Commissioner's Monday Message

July 17, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

While educators are used to spending a few of their summer days in professional development, I am excited about the opportunity that is coming up tomorrow, July 18, at the Tales of Transformation virtual learning event. This event will feature presentations from three districts from each of the eight regional educational cooperatives sharing their experiences with deeper learning that can be replicated across the Commonwealth.

This event is part of the Deeper Learning Grant, which was funded by $24 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding given by the Kentucky Department of Education to the Kentucky Association of Educational Cooperatives to support deeper learning.

Participants will be able to choose from 24 breakout sessions throughout the day. From scaling project-based learning to changing the student experience through the graduate profile to simple shifts teachers can make day-to-day, deeper learning leaders and teachers from across Kentucky will share their stories.

Kentucky continues to be at the forefront nationally of this idea in education that students learn best when they engage and dig into their own learning. I won’t call it a movement, because all too often, educational movements are something temporary. Deeper learning – and United We Learn – are more than that. It is educators hearing from families and students about what they need from their learning, and all of us responding to meet their needs.

Thank you all for your dedication to deeper learning.

Kind regards,

Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.

Commissioner and Chief Learner

School Report Card – Safety Data Opens Today

The review, approval and collection period opens today for Kentucky School Report Card (SRC) safety data in the SRC Secure Site. District Safe Schools coordinators have been notified of the expectations and tools available for reviewing safety data and entering school-level collector items. This is the time to ensure the data being reported is correct.

Beginning today, SRC users can:

• Review/approve School Safety data. This is the first data collection to be reviewed and should be approved by Monday, July 31. The shorter timeframe for this collection is because the Kentucky Department of Education must share this data with the Kentucky Center for School Safety and Office of Education Accountability no later than Aug. 31 per KRS 158.444.
• Begin entering school-level data into the SRC collector tool. This data is used to populate the School Report Card and the School Profile Report. This must be completed by Sept. 16. A full list of collector items is available on the School Report Card Resources webpage.
• Again this year, there is an optional superintendent message that can be entered in the approval/collector tool (maximum of 750 characters). This message will be displayed on the district and school’s landing page when the SRC is released publicly. Messages should be clearly stated and reviewed locally for spelling, grammar and punctuation. KDE cannot edit district messages.

The Overview and Education Opportunity will open Aug. 3 for districts to begin reviewing and approving data, though not all exam score data will be available at this time for the Advanced Coursework section. Notification will be sent as soon as all Advanced Coursework data is available.

The Education Opportunity domain will have limited data available for review; Gifted and Talented and Advanced Coursework course detail will be available; however, assessment results will not be available at that time.

Career and Technical Education data won’t be available until September for data review. Districts can begin reviewing, but should wait until all data is available to approve the Education Opportunity domain.

To update the superintendent or principal name/email displayed on the SRC, please have the district’s Web Application Administrator Point of Contact (WAAPOC) make the update in People Role Manager and then notify Jessi Carlton.

The School Report Card Resources webpage is used as a central repository for communications and resources. The 2022-2023 SRC timeline is available on this webpage. Other highlights include:

• SRC Secure User Access Instructions provides specifics on user access setup. Please work with local WAAPOCs to set up access so SRC users will be ready when it opens;
• SRC Annual Tasks summarizes what needs to be done throughout the summer and fall to prepare for SRC public launch; and
• A Quality Assurance (QA) Worksheet includes a list of data reported in the School Report Card along with QA tools available to use for verification.

Contacts:

• System questions/issues: BrightBytes SRC Support
• User access questions: KETS Service Desk
• General SRC questions: KDE Data Services
• Safe Schools: Windy Spalding
• School Profile Report: KDE Standards Team

Share your ESSER Stories

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is sharing how schools and districts are using funds they received through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding.

KDE recently highlighted Bourbon County on Kentucky Teacher.

When Bourbon County elementary school students return to their classrooms this fall, they will notice a new science program that will inspire their curiosity and foster a deep understanding of scientific principles through hands-on experimentation.

The district has launched a partnership with Discovery Education, which will allow teachers to integrate the company’s suite of innovative digital resources into instruction to create dynamic learning environments that more deeply engage students in science.

If you would like to share how your schools or district is using ESSER money to help students succeed, send your information to Chief Communications Officer Toni Konz Tatman.

KDE Seeking Applicants to Create Teacher Disciplinary Tribunal Member Pool

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is seeking qualified applicants to establish a pool of potential teacher members and potential administrator members who wish to be part of KDE’s Teacher Disciplinary Tribunal.

Each tribunal will consist of a teacher member, an administrator member and a hearing officer (an attorney in good standing with the Kentucky Bar Association, licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, who has met the training requirements set forth in 40 KAR 5:010).

Per 701 KAR 5:090, the teacher and administrator positions require impartial members to “make the final determination on charges concerning a local school district’s proposal to discipline or place on involuntary leave a teacher if the teacher gives timely notice of his or her intent to answer the charges.”

The pools shall consist of no more than 20 potential teacher members and 20 administrator members selected by KDE using procedures developed for the receipt, review and selection of applicants.

