling said she was honored to be asked to continue her husband’s work on the board.

During Wednesday’s meeting the KBE also heard an update on federal coronavirus relief funding, changes to the state’s Healthy at School guidance, a presentation from Rockcastle County Superintendent and one of students and took other actions. See the full KDE news release. 

From noon until 1:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 29, KSBA will offer “District Turnaround for Student Success: How Boards Will Lead Turnaround Efforts in our New State Accountability System.” 

This special virtual training opportunity is provided in collaboration with The Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE), a joint venture of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and the School of Education and Human Development.

Attendees will earn 1.25 hours of board training credit and the webinar counts toward A/S Level II required topic: Student Assessment. Click the “Register Now” button to begin easy online registration or download a printable information flyer.

Diane Porter, chairwoman of the Jefferson County school board, has been named a winner of the Kentucky Board of Education's Robinson Award for Equity and Diversity.

Porter received the award during Wednesday’s KBE meeting.

“I’m always surprised when I receive recognition, because I think that everybody works as hard as I do,” she said, adding that she appreciates and is humbled by the honor.

The KBE has given the award, named for Samuel Robinson, a former educator who served on the KBE from 1991 to 2004, since 2004 to a person or group that displays outstanding leadership, commitment and service in promoting equity and opportunities to learn at high levels for all Kentucky students.

Porter was nominated by Ashley Duncan, vice president for inclusion and diversity at Republic Bank. Duncan previously worked for Jefferson County Schools as diversity hiring specialist, a position which Porter advocated creating.

Jefferson County elementary school teacher Kyri Demby also received the Robinson Award on Wednesday. Demby, who teaches music and art to grades K-5 at Jacob Elementary School, said he hopes the impact of receiving the Robinson Award will be to show others they can make a difference, encouraging them to teach skills to children, and amplify his message of self-control for students.

The April issue of the Kentucky School Advocate is now online. Read about the 'first day' of school for Harrison County Schools and how other districts are returning to a more normal school year.

This edition of KSBA Aware is made possible in part