Kentucky School Advocate

May 2024

Staff report

SB 11 - Courts notify schools of student charges 

Requires courts to notify schools when there is probable cause that a student has committed certain crimes. If the charges are later dropped or the student completes diversion, the information held by the school must be destroyed. 

Requires that the standards and specifications for accessory equipment, supplies and replacement equipment for school buses be based on federal safety standards and not discriminate among manufacturers. 

Makes it easier to file a petition to recall district nickel taxes and tax increases that would bring in more than 4% revenue than the previous year by allowing three citizens to form a petition committee instead of the current five. Signatures must include birth month and year instead of social security number and no longer have to include a precinct number. 

Changes the Option 7 alternative teacher certification pathway to remove some initial requirements; allows provisional certification upon qualifying and enrolling in an approved institute, establishes the conditions for receiving a professional certificate. Also contains HB 828 which makes other changes to teacher certification and creates a new teacher mentorship program. 

Requires instruction in cursive writing in elementary school starting in the 2025-26 school year with students being required to be proficient by the 5th grade. Proficiency would be measured at the local level. 

HB 142 - Nicotine products 

Require boards to have a policy that schools provide nicotine cessation information at the start of the year and confiscate alternative nicotine, tobacco or vapor products. For the first incident, the school must provide the parents and student with nicotine cessation information, the second incident would require disciplinary action and the third would allow districts to impose either in school or out of school suspension. 

Designed to improve mathematics instruction in grades K-3. The bill also contains $5 million in each year of the two-year budget for implementation. 

Requires automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in elementary schools (they are already required in middle and high schools) as funds become available. HB 1 includes $2.5 million for the Kentucky Department of Education to buy AEDs for schools. 

Makes changes to how EPSB investigates complaints against teachers by creating timelines for investigations and giving teachers more options for appeals. 

Allows student teachers to receive a stipend up to $5,000 and creates a student loan forgiveness pilot program run by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority for teachers. Contains emergency clause so it went into effect on April 9. 

Districts will no longer be required to have medical oversight of automated external defibrillators in schools and athletic complexes. Districts are no longer required to report use of an AED to a medical overseer, but will have to report the use to the local emergency medical service provider as soon as possible. 

The bill is designed to address student behavior on school buses. Starting in the 2024-25 school year, boards must adopt a transportation policy based on a statewide policy and disciplinary guidelines. Parents and students must sign the policy within the first seven days of school. If parents or students violate the policy districts would be allowed to restrict transportation services and bus drivers would be able to decline to drive the route with the student on the bus. The policy must be updated every two years. 

Requires local boards of education to adopt policies related to medical cannabis. Boards can either prohibit or permit the use of medical cannabis on school property by a student who is a registered and qualified patient. Boards must allow parents or legal guardians to administer medical cannabis, ensure that medical cannabis is administered out of view of other students, and allow a school nurse or other staff member to refuse to administer or supervise the administration of medical cannabis.

Allow districts to hire substitute teachers who do not have college credit. Currently, substitutes must have 64 hours of college credit. It also includes HB 605, which allows the Kentucky Department of Education to enter into an agreement with a building and construction trade organization to develop a training program for school counselors who serve grades 7-12 to promote building and construction trades. 

Permits districts to use district-owned, leased or contracted nine-seat or fewer marked passenger vans to transport students to and from school and approved school activities. Drivers must be drug tested and students cannot be dropped off where they would have to cross a road. 

Changes how Career and Technical Education funding is distributed in the state so that students in local vocational education centers, CTE programs in comprehensive high schools and Area Technology Centers are funded equally. Also creates performance-based funding based on students reaching “concentrator” status, dual credit hours and other benchmarks. 

Requires school boards to decide whether students will take a ½ credit civics course or pass a civics test with a 70% grade or higher to graduate high school beginning with students entering the 9th grade in 2025-26 school year. Currently, students must pass the civics test with a 60% grade to graduate. 

Require directors of pupil personnel to file a complaint with the county attorney against parents of a student in grades K-5 who has missed 15 or more days without an excuse. Students in grades 6-12 who have 15 or more unexcused absences will also be reported to the county attorney. Students in a diversion program who miss four or more days without an excuse will fail the program. 

Creates a two-year pilot program providing a tablet and internet access to students to improve kindergarten readiness. KDE said it has federal COVID relief money to operate the pilot for one year. 

Includes $11 million from the Eastern Ky. Safe Fund for the Breathitt Area Technology Center which was destroyed in the July 2022 floods.

Requires an audit of the Kentucky Department of Education to identify any area of operation “demonstrating a significant lack of efficiency and effectiveness.” Results of the audit would be reported to the Interim Joint Committee on Education by July 1, 2025. 

Creates a 13-member task force to review the governance, structure, effectiveness and efficiency of Jefferson County Schools and its board, and study “the creation of new school districts” and expansion of the school board. The report is due to the Legislative Research Commission by Dec. 1.