Students, educators, health advocates rally for Kentucky tobacco-free schools law

(PHOTO CUTLINE: Bellevue Independent Superintendent Robb Smith speaks at the rally.)

Kentucky students, superintendents and health advocates rallied in Frankfort Jan. 22, urging lawmakers to help reduce youth tobacco use by making all Kentucky schools 100 percent tobacco-free.

Speakers addressed the skyrocketing rates of teen "juuling" and vaping as well the as newfound support for the law from superintendents and school boards.

House Bill 11 and Senate Bill 27 would bar the use of tobacco products both on and in property owned by Kentucky school districts. The law would apply to all persons at all times while on campus, including vehicles owned by the district anywhere they travel. It also would apply to all events on school-owned property.

The Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) and the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents (KASS) support the bills.

"Student health and safety is important for KSBA, local school board members and district leaders," said Kerri Schelling, KSBA executive director. "We have cautiously waited to see how effective and workable these policies have been in the numerous districts that have adopted them. We believe the policies are working because enforcement has been crafted to fit each district's needs, an approach which will continue with HB 11 and SB 27."

The rally was organized by the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow, which has made a statewide tobacco-free schools law its highest priority.

Kentucky's youth tobacco use rates significantly exceed national averages. The 2017 Youth Behavior Risk Survey for Kentucky found that 26 percent of high school students (compared to 19.5 percent nationally) and 7.6 percent of middle schools students used a tobacco product in 2017. Also in 2017, 14.1 percent of Kentucky high school students (compared to 13.2 percent nationwide) and 3.9 percent of middle school students used e-cigarettes. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says one in five high schoolers and one in 20 middle schoolers in the U.S. are now using e-cigarettes. These numbers represent a 78 percent increase for high schoolers and a 48 percent increase for middle schoolers in less than a year.

Tobacco-free schools laws reduce both teen tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke from cigarettes and aerosol from e-cigarettes and vapes. In Kentucky, 42 percent of school districts covering 57 percent of students have enacted 100 percent tobacco-free schools policies.

Charter advisory council considers regulation changes

The Kentucky Board of Education’s (KBE) Charter School Advisory Council met Jan. 23 to discuss possible changes to the charter school regulations that were implemented after the 2017 law which allowed charter schools in the state. 

One change that KSBA has been advocating for is to reduce the number of charter specific training hours now required for local school board members. Under the current regulation, school board members with fewer than eight years of service must complete 12 hours of charter school training each year. 

Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Commissioner Wayne Lewis said his office has recently been getting several questions about the number of training hours required. 

“The rationale for that is that if they are to consider and act on application, they really do have to have that training to be able to act as they are required to do,” he said. 

Kentucky Board of Education member Ben Cundiff, who also serves on the charter advisory council, noted that most of the 173 school districts will likely not be faced with a charter school proposal. 

“Probably 165 of them will never see a charter application,” he said. 

KDE Associate Commissioner Kelly Foster pointed out that some charter training can be done concurrently with some of the regular required training. 

“We are working with KSBA to be able to provide those options,” she said. 

Eric Kennedy, KSBA’s director of governmental relations, said while charter authorizer training is important, KSBA believes that a reduction in the number of hours will still allow for robust charter training without crowding out time and money available for training on other topics.  

“Reducing the current required number to perhaps six hours annually, while still allowing for overlap or a ‘dual credit’ concept to apply for some topics, is something KSBA hopes will be considered by the council and the state board,” Kennedy said. 

The advisory council plans to meet sometime before the next scheduled meeting in May, though a date has not been set. Any changes made to the charter school regulations will then have to be approved by KBE. 

Number of SROs in Kentucky schools has increased nearly 50 percent over past year

Jan. 23 marked the one-year anniversary of the shooting in which two Marshall County students lost their lives. Since that day, districts across the state have assessed their school safety and security.

Since last January, the number of school resource officers in Kentucky schools has increased from 271 to 405. In the February issue of the Kentucky School Advocate, Kentucky Center for School Safety Training Coordinator Dan Orman writes that “it is essential for officers who take on primary security roles in schools to have specialized training.

“Montgomery County Schools police officer and Kentucky Association of School Resource Officers (KYASRO) President Chris Barrier strongly suggests involvement in the association,” Orman writes. “It is an awesome opportunity for police officers to connect with others who are doing the same difficult job and keeping school communities safe across Kentucky." For more information, contact Barrier or check out www.kyasro.com.

Orman also notes that while schools remain one of the safest places in which any child can spend his or her day, school safety requires and “all in” approach. 

You can read Orman’s full column in the online edition of the February Kentucky School Advocate, which will be available Feb. 1, or look for your copy of the magazine in the mail.

Contact the Kentucky Center for School Safety for questions or additional information.

KDE to streamline board appointment process

For districts that have vacancies on their school boards due to resignations or an insufficient number of candidates, the Kentucky Department of Education has recently released information on its newly streamlined appointment process. While much of the process remains the same, the most notable changes are highlighted below.

1. Previously, KDE used the services of a dedicated employee to oversee the board appointment process, including communications and candidate interviews. This responsibility has been delegated to the department’s General Counsel, Deanna Durrett. She can be reached at (502) 892-6153 or via email.    

2. To increase efficiency, KDE may now hold interviews via phone or video conference in place of in-person meetings.

3. It appears that KDE will no longer include current school board members in the interview process.

Per KRS 160.190 and KRS 160.210, the responsibility of appointing new board members to vacant seats is assigned to the Commissioner of Education. 

Recognition month lifts up service of members

With School Board Recognition Month coming to a close, KSBA wishes to once again honor the service of board members from Kentucky's 173 districts. Click the video for a special message from KSBA President David Webster. If your district is looking for ways to highlight board members, our recognition month toolkit is available via the banner below.

Webster Co. board member on NSBA committee

Venita Murphy of the Webster County Board of Education (and member of KSBA’s Board of Directors) has been invited to serve on the 2019 NSBA Policies and Resolutions Committee, which is charged with crafting and recommending NSBA’s annual priorities.

The committee convenes Jan. 25, in Washington, D.C., to set its priorities, just prior to the NSBA Advocacy Institute. Priorities will then be presented to the Delegate Assembly at NSBA’s annual conference March 30-April 1 in Philadelphia.

KSBA Annual Conference less than a month away

Registration is open for KSBA's 83rd Annual Conference, which will be held Feb. 22-24 at the Galt House in Louisville.

Board members and superintendents should have received the  registration brochure in the mail. The brochure (cover pictured) contains details on pre-conference sessions, general sessions and all clinic sessions, plus hotel and KOSAA meeting information.

By following the link below, you can also see descriptions of all sessions and register online.

Note: All four of the bills were discussed in last week's legislative update .

More calendar items

National School Counseling Week Feb. 4-8

Kentucky Board of Education meeting Feb. 6, Frankfort

National FFA Week Feb. 16-23

KOSAA Winter Meeting Feb 22, Louisville

2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the landmark  Rose v. Council decision, paving the way for education improvement in Kentucky and the nation. Throughout the year we will join our partners to remember that mandate and honor our shared mission. Check out KSBA’s Facebook and Twitter pages as we regularly share language from the court decision using the hashtag #RoseAT30.

This edition of KSBA Aware is made possible in part

by the following KSBA Affiliate Members.