Dear Colleagues,
Now that the General Assembly’s session has come to an end, we at the Kentucky Department of Education are turning our focus toward reviewing and assessing the legislation that has been passed.
To give you an idea of what a session means to the people who work at KDE and those of you watching from your district, there were more than 1,200 bills that were filled between both chambers this session. Among those, KDE actively tracked 251 bills. In addition to reviewing the bills that were assigned to a committee, KDE also reviewed all the committee subs and floor amendments. To put that into perspective, almost every bill that moved this session got at least one committee sub and, in many cases, got more than one.
One bill that did pass this session was House Bill 169, which we were calling the numeracy bill. The legislation is designed to help accelerate student learning in mathematics, including KDE providing support to districts regarding instruction and intervention. To support the work of this bill, the General Assembly provided $10 million in the budget, for which we are extremely grateful.
Right now, staff members are wading through all of the legislation that made it through this session to determine how they will impact your schools and district. We are planning for our guidance to be in your inboxes by the middle of May.
I want to thank you all for your support and your diligent work over the session. I know many of you made the effort during one of the busiest times of every school year to reach out to your senators and representatives to share how legislation would impact the students in your district. Having a clear and open line of communication between all of us involved in education – including students, families, educators, administrators, KDE staff and the legislature – can only help improve what is happening in our classrooms.
As we head into the home stretch for the 2024-2025 school year, I hope you have an amazing and productive week!
Sincerely,
Robin Fields Kinney Interim Commissioner of Education
U.S. Department of Education Releases Final Title IX Regulations
The U.S. Department of Education (USED) released its Final Rule under Title IX, which is scheduled to become effective on Aug. 1. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is reviewing the information and monitoring the situation to provide further updates over the summer. KDE also will be communicating with the Kentucky School Boards Association, which provides district policy services, including district policies implementing Title IX.
The unofficial version of the final regulation is available online. In addition, the USED has released a Title IX final rule fact sheet, a summary of the major provisions of the final regulations and a resource for drafting Title IX nondiscrimination policies, notices of nondiscrimination and grievance procedures.
KFICS In-person Training to Return
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is excited to announce the first Kentucky Facilities Inventory and Classification System (KFICS) in-person training event since the pandemic. The training will be facilitated by Ameresco's team members, along with KDE's subject matter experts.
There will be four full-day sessions held throughout the state:
Date: April 29 Time: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. CT Location: Kentucky Dam Village Address: 166 Upper Village Drive, Gilbertsville
Date: April 30 Time: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. CT Location: Green River Regional Educational Cooperative Address: 230 Technology Way, Bowling Green
Date: May 1 Time: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET Location: GC Garland Building Address: 710 North Main St., London
Date: May 2 Time: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET Location: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Address: 200 Mero St., Frankfort
Please note that each session will provide the same information during the training and that if you choose to attend, you will only need to attend one session. We will send a calendar invite for each session, so you can add the one you plan to attend to your calendar. The topics for the training session will be shared closer to the training week.
For more information, please contact Oxana Lopetegui-Pineda.
Recording of March 2024 Leadership Meeting Now Available
The regional educational cooperatives, in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), hosted live virtual meetings in March for district and school leaders to examine tools and resources available to create equitable, vibrant learning environments at the local level. The session focused on effective implementation of a local curriculum supported by a high-quality Instructional Resource (HQIR) to improve the student experience and outcomes.
Key topics included:
- A framework for effective curriculum implementation;
- Curriculum-based professional learning; and
- Standards updates (including a new resource to support the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science).
Several new resources were shared to support districts in effective implementation of a local curriculum supported by a primary HQIR and the high-quality professional learning it requires.
A recording of the March Leadership Meeting is now available, including access to the accompanying materials in the March 2024 Participant Folder. Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) credit is available for this session.
Nomination Deadline for Kentucky Exemplary Educators Program Extended to May 1
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is seeking recommendations of exemplary educators and leaders in the Commonwealth’s public schools to join the 2024 Kentucky Exemplary Educators Program (KEEP). Qualified individuals recommended for KEEP will receive a certificate of excellence from KDE and may be considered for other recognitions and opportunities, including invitations to sit on advisory councils and committees.
