Kentucky School Advocate
April 2022
KBE makes changes to two new regulations
The Kentucky Board of Education held a special meeting on March 15 to review two statements of consideration and proposed amendments based on submitted public comments.
The board reviewed changes to 704 KAR 7:170 regarding corporal punishment in schools. Section 4 of the regulation previously stated that before administering corporal punishment, a school must try to resolve the behavior through “nonphysical means.” This phrase was changed to: “the use of evidence-based practices consistent with a trauma-informed approach.”
In response to another comment, a subsection was added to read: “Corporal punishment shall not be administered in a location where another student, staff member other than those described in subsection (1) of this section, or adult visitor to the school can see or hear the corporal punishment.”
The KBE approved the amendments.
The board also reviewed amendments to 704 KAR 19:002 regarding alternative education programs.
KDE performs annual monitoring visits of alternative education programs to ensure compliance with laws, provide technical assistance and help in the agency’s internal planning and continuous improvement process.
The changes to the regulation were designed to provide greater clarity to districts that are operating alternative education programs. It does not create any new requirements.
One concern received through public comment was that the proposed regulation did not define “student records” or “services.” To address this concern, Section 1 of the regulation was updated to define “education record” to align with the definition in the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The section also was updated to define “related services” as developmental, corrective or supportive services that are required to assist a student to benefit from public education.
A second concern received through public comment was related to Section 5 (3) that says services are provided by district staff or non-district staff.
“There is a sentiment in the (education) field that KDE, and by extension, districts, do not have clear authority to require districts to collect and maintain educational records created by non-district staff,” said Matthew Courtney, KDE policy adviser. “KDE and districts actually have a statutory obligation to collect some records created by non-district staff.”
Courtney said FERPA defines an education record as any record created by the district or by an agency acting on behalf of the district.
Due to concerns that the burden to complete education reports would fall on the teachers in alternative programs, KBE member Randy Poe proposed that the phrase, “regardless of whether educational or related services are provided by district staff or non-district staff,” be removed from Section 3 of the regulation. The regulation passed with the proposed changes.
Co-ops hire DEI regional coordinators
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) regional coordinators have been hired at each of Kentucky’s educational cooperatives to provide DEI guidance and support to their membership districts.
The Kentucky Department of Education secured funding for the positions through the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. The positions are funded through ESSER II for the first two years and through American Rescue Plan Act ESSER the third year.
The DEI coordinators provide support through a multi-tiered system of supports and use tools such as the equity dashboard, the early warning system, the school report card, and Panorama Impact Kentucky Data to offer schools data-driven approaches by going through the problem-solving analysis protocol and looking for root-causes. They also are equipped to provide presentations to school staff on KDE’s Equity Toolkit, A4 modules, trauma-informed practices and more.
The DEI coordinators are:
• Jamie Nebbitt, Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative
• Steven Moats and Skip Cleavinger, Green River Regional Educational Cooperative
• Andy Dotson, Kentucky Educational Development Corporation
• Bernadette Carpenter, Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative
• Jessica Pass, Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services
• Alexandra Hughes, Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative
• Meau Jones, Southeast/South-Central Education Cooperative
• Sarah Akin and Roger Cleveland, West Kentucky Educational Cooperative