Kentucky School Advocate
February 2020

First compliance officers graduate
The Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training completed its first School Compliance Officer Certification course in January.

The course is designed to train those individuals in charge of completing school assessments based on state-mandated compliance as spelled out in the School Safety and Resiliency Act.

On the final day of class, the 41 members heard from Jason and Secret Holt and Brian and Teresa Cope, parents who lost their 15-year-old children, Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, during the 2018 Marshall County High School shooting.

“As a mom, when you send your children to school, you expect them to come home that day,” Secret Holt told the group. “This (certification course) is a big deal. Thank you for your time and commitment, and hold your children extra tight because you just never know.”

State Security Marshall Ben Wilcox said the parents’ story bolstered the importance of the mission.

“The presentation by the Cope and Holt families reinforced the importance of the School Safety and Resiliency Act and the State School Safety Marshal’s Office,” Wilcox said. “The tragedy that happened in Marshall County will serve as a catalyst for our resolve in making sure that schools across the Commonwealth of Kentucky have the means to protect our most important resources – our children.”

 

Photo: Members of the School Compliance Officer Certification class listen intently to the Holts and Copes during the final day of class on Jan. 10. (Photo provided by DOCJT)

Celebrate Public Schools Week   
Nine out of 10 students in America attend public schools, and public school supporters across the country will be celebrating Public Schools Week from Feb. 24-28.

The week is designed to showcase public schools by encouraging administrators, teachers, specialists, teacher educators, parents and school board members to host events for their communities and reach out to lawmakers, businesses and other community members to discuss the importance of public education.

The week is organized by the Learning First Alliance, a coalition of public education supporters including the National School Boards Association, American Association of School Administrators, National Parent Teacher Association, National Education Association, National School Public Relations Association and many more. 

Supporters will be taking pledges to support public schools at publicschoolproud.org and compiling the signatures to present to members of Congress and the state legislatures. In addition to holding events, schools are encouraged to share stories of public school pride on social media using the hashtag #PublicSchoolProud. More details, including social media posts can be found at publicschoolproud.org.

Teacher sickouts did not violate law
Teachers who participated in protests at the state Capitol last year did not break the law, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Dec. 21. The decision reverses former Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration’s determination that teachers violated state law by participating in “sickouts” protesting anti-public education policies.

Beshear said nearly 1,000 teachers were wrongly accused of violating state labor laws and threatened with civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation.

Labor Cabinet Secretary Larry Roberts said teachers were exercising constitutional rights to speech, petition and assembly, and not engaged in a dispute with their employers concerning the terms of their employment.

Longest serving board member dies
East Bernstadt Independent board member Gene Allen passed away Jan. 27 after a battle with cancer. He was 76. With 53 years of service at the time of his death, Allen was the longest serving school board member in the state. 

Allen, who is a former member of KSBA’s board of directors, joined the East Bernstadt board in 1967 and when his son graduated high school in 1979, Allen signed his diploma. 

As he was recognized for 50 years of service in 2016, Allen said he believed school board service was more important than ever.

“It means more than ever now,” he told the Sentinel Echo. “It seems like the past few years it’s meant a lot.” 

In the new board office building being built on the East Bernstadt campus, the board room will be named the “Gene Allen Board Room.” In front of the room will be a mural recounting Allen’s history with the school.