Kentucky School Advocate
April 2019
KVEC regional equity plan unveiled More than 20 superintendents and the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) presented a “call-to-action” position paper to state leaders Feb. 12 urging them to support a set of research-based solutions and policy recommendations designed to better serve disadvantaged rural students and improve the regional economy.
The school leaders declared the need for innovative, grassroots, citizen-engaged strategies to leverage public education to revitalize the eastern Kentucky economy in ways that can be replicated statewide and serve as a national model.
“We believe high-performing schools anchor thriving communities and high-performing school districts are an advantage in economic development. Progress in public education and economic development is dependent upon one another and our region’s growth has benefits for the entire state,” said Scott Helton, Magoffin County Schools superintendent and chairman of the KVEC board of directors.
In addition to Helton, superintendents from Owsley County, Lawrence County, Paintsville Independent and Jenkins Independent and four members of the Kentucky General Assembly spoke about the report at the event in the Capitol Rotunda. The report is available at
www.theholler.org.
Supreme Court declines challenge to Kentucky law on school disruptionThe U.S. Supreme Court in February declined to take up a challenge to a Kentucky law that makes it a crime for anyone to direct speech or conduct to a school employee that disrupts or interferes with normal school activities.
The law was challenged by a graduate student who got into an argument with a Cloverport Independent School principal. When the principal asked the student to leave the school premises, the student called him a profane name and suggested they step outside so he could beat him up, court papers say.
The student was charged with a misdemeanor violation of a Kentucky law that says:
“Whenever a teacher, classified employee, or school administrator is functioning in his capacity as an employee of a board of education of a public school system, it shall be unlawful for any person to direct speech or conduct toward the teacher, classified employee, or school administrator when such person knows or should know that the speech or conduct will disrupt or interfere with normal school activities or will nullify or undermine the good order and discipline of the school.”
The student challenged the law. However, the trial court rejected his arguments and he was found guilty. The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the conviction and the Kentucky Supreme Court declined to take up the case. The student then filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the appeal without comment.
Kentucky Facilities Inventory & Classification System update The deadline for inclusion in the 2019 Ranked Condition Report is June 30 for the Kentucky Facilities Inventory and Classification System (KFICS) Project.
Ameresco, Kentucky Department of Education (KDE)’s vendor, is contacting each district’s designated representative to conduct an asset review of each district’s building assessment data and to offer guidance for initiating the Education Suitability component of the Kentucky School Score required to be included in the 2019 Ranked Condition Report.
As of late February, 665 school buildings out of 1,513 were undergoing condition assessments. This represents 44 percent of the total buildings. The legislature’s goal is to have all school buildings fully assessed with all four scoring components completed, reviewed by KDE and published before October.
KDE staff and Ameresco are helping districts and architects complete the Condition Index data (Audit) and Educational Suitability components for the 2019 report.
For more information contact
Paige Patterson-Grant,
Marcus Highland,
James Bauman or
Gary Leist
Education Calendar
April: National Autism Awareness Month
April: National Child Abuse Prevention Month
April: National School Library Month
April 10: Kentucky Board of Education meeting, Ashland
April 22-26: Public School Volunteer Week
April 22-26: Every Kid Healthy Week
May 6-10: National Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7: National Teacher Appreciation Day
May 8: National School Nurse Day
May 8: National Bike to School Day