The Policy Connection is a free quarterly publication provided by the KSBA Policy Service that is sent to all board members, superintendents, KOSAA members and others who request to receive it.
April 2020
Katrina Kinman, Editor
Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the latest executive orders from Gov. Andy Beshear urging everyone who can to stay “Healthy At Home,” KSBA has largely shut down operations at the office and many of us are working remotely to serve you. Thank you for your patience.
Welcome to our new subscribers
eMeeting  – Estill County Board of Education
Employee Handbook – Murray Independent Board of Education
Substitute Teacher Handbook – Estill County Board of Education
Online Manual (Administrative Procedures) – Russell County Board of Education
Annual suicide prevention training
Senate Bill 8 (2020) amended KRS 158.070 to change suicide prevention training from every other year to every year. This legislation had an emergency clause making it effective as of Feb. 21 when it was signed by the governor.

All employees with job duties requiring direct contact with students in grades six through 12 shall annually complete a minimum one hour of high-quality suicide prevention training, including the recognition of signs and symptoms of possible mental illness. Such training shall be in-person, by live streaming, or via video recording and may be included in the four days of professional development required by statute.
Policy reference 09.22
Is there a requirement to record board proceedings?

While there is not a statutory requirement to audio or videotape board or council meetings, some agencies choose to do so to assist with recording of the minutes. The records retention schedule does not directly contemplate a board meeting happening entirely by video teleconference under the current emergency situation. However, OAG 20-05 and 2020 RS Senate Bill 150 still apply to meetings conducted now via video teleconference.

Many video-teleconference platforms record the meetings by default. If audio or videotapes of meetings are made at the direction of the district, then the recording becomes a record governed by the KDLA Records Retention Schedule.

Note: The Kentucky Attorney General has said that if a public employee records a meeting: 1) on his or her initiative (NOT at direction of the agency or agency supervisors); 2) at his or her own expense; and 3) personally retains the recording instead of same being maintained by the agency, the resulting recording is personally owned and is not considered a “public record.” - 06-ORD-195

Policy reference 01.61
Annual policy update

KSBA Policy Staff will be sending the annual updates to districts by the end of May to provide time for the board to have two readings before school starts and the statutory deadline of Aug. 15. Unless a completely new policy or procedure is involved, update drafts will include changes marked in edit mode so that reviewers can see what is being added or removed.

At the top of each policy and procedure will be an explanatory note summarizing the reasons for the changes. Districts also will receive a cover letter explaining the updating process and a checklist showing all policies/procedures codes included in the update.

Employee, coaches’ and substitute teacher handbook drafts with changes from the update will be sent in the coming weeks after the annual update policy and procedure drafts are emailed to districts.
Policy reference 01.5
Note from KDE - School Report Card Finance Domain now open for review


The School Report Card Finance Domain is now open. Districts will be required to validate/approve district-level financial data entered by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and calculate/enter school-level spending per student data.

This year, districts have the option to enter a financial narrative to be displayed on the school report card. KDE strongly encourages districts to create a narrative. The 400-character narrative will be displayed on the district’s financial transparency page under the header: “A message from the superintendent.” This narrative will give parents, community members and researchers a better understanding of the district’s financial picture that cannot be gathered by looking at the data alone.

Finance officers were provided guidance on calculating spending per student data last week, which also can be found on the KDE’s School Report Card resources website. Additional guidance on entering the data and narrative will be provided to finance officers once the site opens for data collection. Data entry must be completed by April 27.
For more information, email Jessi Carlton or call her at 502-564-3930, ext. 2468.
District calendar committee

While the regulatory deadlines for development of the school calendar were waived by the Kentucky Board of Education at its April 9 meeting KRS 158.070 requires that the board appoints on recommendation of the superintendent, a district calendar committee to review, develop and recommend school calendar options. This committee is subject to Open Meeting Act requirements and its meetings should follow the same meeting protocols for COVID-19 which can be found on our website . 

Policy reference 08.3
Mileage rate update

If your district reimburses for mileage at the state rate, be advised that the rate per mile effective April 1 through June 30, is 40 cents per mile. This information can be reviewed quarterly via this link: http://finance.KY.gov/services/statewideacct/Pages/travel.aspx

Policy references 03.125/03.225
Congratulations are in order

KSBA asks you to join us in congratulating Senior Policy Consultant Amanda Hale on her completion of three years of service (February 2020) in the Policy Department. Her experience serves as a valuable asset to both the Policy Department and KSBA .
Save the Date: Upcoming KSBA Events
Live webinar - June 2

KOSAA Summer Meeting
Marriott Griffin Gate, Lexington - July 10

Marriott Griffin Gate, Lexington - July 10-11
Policy reference 01.83
Kentucky School Boards Association | 502-695-4630 | ksba.org