Commissioner's Monday Message

July 1, 2024

Dear Colleagues,

I want to thank you for the support I have received over the last few months as I take on this new role as commissioner of education. Today is my first official day in this position, and while I know many of you from my time as superintendent of Lawerence County, I would like to introduce myself and share some of my priorities with you all in this new position.

I plan on spending the next several weeks getting to know the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and I look forward to working with every one of you to discover creative and innovative ways to support your staff, students and families so they have the best opportunity for success.

I will continue the work of former Interim Commissioner of Education Robin Fields Kinney, who will stay on as an advisor during this transition period. She has dedicated a lot of time to help me personally as far as understanding the department a little better.

During my time in Lawrence County, I made sure students were always a top priority. One of the things I realized was that the further you move into education, up the administrative ladder, the further away you move from students as it relates to that day-to-day relationship. With each role that I’ve had, I’ve tried to make opportunities so that I can interact with students as much as possible and this is something I hope to encourage all of you to do as well.

At Lawrence County, I started a social media campaign called “All In,” which prioritized that dedication to students. I plan to continue this “All In” mentality at KDE. We want to support our schools across the state, and I want to make sure our kids are successful and that we can give them every opportunity we can.

I also plan to be active with state lawmakers as they look at potential reforms with the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funding formula and the balance between property-poor and property-rich districts. I want to make sure that every single district has the resources that they need, accounting for the unique challenges each district faces.

I think Interim Commissioner Kinney has done a phenomenal job building relationships with legislators and maybe mending some relationships, which will allow me to strengthen those relationships in the future.

Kentucky’s assessment and accountability system will also be a top priority of mine. Whenever I retire from this position, I’d like to be able to walk out and say that we have an accountability system that everyone believes in, that has a true reflection of what each community believes is important for their student, but also that can impact instruction immediately.

I appreciate your support during this transition period, and I look forward to working alongside all of you as we focus on creating lifelong success for all our students.

All IN,

Robbie Fletcher

Commissioner of Education

Resources for Meeting Updated Suicide Prevention Requirements for Kentucky Schools

Kentucky state law (KRS 156.095) regarding suicide prevention efforts was amended during the 2024 legislative session and now requires every public and charter school to provide two evidence-based suicide prevention awareness lessons each school year.

The first one must be delivered by Sept. 15 and the second must be delivered by Jan. 15 for all students in grades 6-12. Also, a minimum of one hour of evidence-based suicide prevention training must be delivered to staff who have direct contact with students in grades 4-12. These training sessions may be delivered in person, via live streaming, or a video recording.

The Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) has updated their Suicide Prevention Toolkit to help schools address the issue of suicide. The toolkit also includes new guidance on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in suicide prevention efforts.

For more information, contact Brittany Young, suicide prevention specialist at DBHDID, or Deborah Sauber.

New Requirements for Vaping Regulations in Kentucky Schools

The Kentucky Department of Education has released legislative guidance for several bills passed during the 2024 legislative session, including House Bill 142, which requires each local board of education to amend its written policies that prohibit the use of tobacco, alternative nicotine products and vapor products to include the distribution of evidence-based, age-appropriate prevention and cessation materials to all students at the beginning of each school year and access to evidence-based, age-appropriate nicotine prevention and cessation material throughout the school year for all students in the district.

Upon the first behavior incident related to tobacco, alternative nicotine or vapor products, the student must be referred to the school counselor or other school-based mental health services provider to review the adopted prevention and cessation materials.

KDE encourages districts to review the best practices for curbing student substance use, focus on behavioral responses that support evidence-based treatment options, and ensure discipline policies are trauma-informed per KRS 158.4416.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health recommends that school districts review best practices provided in the Public Health Law Center’s publication Commercial Tobacco-Free K-12 School Model Policy. Additional resources are available on our the KDE Additional Resources webpage.

District Trauma-Informed Plans for 2024-2025 School Year

Pursuant to KRS 158.4416, each local board of education must develop a plan for implementing a trauma-informed approach in its schools.

Senate Bill 2 requires that the trauma-informed plans be reviewed and updated annually, incorporated into the annual Comprehensive District Improvement Plan (CDIP) and submitted to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).

