Kentucky School Advocate
January 2023

NKU says no to charter schools      
The Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents decided not to become a charter school authorizer.

Under House Bill 9 (HB 9), passed in the 2022 legislative session, NKU had until Jan. 1, 2023 to decide whether to authorize a charter school in the area. Under the law, public school districts in Kenton and Campbell counties are now required to authorize a charter school.

At its meeting, NKU board chairman Rich Boehne told the board that the university had extensively studied charter schools and the new law. After researching the requirements, Boehne said he did not believe the university should take on the authorizer role.

“I think the language that’s in House Bill 9 is not workable. There are a number of issues in there that would make it enormously difficult, in my opinion, for the university to be a successful authorizer,” he said. “And we’re certainly not interested in overseeing any failure. Most important, the failure potentially of a school.”

The board then declined to take action on a resolution on becoming an authorizer. In a press release, NKU noted that a lack of start-up funding, costs of a legal challenge and the financial viability of a small charter school were among the university's concerns.

The law now calls for the 11 school districts in Kenton and Campbell counties to authorize a charter school. Under the law, if NKU is not an authorizer on July 1, 2023, a collective made up of two local school board members from each district in Kenton and Campbell counties is to become an authorizer.

The collective, the law says, shall solicit, review and approve a charter school application by July 1, 2024. The charter contract is supposed to run for five years as a pilot program.

$80 million program for energy upgrades in public schools
Applications are open for the U.S. Department of Education’s Renew America’s Schools grant program. The funding is for public schools to perform energy improvements in the highest-need K-12 districts across the country.

The grant program will support infrastructure improvements in schools, with a focus on local education agencies (LEAs) that qualify as rural and/or high poverty. Funds will allow school districts to make upgrades that will lower facilities’ energy costs and foster healthier learning environments for students. Eligible projects can include alternative fueled vehicle infrastructure on school grounds, purchase or lease of alternative fueled vehicles to be used by a school and new heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

The deadline for applicant concept papers is Jan. 26 and full applications are due April 21. For questions, contact [email protected].

The DOE also has launched a $4.5 million prize program, Energy Champions Leading the Advancement of Sustainable Schools (Energy CLASS Prize). This is a competitive program that will support up to 25 high-need LEAs by providing a $100,000 cash award to winners for building the workforce through training and staffing of energy management positions.

Applications for the Energy CLASS Prize are open through Feb. 28.?For more information on the program and prize, visit DOE’s Schools Energy Improvements webpage or email questions to [email protected].

KBE hears update on reading instruction, local boards must adopt screener
The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE), during its Dec. 6-7 meeting, heard an update on the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) initiatives aimed at increasing reading proficiency and professional learning opportunities for teachers.

The Kentucky Reading Academies program is designed to help bring Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) to educators across the state. The two-year program is designed to increase reading outcomes for elementary students by providing high-quality, professional learning to K-6 teachers about how students learn to read.

KDE has allotted $10 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding to support LETRS. Senate Bill 9 (SB 9), the Read to Succeed Act, provides an additional $22 million.

KDE Chief Academic Officer Micki Ray said several other early literacy initiatives are on the horizon.

“We have to look for further professional learning opportunities … to support grades 6-12 teachers (and) we need to ensure that there are more K-5 teachers who know this opportunity is available,” she said. “We need to find ways to illuminate those bright spots so that others will understand the underlying ‘why’ and will be more encouraged or motivated to join us in these efforts.”

SB 9 requires local boards of education to adopt and implement valid and reliable universal screeners and diagnostic assessments for kindergarten through grade 3 by Jan. 1 for schools to use to identify students who need accelerated interventions in reading.