While bills regarding solar panels, abortion and guns received a lot of media attention this week, several KSBA priority bills also saw action. There also will be several education-related bills to watch next week.

LEAD Day at the Capitol is Thursday  

Our LE AD advocacy day at the Capitol is a smaller event this year with no reception or formal pro gram. We hope you have already made an appointment to meet with your legislators on Thursday and that we will see you in the halls of the Capitol before we all meet up in Louisville for KSBA’s Annual Conference on Feb. 22.   

KSBA bills that saw action this week

HB 22 , filling board vacancies (KSBA supports)

This bill will allow school boards to fill their own vacancies. If for any reason a board does not or cannot do so within 60 days, then the Commissioner of Education would do so. This bill, filed by Rep. Mark Hart (R-Falmouth), would enhance local decision-making and your community’s voice in the leadership of its schools. This bill passed the House this week and now will go to the Senate. The final version was amended to allow districts to post the vacancy notices on their website rather than in the newspaper, to reduce costs and promote awareness.

HB 227 ,  increasing board per diem amount (KSBA supports)

This bill will increase the allowed per diem for board members from $75 to $150 and increase the total annual maximum of per diem and expenses from $3,000 to $6,000. Some have raised cost concerns, but rest assured that board members or boards could choose to not accept the per diem (as many currently do) in this bill filed by Rep. Brandon Reed (R-Hodgenville) and Rep. Ed Massey (R-Hebron). The current per diem hurts recruitment of candidates, especially those with children or grandchildren needing childcare during meetings. This bill passed the House this week and now will go to the Senate. KSBA thanks Karen Byrd, chairwoman of the Boone County school board, for her stellar testimony in the House Local Government Committee. 

Pictured above: Rep. Brandon Reed, Boone County school board chairwoman Karen Byrd and Rep. Ed Massey testify before the House Local Government Committee this week in support of HB 227.

SB 15 , background checks (KSBA supports)

This bill, to alleviate the massive backlog and delay caused by requiring background checks of “contractors,”  passed the Senate this week and now will go to the House. We thank the sponsor, Sen. Julie Raque Adams (R-Louisville) for her support, as well as the Kentucky Association of School Administrators and countless other groups involved with the drafting. 

What to watch next week:

SB 175 , accountability changes and “TSI” criteria

This bill, filed by Sen. David Givens (R-Greensburg), deals with the state accountability system. It would:

Commissioner Wayne Lewis testified Thursday in the Senate Education Committee meeting that he is opposed to the bill due to KDE’s interpretation that it may not comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Sen. Givens testified that the U.S. Department of Education assured him that it does not violate federal law. The committee did not vote to allow the sponsor and KDE staff to discuss the issue. The bill may be acted upon early next week.

KSBA has reviewed the bill and it appears to have many positive aspects that promote local decision-making. This would also create a better-defined group of TSI schools and allow schools to focus on the students who need support, in light of the severely constrained state funding.

 

Please review this bill with district leadership and reach out to your Senate and House member to express your thoughts.

Pictured above: Sen. David Givens explains SB175, which would amend the state accountability system, to the Senate Education Committee.

SB 1 , School Safety and Resiliency Act, the companion bill to HB 1

This bill will be heard Wednesday in the House Education Committee where several amendments will be added. These amendments are the product of countless hours of work by the bill sponsors, KSBA and other groups to address concerns, clarify provisions, enhance local flexibility and allow more time for implementation. We thank the sponsors, Sen. Max Wise and Rep. Bam Carney (both of Campbellsville) for their openness to input, which has resulted in many positive changes.

Legislators continue to acknowledge the need for significant funding to implement the bill and have committed to doing so in the next biennial budget.

SB 3 , principal selection, and SB 8 , tribunal reform

Both bills are now in the House Education Committee. SB8 will be heard on Wednesday and SB3 is awaiting consideration. KSBA supports both bills. We continue to meet with legislators to discuss both bills and explain what they do and do not do.

