KSBA’s positions on proposed legislation, whether in support or opposition, are informed by a list of guiding principles, most recently approved by KSBA’s board of directors in 2022:
- KSBA supports policies that strengthen local control and decision-making authority in school governance and opposes proposals that may diminish that authority.
- KSBA supports continuous operational improvements of our common schools to help all children in Kentucky develop the required capacities for learning.
- KSBA supports policies that better prepare our children for success at the K-12 level and beyond.
- KSBA supports providing school boards/districts with full funding of all specific funding formulas.
- KSBA advocates for the removal of, or adequate funding for, currently unfunded mandates.
- KSBA opposes any proposal that would violate federal law or the state constitution.
- KSBA opposes any proposed legislation that would require school boards to expend additional financial resources without the state providing those necessary resources.
- KSBA opposes (re)directing public funds to K-12 schools outside the common school system.
Each year, the Kentucky School Boards Association releases a summary of priorities for advancing public education, strengthening Kentucky’s 171 school districts and empowering local school boards. See below for a summary of KSBA's top four legislative priorities for the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Priorities were approved by KSBA’s board of directors, comprised of 27 locally elected school board members throughout Kentucky.
KSBA's top 2025 legislative priorities to support school boards in advancing public education include:
Priority 1: Supporting local board leadership to address the unique needs of each district.
Our schools belong to the communities they serve. We ask the General Assembly to continue supporting authority of elected school boards and protecting district-level decision-making over issues that call for local solutions and may include use of local resources. Refrain from enacting statewide mandates that may stifle local control.
Priority 2: Identifying cost- and time-saving measures for facilities improvements and operational efficiency.
We thank the General Assembly for providing districts with greater flexibility over facility improvement processes through legislation such as HB 678 (2022). School boards overwhelmingly indicate this has saved their districts time and money. We ask the legislature to work with school districts to continue to identify additional cost- and time-saving measures that will improve operations and contribute to student success.
Priority 3: Restructuring state-required professional development to refocus time, energy and money on training most impactful for student achievement.
District employees are required by statute to complete many hours of training on a multitude of topics. The cumulative burden of so much required training has become a hindrance to the development of stronger instructional skills among our educators. We ask the General Assembly to restructure the professional development statute to focus on continued improvement of core instructional skills and best practices.
Priority 4: Supporting recruitment, training and retention of educators
We applaud the legislature for its recent efforts to address Kentucky’s educator shortage. A strong, talented teacher workforce is critical to positive student outcomes. We ask the General Assembly to continue to prioritize discussion of legislative solutions that will enhance the timely recruitment, training and retention of educators.
View/download a PDF version of these priorities and guiding principles.