Current or retired teachers interested in applying for the pool must: “(a) Hold a valid teaching certificate issued by the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) and be in good standing, or (b) Be retired and have held a teaching certificate issued by the EPSB that was not revoked or surrendered as a result of revocation proceedings.”

To become a member of the pool of potential administrator members, one must: “(a) Hold a valid teaching certificate for the performance of administrative duties issued by the EPSB and be in good standing, or (b) Be retired and have held a teaching certificate for the performance of administrative duties issued by the EPSB that was not revoked or surrendered as a result of revocation proceedings.”

To serve as a member of the pool of potential teacher tribunal members or potential administrator tribunal members, an individual must complete training approved by KDE on the following topics:

• The hearing process;
• The role of the tribunal;
• The role of the hearing officer;
• How to determine facts;
• Fundamental fairness,
• The law on teacher disciplinary actions set forth at KRS 161.790;
• The professional code of ethics for Kentucky school certified personnel set forth in 16 KAR 1:020; and
• The deliberative process.

An individual attending KDE approved training shall receive a per diem of $100 and reimbursement of travel expenses, if applicable. The local school district hosting each hearing shall advise the teacher and administrator tribunal member how to claim their per diem and travel expenses.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the pool of potential teacher members or potential administrator members, please download and fill out the Teacher Tribunal Application and send it to:

Teacher Tribunal Application c/o Sara Bentley Office of Legal Services 300 Sower Blvd., 5th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601

The deadline to apply is July 21, 2023. Mailed applications postmarked after July 21, 2023, will not be considered.

KDE will accept applications by email to Sarah Bentley. These must be sent no later than 5 p.m. on the application deadline. Applicants will be notified of whether they were selected for the pool of potential members on or before Aug. 4, 2023.

Clarification About When Districts Can Provide Student Age Information

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is the agency tasked with enforcing the child labor laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The protections for youth 14 to 17 years old who enter the workforce include: minimum age and wage standards, work hour limitations for 14 and 15 year olds, and a prohibition on certain hazardous occupations in which youth under 18 may not be employed.

When the WHD identifies an employer that has violated the child labor requirements, age verification is required to establish whether there are violations of the law, and your help may be requested. The WHD has asked the Kentucky Department of Education to make districts aware that occasionally, WHD needs to verify the date of birth (DOB) for students who have joined the workforce to make sure they are being employed in compliance with the law.

If WHD requests information from your district, please note that it will send an official form to your district and will only ask for the student’s date of birth to be filled out on the Verification of Date of Birth Chart. Districts should not be asked to fill out any other information on the chart other than the student’s date of birth and a school officials’ signature.

Providing this information to WHD is not a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the federal law addressing the privacy of student records. FERPA allows a school to share this information if the directory information exception to that law applies:

FERPA Directory Information Exception

Many schools maintain student “directory information,” which can include student names and DOBs. For schools that maintain a directory, FERPA generally permits the school to release information in the directory without obtaining prior written consent from a parent or guardian only if the parent or guardian has not opted out of having their child's information included in a school directory (a process that usually occurs at the beginning of each school year). If a parent or guardian has opted out of sharing their child's information, the school would need the parent or guardian's prior written consent before releasing requested directory informati See “The A-B-Cs of Student Directory Information” video produced by the U.S. Department of Education, which administers FERPA, for more detailed information about this exception.

If you have questions or want additional training, please contact Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialist Matt Jackson.

This message was prepared by the Kentucky Department of Education in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Revised Kentucky Academic Standards for Science Adopted for 2023-2024 School Year

After undergoing a rigorous revision process that began in January 2021, the revised Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Science have been adopted into law.

The process included revisions by Kentucky educators and community members, public input and review by the Kentucky Board of Education before undergoing final legislative review and adoption.

The newly adopted standards will be implemented in Kentucky classrooms beginning in the 2023-2024 school year and can be accessed on KYstandards.org. A “Getting to Know Your KAS for Science” module is also available on KYstandards.org to support educators in the implementation of the revised science standards.

Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 158.6453 calls for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to implement a process for reviewing all academic standards and aligned assessments beginning in the 2017-2018 school year. For more information regarding the standards revision process, please visit the Kentucky Academic Standards Revision Process webpage.

Please contact the KDE Standards Team with any questions regarding the newly adopted standards or the standards revision process.

2023 Continuous Improvement Summit: Save the Date and Registration Link

Mark your calendars to attend the annual Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit. Co-hosted by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Cognia, the summit will be held Sept. 25-26 at the Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington.

During this two-day event, attendees will enhance their professional learning, make new connections and build upon existing relationships with peers across Kentucky. They also will hear up-to-date information from KDE leaders and learn how Cognia can help address unique challenges in their journey of continuous improvement. Please join us for this opportunity to explore a variety of topics, engage in conversations that will enrich your understanding of continuous improvement, and be energized by the keynote speaker, Mike Rutherford.

Registration is available on the 2023 Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit event webpage.

Those receiving this at KSB and KSD, please make sure all employees receive it. Also, ATC principals are asked to forward it to their staffs.

Please send your questions, comments and suggestions on the Monday Message to Jennifer Ginn by 10 a.m. Friday to be published in the upcoming week.