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(FRANKFORT, KY) – The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) will hold its regular meeting on April 8-9. The April 8 session will begin at 1 p.m. ET and the April 9 session will begin at 9 a.m. ET. The majority of board members plan to attend in-person at the Kentucky Department of Education, 300 Sower Blvd., Frankfort.
KBE has statutory authority to manage all common or public schools in the Commonwealth and all programs operated in such schools.
A dedicated public comment segment is included on the board’s agenda. The board will reserve 30 minutes to receive public comment from any person regarding items that appear on the board’s agenda for that meeting, as well as general public comments regarding issues within the jurisdiction of the board.
A person who desires to speak to the board shall sign up on the day of the meeting, indicating his/her name and the topic on which he/she will speak. Each individual will be limited to three minutes during the public comment segment of the meeting to speak on the issue(s) indicated on the sign-up form. Individuals will be called to speak to the board in the order they appear on the sign-up form.
Once the 30-minute segment for public comment has been exhausted, the board will not hear further comments during the meeting. If multiple members of an organization wish to provide public expression, membership of that group may be asked to select one person to comment.
Public criticism of individual staff members or individual board members is prohibited. Since no individual board member may act on behalf of the board, concerns about the board’s actions should be directed to the board as a whole.
To allow for appropriate consideration, written comments also will be accepted via email and distributed to members for review; however, the comments may not be read during the meeting. Anyone wanting to submit public expression may email kbe@education.ky.gov prior to the close of business on April 6. Individuals must provide their name and an email address where they can receive a response.
Members of the public may watch the meeting in-person at the Kentucky Department of Education or a livestream of the meeting will be available on the KDE Media Portal. Meeting agendas and materials may be viewed on the KBE Agenda Book.
For further information concerning how KBE meetings are conducted, please view the KBE Policy Manual.
People with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations by noon ET on April 6 by emailing Taylor Perry (taylor.perry@education.ky.gov) or calling him at (502) 892-6174 ext. 4851.
Announcement of this meeting is pursuant to the Open Meetings Act.
A full agenda follows:
Kentucky Board of Education Regular Meeting
April 8, 2026, 1 p.m. ET
Watch Live on the KDE Media Portal
Agenda
- Call to Order
- Roll Call
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Public Comment Session- This segment is limited to 10 speakers at a maximum of three minutes each. If there are multiple members of an organization, we encourage the membership of that group to select one person to comment.
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Internal Board Business (Action/Discussion)
- Summary Minutes for the Feb. 4, 2026 KBE Regular Meeting Day 1; Feb. 4, 2026 KBE United We Learn Committee Meeting; Feb. 4, 2026 KBE State Schools Committee Meeting; Feb. 5, 2026 KBE Regular Meeting Day 2; March 4, 2026 KBE Virtual Regular Meeting; and April 1, 2026 KBE Awards Committee Meeting
- Recipient of the 2026 David Karem Award for Excellence in Education Policy
- Charge for the KBE State Schools Committee
- KBE Member Out-of-State Travel Request for Approval
- KBE Goals: Progress Report and Discussion
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Consent Agenda
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Hearing Officer's Report- KDE Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel Todd G. Allen
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Litigation Report- KDE Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel Todd G. Allen
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Recommended Approval of the Perkins V. State Plan- KDE Associate Commissioner Beth Hargis, Ed.D., and KDE Education Administration Program Manager Lori Looney
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Revision of the 2025-2026 Unmet Need Report, KRS 157.620(4)- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross and KDE Division Director Chay Ritter
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Recommended Approval of Waiver Request 2026-WV-061, Mercer County Schools- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross and KDE Policy Advisor Lindsey Swartz
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Recommended Approval of Waiver Request 2026-WV-062, Franklin County Schools- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross and KDE Policy Advisor Lindsey Swartz
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Recommended Approval of Waiver Requests 2026-WV-063, 2026-WV-064, 2026-WV-065, 2026-WV-066, 2026-WV-067, 2026-WV-068, 2026-WV-069, 2026-WV-070, 2026-WV-071, 2026-WV-072, 2026-WV-073, Jefferson County Schools- KDE Associate Commissioner Gretta Hylton, Ed.D., KDE Division Director Carol Ann Morrison and KDE Policy Advisor Melody Cooper
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Certification of 705 KAR 2:140, Equalization of funding for locally-operated area vocational centers- KDE Associate Commissioner Beth Hargis, Ed.D., and KDE Policy Advisor Lauren Graves, Ph.D.
