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Dear Colleagues,
This week will be a short one for all of us due to Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays. Going along with the traditional day of thanks, I wanted to share with you what I am thankful for this year.
I am thankful for the opportunity to serve as Kentucky’s interim commissioner of education. While it has been a steep learning curve, I have really enjoyed the opportunity to dig into the other parts of the educational journey beyond my usual scope, which I call the three Bs – budgets, buildings and bodies (personnel). It is still my goal for you to see no interruptions in the services provided by KDE during this interim time.
I also am thankful for the people who surround me at this agency and provide me with great counsel. We have a building full of experienced, knowledgeable professionals who are all dedicated to ensuring Kentucky’s students have the kind of education they need to be prepared for wherever their dreams take them. I could not do what I do without them.
And I want to thank each of you and the people in your districts. While you knew me from my previous position as associate commissioner in the Office of Finance and Operations, you have welcomed me into your schools as interim commissioner and for that, I thank you. By working together, we can continue to push toward the kind of high-quality and vibrant learning experiences that Kentuckians have told us they want for their students.
And finally, I am thankful for Kentucky’s public school students. They are the reason why we all do our jobs every day. Every time I am in a school, I marvel at the ingenious projects they are working on or the deep insights they share with me. I am thankful that each day, tens of thousands of families in this state choose to entrust their students to our care. The importance of that trust is not lost on me.
So, as we head into Thursday, please take a minute to think of all the things you have to be thankful for this holiday season and enjoy the time to relax with your family and friends.
Sincerely,
Robin Fields Kinney
Interim Commissioner of Education
Nationwide Opioid School District Class Action Lawsuit - Notice of Proposed Settlement
A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit brought by several public school districts across the country (including in Kentucky) against the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., Inc. and three related companies, McKinsey Holdings, Inc.; McKinsey & Company, Inc., United States; and McKinsey & Company, Inc., D.C.
Jefferson, Martin, Estill, Larue, Breathitt, Fayette and Bullitt County public schools in Kentucky served as class representatives in the class action lawsuit In re McKinsey & Co. Inc., National Prescription Opiate Consultant Litigation pending in federal court in the Northern District of California.
Under the proposed settlement, the McKinsey companies will deposit $23 million into a Public School District Opioid Recovery Trust, which will also hold and distribute funds from other settlements and resolutions that school districts have reached with other opioid industry defendants. This school district trust will make grants to school districts for projects to abate and mitigate the effects of the opioid crisis in public schools. The trust will invite funding proposals from public school districts nationwide.
Unless your school district opts out of the settlement, every Kentucky public school district will be included in this settlement. If your school district does not wish to be included in the settlement, or wishes to object to the settlement, it must do so by Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. If your school district does not opt out and remains part of the settlement, your district may submit a request and proposal for funding to the Public School District Opioid Recovery Trust. Please carefully review the Notice of Proposed Settlement and contact your board counsel with any legal questions.
2024-2025 State Course Codes Now Available
The Searchable State Course Codes Database (SSCCD) within the Kentucky Educator Certification System is now available with an updated view for the 2024-2025 school year. The Course Codes Frequently Asked Questions document has been revised for 2024-2025 and remains an excellent resource to help new and returning course codes contacts familiarize themselves with proper course code usage.
There are several changes to both career and technical education (CTE) and academic courses. Changes for CTE courses include 18 new courses as well as seven deprecated courses. Updates to academic courses primarily include course description updates necessary for alignment to official descriptions for Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate courses or to clarify appropriate awarding of credit to satisfy minimum high school graduation requirements. Additionally, the Pilot AP African American studies course is now open to schools beyond the pilot and a new Jobs for Americas Graduates course code has been created.
For a detailed list of course code changes, please see the 2024-2025 Course Code Changes spreadsheet. A Deprecated Course Codes and What to Use Instead spreadsheet is also available to help schools replace deprecated course codes. Both sheets include historical changes from the 2016-2017 school year to the present.
Please contact coursecodes@education.ky.gov with any questions.
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