HB 209 , school building water fountain requirements

This bill, filed by Rep. Bam Carney (R-Campbellsville), would require school building plans and specifications to include at least two water bottle filing stations, at least one drinking fountain or filing station on each floor and wing of each building, and at least one drinking fountain or filing station for every 75 students. The House Education Committee will hear this bill on Wednesday.

HB 202 , corporal punishment in schools

This bill, filed by Rep. Steve Riley (R-Glasgow), would prohibit the use of corporal punishment in all public schools as a form of discipline. The House Education Committee will discuss the bill on Wednesday but is not expected to vote. 

Other bills:

HB 205 , scholarship tax credits

This bill, filed by Rep. Bam Carney, (R-Campbellsville), would create a state income tax credit that reduces a taxpayer’s income taxes in exchange for contributions to scholarships for students attending private schools. KSBA is opposed to this and to all bills creating a new tax credit or deduction that would reduce the amount of state General Fund revenues at this time of budget constraints, rising pension costs, new school safety mandates and elimination of textbook support, professional development support, Commonwealth School Improvement funds, and other programs.

This bill may be considered by House Appropriations and Revenue Committee at any time. ( NOTE: Many bills have been filed to create tax credits and KSBA is watching all of them.) Also, HB 354, filed by Rep. Steven Rudy (R-Paducah), makes clarifications to last year’s tax reform bill, including a change that impacts the utility gross receipts license tax for schools. KSBA has reviewed the bill and we do not believe it would significantly impact district revenues, however we will be watching the bill.

HB 49 , local tax recall process

This bill, filed by Rep. Stan Lee (R-Lexington), would negatively impact school district tax collections, as well as all local taxes in cities, counties, and other entities by amending the recall process to make it easier to get a recall on the ballot and more importantly, changing the recall threshold from anything over the 4 percent rate to anything over the compensating rate!

This could effectively cap the amount of revenue a district can collect. KSBA is opposed to this bill and we have met with the sponsor to explain our concerns. With rising costs and school safety investments coming under SB1, we must not lose any ability to collect local revenue. This bill may be heard at any time in the House Local Government Committee. In addition to the sponsor, KSBA is working with the committee chairman, the Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Association of Counties on this bill.

HB 272 , literacy and math achievement and ‘third-grade retention’

This bill, filed by Rep. James Tipton (R-Taylorsville), is one for all superintendents, instructional leaders and finance officers to analyze for impacts on student learning, district staffing and finances. It is a complex bill that would require a universal screener for students in kindergarten through third grade and for students falling behind in reading and math. It would require academic improvement plans, intensive summer enrichment programs and has a fourth-grade promotion/third-grade retention component. Please review the bill and offer your concerns to your legislators.

HB 331 , standardized testing “opt-out” bill

This bill, filed by Rep. Jason Nemes (R-Louisville) and Speaker David Osborne (R-Prospect), would allow parents to choose that their student not participate in statewide assessments and if a student “opted-out” it would not count against the school or district’s aggregate accountability scores the way it does currently. Please review the bill and offer your concerns to your legislators.

HB 304 , federally documented boats

This bill, filed by Rep. Bam Carney (R-Campbellsville), would address the issue of boats that are documented with the U.S. Coast Guard. Many owners falsely believe that this documentation exempts their boat from school property taxes. It does not. This bill would fix this issue which would help revenues in any district with documented boats on bodies of water and/or marinas subject to taxation.  KSBA has long supported this fix. This bill may be heard at any time in the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee.

Be sure to watch your email and KSBA’s Facebook and Twitter pages for developments and for any “Action Alerts” urging you to contact your legislators.

Let legislators know how bills will impact your students by calling the free LRC Message Line , which is staffed by actual human operators and is open Monday-Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time). Call to convey your thoughts to your legislators or any group of legislators (such as to "all members of the education committees"). Always be sure to let them know you are a locally elected school board member, or superintendent, who depends on their support to educate all our kids!

Call the LRC message line, or reach your legislator’s individual office in Frankfort by calling 1-502-564-8100 and asking for them by name.

Have you reviewed KSBA’s legislative priorities for improving education and strengthening districts in 2019? Check them out.