Districts are strongly encouraged to use the template developed by KDE to ensure their plans address all the required components identified in KRS 158.4416. More information on requirements as well as the Trauma-Informed Toolkit can be found on KDE's Trauma-Informed Practices website. This survey is a temporary collection for 2024-2025 school year and the plan will be incorporated into the CDIP in Cognia for the 2025-2026 school year.

For more information, please contact Christina Weeter, division director in the KDE Office of Continuous Improvement and Support.

Initial Certified Evaluation Training Begins

July begins the first offerings of Initial Certified Evaluation training.

As required by KRS 156.557 and 704 KAR 3:370, administrators who have been newly assigned the role of evaluator of certified personnel must complete this two-day learning experience and pass the corresponding assessment. 

Registration information and additional details are available on the Principal Partnership Project (P3) Initial Certified Evaluation Training webpage.

Questions may be directed to Stacy Noah.

Principal Wellbeing Project

The Kentucky Department of Education’s Principal Partnership Project (P3) invites school leaders who are interested in discussing wellbeing in school leadership to create a wellbeing strategy video to share with other school leaders. 

Principal wellbeing will be a focus area for the P3 team during the 2024-2025 school year, and we look forward to hearing all the great ideas shared by school leaders across the Commonwealth.

For more information, read the School Leader Wellbeing Project information sheet. For questions, contact Stacy Noah.

School Resource Officer Funding Available to Districts

Included in the budget state lawmakers passed in April is $16.5 million in fiscal year 2024-2025 and $18 million in fiscal year 2025-2026 for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to assist local districts in funding salaries for school resource officers (SROs), as defined in KRS 158.441, on a reimbursement basis.

KDE shall reimburse local school districts up to $20,000 for each campus employing at least one on-site full-time certified school resource officer. Any portion of the money not expended for this purpose shall lapse to the state's budget reserve trust fund account. 

In order to meet the reporting requirement outlined in the budget, KDE is requesting districts that will seek reimbursement to complete the School Resource Officer (SRO) Funding Intent to Participate form by July 31.

Information provided in the survey will determine funding amounts available to districts for each school campus employing at least one on-site full-time certified SRO.

For questions, please contact Karen Wirth or Lalah Brewer.

Declaration of Participation Work Transitioning to Division of School and Program Improvement

Please take note: work associated with the Declaration of Participation will transition to the Division of School and Program Improvement (DSPI) beginning with the 2024-2025 school year.

Goals for this work are to:

1. Transition ownership of the webpage to DSPI, which will result in a URL change;
2. Ensure a timelier data collection, with an anticipated date of collection to begin in October, allowing for more efficient calculation and issuance of federal allocations;
3. Provide clarity and efficiency with data collection processes; and
4. Ensure more thorough and efficient processes for data review and follow up with districts.

In preparation for the transition, DSPI recommends your Grant Management Application and Planning (GMAP) access and role coordinator ensures system access permissions and roles are up to date. It is also recommended your district’s Web Apps Admin Point of Contact (WAAPOC) ensures that Person Role Manager is up to date. District roles to review can be found in the District/School Directory of Open House.

You may contact David Millanti, Neil Watts, Amanda Reifsnyder or Windy Spalding with questions about the transition process. Additional information will be communicated as available.

Registration Open for 2024 Continuous Improvement Summit

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Cognia™ invite you to the annual Continuous Improvement Summit on Sept. 23-24 at the Central Bank Center in Lexington. Please join us for an opportunity to explore a variety of topics and engage in conversations that will enrich your understanding of continuous improvement.

Keynote speaker Marck Abraham, the author of “What Success Looks Like,” is a transformational leader with a wealth of experience in education. He is committed to providing a world-class educational experience that ensures all students achieve their goals of post-secondary college and fulfilling careers. His mission has been to create environments that assist students in reaching their maximum potential in life.

During this two-day event, you will enhance your professional learning, make new connections and build upon existing relationships with peers across Kentucky, hear up-to-date information from KDE leaders, and learn how Cognia can help address your unique challenges in your journey of continuous improvement.

To receive early bird pricing, please register before Sept. 2.

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.