Commissioner's Monday Message

Feb. 26, 2024

Dear Colleagues,

This week is Public Schools Week, a celebration to show appreciation for those dedicated to education and being advocates for our schools and communities.

I want to be the first to thank you for your dedication and commitment to your educators, staff, students, parents, families and communities. At the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), we see the challenging work and long hours you put in year-round and we appreciate all that you do.

Public Schools Week is an initiative through Learning First Alliance designated to encourage administrators, teachers, parents and school board members to host events and reach out to lawmakers, businesses and other community members to discuss the importance of public education.

This year, Kentucky Sen. Matthew Deneen has introduced Senate Resolution 109 to recognize Public Schools Week and celebrate the impact of public schools on students throughout the Commonwealth, from providing quality academic instruction to promoting responsibility and civic engagement.

As superintendents, you play a vital role in your districts. The positive impact and relationships you create with your educators and students are shaping the future of your communities and education.

I encourage you this week to take time to reflect on the achievements your districts have accomplished and to involve students, parents and families in these conversations.

Once again, KDE appreciates all that you do for education and students across the state. I hope you have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Robin Fields Kinney
Interim Commissioner of Education

CRDC Reporting Due by March 18

The submission period for the 2021-2022 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) has been extended and will now end on Monday, March 18.

The CRDC is a collection of data from local education agencies. Each district is responsible for entering and verifying the accuracy of its data before certification.

To help districts, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) prepopulated much of the data, but districts remain responsible for completion and the submittal of CRDC data.

For more information, visit the KDE’s CRDC webpage or the Office of Civil Rights CRDC webpage or call the CRDC Partner Support Center at (855) 255-6901.

The Enrollment of Students in Foster Care

Students engaged in the foster care system face a variety of educational challenges. To support their success, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) contains protective provisions that all schools must uphold.

When a student engaged in the foster care system seeks enrollment in a new school, the new school must immediately enroll the student to prevent educational discontinuity. The new school must enroll the student even if they present with an incomplete educational record.

Students should be enrolled into the same setting as their previous school setting unless otherwise determined through the Best Interest Determination (BID) process. This determination should be informed by a variety of student-centered factors.

Being in foster care does not qualify a student for involuntary enrollment in an alternative education program (AEP). 704 KAR 19:002 permits the involuntary enrollment of students in AEPs to “ensure the safety of the individual student, the student body, or staff; to meet the educational needs of the students to transition the student to a placement as a state agency child pursuant to KRS 158.135 and 505 KAR 1:080; or for disciplinary purposes.” Students placed in non-therapeutic foster care settings are not considered state agency children under KRS 158.135. Districts must be able to document a safety or educational need prior to involuntarily enrolling a student in an AEP.

In instances where the district, parents and representatives of the Department for Community Based Services disagree on the placement of the child, they should utilize the Dispute Resolution Process for the Best Interest Determination to resolve the issue. The child must be enrolled in the new school and receiving instruction throughout the dispute resolution process.

Questions related to the enrollment of students engaged in the foster care system should be directed to Sharma Aitken at (502) 564-3791 ext. 4018.

Approved Lists for Early Literacy Screening and Diagnostic Assessment Have Been Updated 

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) recently reviewed early literacy screening and diagnostic assessment submissions for inclusion on the KDE approved lists, and updated lists are now available on the Early Literacy Screening Assessments webpage.

KRS 158:305 requires each superintendent to select a universal screener and diagnostic assessment for reading that have been determined by KDE to be reliable and valid to be administered as part of a multitiered system of supports for students in kindergarten through grade three. 

Please contact Christie Biggerstaff, KDE director of early literacy, with any questions. 

KBE Seeking Applicants for KHSAA Board of Control At-large Position

The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE), through the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), is seeking an individual to serve on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s (KHSAA’s) Board of Control to fill an at-large position that will become vacant on June 30, 2024. The individual currently holding the position is not eligible for reappointment.

The KHSAA is the KBE’s designee to manage statewide interscholastic athletic programs. The Board of Control supervises KHSAA, establishes staff salaries, sets goals for the association, and has the authority to set rules and review proposed changes to the KHSAA constitution and bylaws. Regular attendance at KHSAA Board of Control meetings is a requirement of the position.

All interested individuals are encouraged to submit a letter of interest, a resume and a minimum of two written letters of recommendation to the Kentucky Department of Education. The KBE appointed Board of Control member must not be a current employee of a Kentucky public school district.

The deadline for applications is March 30, 2024. Materials should be mailed to Todd Allen, General Counsel, Kentucky Department of Education, 300 Sower Blvd., Frankfort, KY 40601, or emailed to Todd.Allen@education.ky.gov.

The Kentucky Board of Education will review applications for the KHSAA Board of Control at-large position and anticipates appointment at its June 2023 meeting.

Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services Seeking Feedback

The Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) expanded reimbursement for school-based health care in 2019 with the direct goal of reaching more young people in need of health care services, including behavioral health care. This program also is intended to provide an additional funding stream for school systems working to provide health services and employ licensed providers within their districts.

DMS would like to get more feedback about school districts’ experiences with this program; the extent personnel are aware of services and how DMS can help school systems learn more about school-based health services so they might be more broadly utilized.

Responses to this survey will help DMS evaluate the effectiveness of the program so that the department can design better outreach and support. It is very brief and will only take about 5 minutes to complete.

Participation in the survey is completely voluntary and all responses will be kept confidential. Please only respond if you are actively involved in the program. We seek your input by March 12.

