In-Person 2026 Endorsement Training 

The Kentucky Department of Education's SBDM office is planning and preparing for next school year’s SBDM trainings, including the endorsement training for coordinators. Please review our regional training options and mark your preference on your calendar.  

Register for the endorsement training sessions using this form. If you are a district coordinator, you will be asked to share a policy from one of your schools for an activity during the endorsement training. For ease of enrollment, please have one policy selected and ready to upload.   

Please enroll in the training by March 13.  

SBDM Coordinator/Trainer Endorsement Training  

• April 14 at 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT at Murray State University – Mississippi Room, 102 Curtis Center, Murray 

• April 15 at 9 a.m.-noon CT at Warren County Library – Meeting Room 2, 1225 State Street, Bowling Green 

• April 22 at 9 a.m.-noon ET at KDE, 300 Sower Blvd., Frankfort 

• April 23 at 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET at Leslie County Library, 22065 Main Street, Hyden *New location*

• April 30 at 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET at Boyd County Library – Ashland Meeting Room, 1740 Central Ave., Ashland 

Elections for the 2026-2027 school year will begin 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 2026, so schools are encouraged to consult their Infinite Campus (IC) report from Oct. 1, 2025, to determine whether the school will require minority representation. Once complete, the 2025 report will be available on KDE's 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, 2025?   
  • 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 in the SBDM Handbook.   

• 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, 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. You also can review KDE's Minority Councilmember Election guidance document.  

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.  

Webinars occur on the second Tuesday of the month, with the next webinar scheduled for Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. ET. A link to join will be emailed out closer to the webinar date. This will be the final webinar until May, as we begin preparing and updating councilmember trainings for 2025-2026, as well as hosting the regional endorsement trainings.

SBDM coordinators are encouraged to reserve the second Tuesday of each month from 10 a.m. ET. SBDM coordinators are encouraged to attend at least eight webinars a year.