Mark Your Calendar!
The Kentucky Department of Education is planning and preparing for next year’s SBDM trainings, including the endorsement training for coordinators. Please look at the training options and dates and mark them on your calendar.
Register for the endorsement training using this form. A link to the meeting will be emailed to you immediately after registering. If you have specific topics that you would like to have addressed during the annual endorsement training, email those ideas to Mia Morales.
SBDM Coordinator/Trainer Endorsement Training (webinar)
- April 8 at 1 p.m. ET
- April 9 at 9 a.m. ET
- April 15 at 9 a.m. ET
Alternative Model Applications
Pursuant to 701 KAR 5:100, school councils can add additional voting members, such as students and classified staff, to their membership through an alternative SBDM application. Schools interested in adding voting student members are encouraged to consult their local board attorney prior to doing so.
Beginning Jan. 1 through Feb. 28, a school may submit an application for an alternative model for its school-based decision making council. An application is not required for schools that wish to add non-voting members or changes that maintain the parent, teacher and administrator voting membership ratio as established in KRS 160.345.
The application and KDE guidance can be found at the bottom of the SBDM Technical Documents webpage.
Staffing Allocation Reminders
Tentative staffing allocations should be sent to school councils by March 1, with a final allocation date of May 1.
If a district plans to revise its staffing formula for the 2025-2026 school year, it will need to send its updated staffing allocation worksheet to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) for approval. These updates can be emailed to Mia Morales.
The staffing allocation worksheet can be found on the SBDM Technical Documents webpage on the KDE website under “SBDM Staffing Allocations.” This worksheet can accommodate all school grade configurations and account for the 150 per-pupil hour requirement. Please allow time for KDE to review the allocations prior to May 1.
Election Tips!
Elections for 2025-2026 school year will be beginning soon!
The majority of information to assist council member constituent groups with their election processes can be found within the SBDM Handbook; however, schools that have 8% or greater minority membership in their student population based on the Superintendent's Annual Attendance Report (SAAR) are required to have minority membership on their School-Based Decision Making (SBDM) council (KRS 160.345(2)(b)(2)).
The 2025 SAAR Minority Membership report will not be released until August 2025, so schools are encouraged to consult their Infinite Campus (IC) report from Oct. 1, 2024, to determine whether the school will require minority representation. Once complete, the 2025 report will be available on the SBDM Technical Documents webpage.
Please keep the below reminders in mind when hosting special elections for minority councilmembers.
- Does your school have 8% or more minority students as of Oct. 1, 2024?
- No; there is no need for a special election.
- Yes; a school’s council will need minority representation. The below steps will assist you with this process and you may also consult the SBDM Minority Election Flowchart.
- Host your regular election for your six-member council first! Your school may elect someone who is a minority during the regular election. If they do, then no special election is needed.
- If, and only if, your regular election did not result in either a minority parent or minority teacher being elected and your principal is not a minority principal, then you will have to host a special election.
Just a reminder that minority is defined by KRS 160.345(1)(a) to mean American Indian; Alaskan native; African-American; Hispanic, including persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and Central or South American origin; Pacific islander; or other ethnic group underrepresented in the school.
More election tips will follow in the months to come leading up to the election season, so stay tuned. In the meantime, KDE encourages you to review the SBDM Election Guidance resource for additional assistance with council elections.
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