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Certification of 780 KAR 2:140, Tuition and fees- KDE Associate Commissioner Beth Hargis, Ed.D., and KDE Policy Advisor Lauren Graves, Ph.D.
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Certification of 780 KAR 3:050, Employment lists- KDE Associate Commissioner Beth Hargis, Ed.D., and KDE Policy Advisor Lauren Graves, Ph.D.
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Certification of 780 KAR 3:140, Certification and professional development requirements- KDE Associate Commissioner Beth Hargis, Ed.D., and KDE Policy Advisor Lauren Graves, Ph.D.
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Certification of 780 KAR 7:010, Definitions for 780 KAR Chapter 7- KDE Associate Commissioner Beth Hargis, Ed.D., and KDE Policy Advisor Lauren Graves, Ph.D.
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Certification of 707 KAR 1:310, Determination of eligibility- KDE Associate Commissioner Gretta Hylton, Ed.D., and KDE Policy Advisor Melody Cooper
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Certification of 704 KAR 7:160, Use of physical restraint and seclusion in public schools- KDE Associate Commissioner Gretta Hylton, Ed.D., and KDE Policy Advisor Melody Cooper
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Certification of 702 KAR 3:100, Data report, professional staff- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross and KDE Policy Advisor Lindsey Swartz
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Certification of 702 KAR 3:110, Document filing dates- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross and KDE Policy Advisor Lindsey Swartz
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Certification of 702 KAR 3:120, Uniform school financial accounting system- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross and KDE Policy Advisor Lindsey Swartz
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Certification of 702 KAR 5:030, Pupil transportation- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross and KDE Policy Advisor Lindsey Swartz
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Certification of 702 KAR 5:110, Vocational pupils, reimbursement for- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross and KDE Policy Advisor Lindsey Swartz
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Action/Discussion Items
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Amendment to 702 KAR 6:110, Claim reimbursement for school and community nutrition programs- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross, KDE Division Director Lauren Moore, and KDE Policy Advisor Lindsey Swartz
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Amendment to 702 KAR 3:220, Guidelines for waiver of school fees- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross and KDE Policy Advisor Lindsey Swartz
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Kentucky Minimum Specifications for School Buses- KDE Associate Commissioner Matt Ross, KDE Division Director Chay Ritter and KDE Branch Manager Roger Banks
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Review Items
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KDE School Improvement Efforts- KDE Associate Commissioner Kelly Foster, Ed.D., and KDE Policy Advisor Matthew Courtney, Ed.D.
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Legislative Update- KDE Director of Government Relations Brian Perry, Ph.D.
- Adjournment
Kentucky Board of Education Regular Meeting
April 9, 2026, 9 a.m. ET
Watch Live on the KDE Media Portal
Agenda
- Call to Order
- Roll Call
- Good News
- Board Member Sharing
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Reports
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Report from the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB)- Chair Amber Snell
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Report from the President of the Council on Postsecondary Education- President Aaron Thompson, Ph.D.
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Report from the Secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet- Secretary Jamie Link
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Report from the Commissioner of Education- Commissioner Robbie Fletcher
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Review Items
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Customer Satisfaction Survey Results– KDE Chief Performance Officer Karen Dodd and KDE Strategic Data Analyst Robert Collins
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Milken Educator Award (MEA) Recognition– 2025 Kentucky MEA Sydney Newton and KDE Division Assistant Director Elly Gilbert
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Presentation of the 2026 Robinson Award for Diversity and Equity in Public Education- Commissioner Robbie Fletcher and KBE Chair Sharon Robinson, Ed.D.
- Adjournment
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