Public Comment on Kentucky’s Consolidated State Plan
The following media release was sent today, April 21. This information may be of interest to District Assessment Coordinators (DACs).
KDE accepting public comment on revisions to Kentucky’s Consolidated State Plan
(FRANKFORT, KY) – The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is accepting public comment on revisions to Kentucky’s Consolidated State Plan to implement the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
In August 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) conducted a consolidated performance review of multiple federal programs. During the audit, USED found areas in need of improvement for specific program areas to more closely align with federal laws. Based on these federal findings, USED is expecting updates to Kentucky’s ESSA State Plan.
Other changes to the plan are updating current KDE initiatives.
KDE also has submitted the plan to Gov. Andy Beshear for review.
Amendments to Kentucky’s plan are necessary to ensure it aligns with federal and state laws. Changes that have been made since May 2020 are indicated with track changes as required by the USED. The proposed revisions include changes required to align to SB 158 (2020), the federal accountability waivers granted to Kentucky due to the COVID-19 emergency, the USED consolidated performance review findings and updated state initiatives.
Most of the proposed changes are to align with SB 158. SB 158 became law on July 15, 2020, and significantly impacts Kentucky’s accountability system. SB 158 amends KRS 158.6455 to create an accountability system that shall include an annual meaningful differentiation of all public schools in the state using multiple measures that describe the overall performance of each district, school and student demographic group.
Performance shall be based on a combination of academic and school quality indicators and measures known as “state indicators.” Those indicators shall exclusively include student assessment results, progress toward achieving English proficiency by limited English proficiency students, quality of school climate and safety, high school graduation rates and postsecondary readiness.
In addition, the accountability system performance for each district, school and student demographic group, as determined by the state indicators, shall be based on a combination of annual performance, hereinafter called “Status,” and improvement over time, hereinafter called “Change.”
Under federal law, state education agencies are required to submit a plan detailing the implementation of the law and how federal education dollars will be spent. After public comments and the governor’s review, the state plan must be resubmitted to the USED for review.
The Kentucky Consolidated State Plan initially was submitted to USED in September 2017, and after making revisions required by USED, it received federal approval in May 2018. The plan was grounded in a year and a half of extensive outreach and engagement efforts with Kentuckians, including educators at all levels, families, businesses, education partners, policymakers and communities.
Since the initial plan approval, updates have been made when required to align with federal and state law. The public is being invited to provide feedback on this latest update to the plan.
Comments may be emailed to kdecommunications@education.ky.gov or submitted to Todd Allen, General Counsel, Kentucky Department of Education, 300 Sower Blvd, 5th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601.
Comments also may be submitted via fax at (502) 564-9321. All comments that are received by the deadline will be considered before submission of the revised state plan to USED.
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