KBE Approves Waiver of K Screen Time Frame
At its Aug. 6 meeting, the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) approved a waiver of the Kindergarten Screen administration and reporting windows as set forth in 704 KAR 5:070.
The waiver removes the restricted screening window of 15 days prior to the first day of school through the 30th instructional day after. Schools may begin screening students at any time and will have more days than customary to screen students.
The KBE also granted authority to the commissioner for exempting schools from screening students who do not attend school in-person. The expanded time frame will likely allow for most students to be screened, but should students not return to school in-person for an extended period, there could be an exemption granted.
Screening Scenarios
Students return to school in-person: Screen the students following safety expectations provided in the COVID-19 Considerations for Reopening Schools document and by your local health department.
Students return to school virtually: There is no virtual administration option for the kindergarten screener.
The K Screen administration is available for in-person administration only. Depending on the pandemic situation, the K Screen may be open into 2021. If some or all students return to in-person instruction or other meetings prior to the close of the K Screen, they should be screened. If some students do not return in-person prior to the close of K Screen, they will not have the opportunity to be screened.
An exemption process for individual students and waiver process for entire schools will be developed closer to when the K Screen closes.
An exemption process will be developed for individual students to be waived from taking the K Screen through the Student Data Review and Rosters (SDRR) application.
For districts that do not return to in-person sessions, a different process will be developed for the superintendent to request from the commissioner a waiver of the K Screen for entire schools within the district. Until then, if possible, students should be screened.
Many students across the state have been taking the K Screen. The decision to bring students into the building for administration of the K Screen should be made in conjunction with the elementary school administration, central office staff and your local health department. These decisions should be made in accordance with local health department and state government guidelines at the time of testing. Safety expectations provided in the document, "COVID-19 Considerations for Reopening Schools: Workplace Health and Safety" and by the local health department should be followed during administration.
Accessing Your OMS Account (REPEAT WITH CORRECTION)
Users will not receive login credentials automatically. To log in, use the “Forgot Password” feature on the Brigance OMS Login Screen.
The user will be prompted to enter his or her username and email address; enter the district email address with appendix (see below) in the username box and the district email address in the email box. (Previous directions were to use the appended email address in both boxes.)
Enter the verification code and click “submit.” Selecting “enter” on the keyboard instead will generate an error message “user not found.” The system will send an email to the user with temporary login credentials. If the message is not found quickly, check junk and clutter folders.
If you have any difficulties accessing your account, contact Brigance Technical Support at (800) 225-0248, ext. 1391, or email OMS Support.
Note: The OMS account is often incomplete during the initial set-up phase. If screening with iPads is planned, it is advised to wait until you can check the status of your account. Screening with iPads may not be possible until mid-late August.
NEW Username Convention for 2020 (REPEAT)
In the past, for most users, your username was simply your district email address. Beginning this year, your username is your district email address with your district or school location ID as an appendix. This new format will help standardize accounts and allow users to have access to multiple schools if needed.
If you have a district-level role, your appendix will be underscore and your three-digit district code. If your role is at the school level, your appendix will be underscore and the six-digit school code.
district level: jane.doe@district.kyschools.us_012
school level: john.doe@district.kyschools.us_012345
If you do not know your district and school codes, they can be found in the School Report Card.
Staff who were listed in the staff file submitted in June should have a user account in the OMS. Staff not included in the staff file and newly hired staff entered in IC will be assigned a user account during the weekly file exchange if one does not already exist.
Although it is preferable to wait for the weekly data exchanges, the K Screen district coordinator with an Administrator role also can create accounts for new users. It is important that district email addresses and usernames (district email address with the appendix) be correct when adding new users! A missing appendix, misspelled names or missing periods can create problems in connecting students to teachers. Directions for adding a new user are located in the K Screen Implementation Guide.
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