District superintendents, district curriculum and professional development supervisors, principals, representatives from teacher training institutions and other education leaders are invited to recommend up to three individuals. Recommended individuals must be certified teachers, teacher specialists, assistant principals and/or principals currently serving in Kentucky’s public schools.
To receive the recognition, recommended individuals should be early- to mid-career professionals with at least five years of experience and whose contributions to education are largely unheralded, yet worthy of the spotlight. Individuals also should demonstrate all of the following:
- Exceptional educational talent as evidenced by effective and innovative instructional practices and student learning results in the classroom and school;
- Exemplary educational accomplishments and leadership beyond the classroom that provide models of excellence for the profession;
- Engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues and the community; and
- Strong long-range potential for professional and policy leadership.
Recommendations for exemplary educators should be submitted via the online KEEP recommendation form by May 1. Refer to the KEEP Information Sheet for required information and additional details about the recommendation process.
For more information, email awards@education.ky.gov or call (502) 564-2000, ext. 4616.
Registration for the Kentucky Reading Academies: Cohort 3 of LETRS Professional Learning Opening Soon
Registration for the third Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) cohort of the Kentucky Reading Academies will be open May 1.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has an exciting partnership that brings the LETRS professional learning to educators across the Commonwealth, called the Kentucky Reading Academies. This course of study was chosen because of its demonstrated success on a national scale in bringing significant increases in literacy achievement.
The Kentucky Reading Academies is a comprehensive no-cost professional learning opportunity open to all K-5 public school educators.
Two different courses are being offered through the Kentucky Reading Academies: LETRS for Educators and LETRS for Administrators. Interested educators can join the Kentucky Reading Academies by registering for the course that pertains to their role:
- LETRS for Educators Cohort 3: This course is recommended for K-5 teachers, interventionists, reading specialists and anyone providing reading instruction or intervention supports to early readers.
- LETRS for Administrators Cohort 3: This course is recommended for district leaders, building administrators and instructional coaches.
More than 4,000 Kentucky educators and administrators are completing the LETRS professional learning. Participants in both cohorts have stated that LETRS is a comprehensive professional learning that is enlightening, eye-opening and life-changing.
Brittany Isaacs, a 1st-grade teacher at Ockerman Elementary (Boone County), is completing her second year of LETRS professional learning.
"LETRS has completely changed my teaching. Starting to implement small changes as I learned them last year (through Volume 1) and then adding in the changes from Volume 2 this year has completely changed the way I teach and how my students learn," she said. "I can SEE the difference this year and it has reignited a passion for teaching kids to read."
Please note: Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 participants will not need to register for Cohort 3 as they are already enrolled in the professional learning.
Find out more about the Kentucky Reading Academies on the Kentucky Reading Academies webpage.
For questions about the Kentucky Reading Academies, please email KDE Director of Early Literacy Christie Biggerstaff.
Fiscal Year 2025 District Funding Assurances
The Fiscal Year 2025 District Funding Assurances are currently available in the Grants Management Application and Planning System (GMAP).
The assurances are a stand-alone document and not part of the consolidated application. The role of district funding assurances director has been added to complete and approve the assurances. If district staff need the role of district funding assurances director, please contact your GMAP user access administrator to add the role. A list of GMAP user access administrators is located in GMAP under KDE Resources.
Once the district funding assurances have been completed in GMAP, you must print the document to present to your local board for approval. Upon approval by your local board, the superintendent (not the designee) must upload the assurances statement under their GMAP login by Sept. 30, 2024. The district funding assurances statement template is located in GMAP in the District Document Library.
Instructions for completing and uploading the assurances statement in GMAP are available at FY2025 District Funding Assurances Upload Instructions.
For guidance on submitting your assurances, please contact Nicole Crosthwaite via email or (502) 564-1979, ext. 4328. For questions regarding GMAP login, please contact Thelma Hawkins via email at kdegmap@education.ky.gov or by phone at (502) 564-1979, ext. 4361.
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