DMS and the Kentucky Department of Education collaborated to develop this survey with support from the Office of Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman.

For comments or questions, please feel free to contact Erica Jones.

Register Now for 2024 March Leadership Meetings

In order to provide equitable learning environments for all students, it is important for schools and districts to translate the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) into a guaranteed and viable curriculum. The regional educational cooperatives, in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education, will host in-person meetings in March for district and school leaders to explore new resources available to support effective implementation of local curriculum supported by high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs).

The purpose of the meeting is to provide the following:

• HQIR Implementation Support
• Curriculum Implementation Framework
• Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Guidance Document
• Structuring Professional Learning Cycles
• Kentucky Academic Standards for Science Resources
• Science Instructional Resources Consumer Guide
• New Science Module
• Academic Standards Update
• KAS for Visual and Performing Arts 
• KAS for Health Education and Physical Education

Click on the date to learn more and register for the live, in-person three-hour session of your choice:

• March 21: Ashland, Kentucky Educational Development Corporation, 9 a.m. ET
• March 22: Hazard, Kentucky Valley Education Cooperative, 9 a.m. ET
• March 26: Cold Spring, Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services, 9 a.m. ET
• March 29: Eddyville, West Kentucky Educational Cooperative, 9 a.m. CT

Some dates have already reached capacity: March 5 in London; March 7 in Louisville; March 11 in Lexington; and March 28 in Bowling Green.

Participants will need to bring a personal device to access documents from the digital meeting folder.

Finance Officer Certification Survey

KDE is in the process of reviewing and drafting proposed changes to the current regulation 702 KAR 3:320 finance officer certification requirements.

While the 2015 version of the regulation is currently the standard, please assist us by filling out the Finance Officer Certification Regulation survey that will provide valuable feedback as we draft proposed changes.

There will also be an opportunity for public comment later in the process.

Applications Open for Non-voting Members of Kentucky Board of Education

Applications are now being accepted for the non-voting teacher and student members of the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE). Each member would serve a one-year term, from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

To be considered for the teacher position, the applicant must be employed on a full-time basis by a Kentucky public school district in a position for which Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) certification is required, not employed in an administrative role and must reside in Kentucky’s 2nd Congressional District.

For the student position, the applicant must be enrolled in a Kentucky public high school, be a junior at the time of appointment to the KBE and must reside in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District.

Additional information can be found on the KBE non-voting student application or the KBE non-voting teacher application. Applications must be submitted by March 8 at 5 p.m. ET.

Any questions about the application process can be sent to Kentucky Department of Education Executive Director of Education Policy Meredith Brewer.

Schools Encouraged to Submit Best Practices

The Kentucky Department of Education’s Best Practices and Sustainability website is open for submission of best practices from schools and districts.

The Best Practices website is designed to serve as a clearinghouse to promote practices that motivate, engage and provide measurable results in student learning, achievement and school/district processes. Any aspect of a school system that can impact student outcomes through improved instruction or operations can be submitted as a best practice.

Best practices should be submitted to the Best Practices database by May 10 to be considered for acknowledgement at the Continuous Improvement Summit, scheduled for Sept. 23-24. For more information, email Natasha Stein.

Save the Date: Persistence to Graduation Summit 2024

Mark your calendars to attend the annual Persistence to Graduation Summit. Hosted by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Division of Student Success, the summit will be held June 11-12 at the Hilton in downtown Lexington.

During this two-day event, superintendents, district level personnel, school administrators, school counselors, educators, family resource and youth services center coordinators, school mental health and social service professionals, and community partners from across Kentucky will convene to share information and best practices to support students who may experience challenges to reaching graduation.

Engaging and interactive sessions will be led by facilitators from across the state and will include:

• Student Transition and Re-engagement Strategies;
• Alternative Education Programming;
• Well-Rounded Educational Opportunities;
• Safe and Supportive Learning Environments; and
• Effective Use of Education Technology.

KDE Seeks Feedback from Schools, Districts

Every year, the Kentucky Department of Education seeks feedback from school and district leaders so that we can better understand how well we are meeting your needs.

The department would greatly appreciate your participation in the 2024 KDE Customer Survey and ask that you share it with your staff and school principals so that we can reach as many people as possible. It should only take about five minutes to complete.

Should you have any difficulty or questions concerning the survey, please reach out to our KDE Data Analyst Leslie McKinney.

Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference Date Announced

The KDE Office of Teaching and Learning, Division of Early Literacy invites you to the Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference on June 20 at the Central Bank Center, formerly the Lexington Convention Center.

Keynote speaker and educational journalist Emily Hanford, host of the Sold a Story podcast, the second-most-shared show on Apple Podcasts in 2023 and one of Time magazine’s top three podcasts of the year, has been covering education for American Public Media since 2008. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Educator Writers Association (EWA) Public Service Award in 2019 and the 2017 Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research Award from the American Educational Research Association.

The conference will require registration but will be FREE to Kentucky K-12 public educators and will offer focused learning paths to meet the needs of teachers and administrators. Attendees will learn from KDE consultants and partners about:

• Evidence-based instructional shifts for literacy;
• The benefits of structured literacy;
• Why high-quality instructional resources matter; and 
• Available resources for implementing the Read to Succeed Act.

Mark your calendar for this June 20 event and please stay tuned for registration information coming soon.

Those receiving this at the Kentucky School for the Blind and the Kentucky School for the Deaf, please make sure all employees receive it. Also, Area Technology Center (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.