Comprehensive Improvement Planning for Schools
Comprehensive School Improvement Plans (CSIPs) are developed by school councils with the input of parents, faculty and staff based on a review of data. Councils may not have access to the electronic platform (Cognia Improvement Platform) to input the CSIP, but councils must be involved in the CSIP development.
Phase One elements were due on Oct. 1, and we are currently in Phase Two of the improvement planning process. Phase Two began Oct. 1 and runs through Nov. 1. During this needs assessment phase, schools are asked to consider and describe:
- The data reviewed and process used to develop needs assessment;
- A review of the previous plan and its implementation to inform development of the new plan;
- Perception data gathered from the administration of a valid and reliable measure of teaching and learning conditions; and
- Any additional requirements made necessary by the receipt of federal funds authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Those needs identified during this phase will be used to guide the next phase of the CSIP, the School Goals, Objectives and Strategies, as well as the Professional Development Plan for Schools in Phase Four.
You can find the timeline for comprehensive school improvement planning outlined in 703 KAR 5:225. Additional information regarding the 2026-2027 planning phases can be found on the Comprehensive Improvement Planning webpage.
SAAR Minority Report
Schools having 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 council (KRS 160.345(2)(b)(2)).
To determine whether a school must have at least one minority member on its council, consult the summary sheet in the current SAAR document. Schools also may reference their own Infinite Campus (IC) data from the preceding Oct. 1. If IC data is used, documentation must be archived on site for five years.
If the council does not have a minority member after the general election and is subsequently required to add a minority parent and a minority teacher member in a special election, the principal must work with parent and teacher organizations to select minority parent and teacher representatives. Traditional six-member council membership will increase to eight (one administrator, three parents and four teachers). For further guidance on the minority election process, reference the SBDM Handbook, Chapter 7.
Those schools identified for comprehensive support and improvement (CSI) – the list can be found on the current SAAR document – are required by KRS 160.346 to create an advisory leadership team (ALT) after its audit report has been delivered. When forming the ALT, the principal must collaborate with the turnaround team to establish an advisory leadership team representing school stakeholders, including other school leaders, teachers and parents. When establishing the advisory leadership team, the principal must ensure that schools having 8% or more minority students enrolled, as determined by the enrollment on the preceding Oct. 1, must also have at least one minority member serving on the advisory leadership team.
The ALT has several statutory and regulatory responsibilities and must contribute to the three-year turnaround plan. Likewise, all meetings of the advisory leadership team must be open to the public. The duties of the team must include:
- Serving as a representative voice of the school community during the turnaround process;
- Build capacity in school leadership;
- Promoting a positive school culture focused on distributed leadership, continuous improvement and high expectations for all students;
- Supporting the continual use of evidence-based decision-making to support school improvement;
- Supporting transparent communication with stakeholders by reviewing progress data and helping disseminate key information; and
- Retaining institutional knowledge and supporting continuity of improvement practices after the departure of the turnaround team.
SBDM Implications for Schools Identified for Comprehensive and Targeted Support
Schools are identified annually for CSI and targeted support and improvement (TSI). While SBDM councils will continue to operate in schools that are identified for TSI, school council authority in schools identified for CSI are suspended and transferred to the superintendent following the release of audit findings.
The SBDM Implications for CSI and TSI document provides some additional information for consideration for identified schools and their councils.
As discussed during the endorsement training, the regulation that outlines the SBDM reinstatement process, Section 16 of 703 KAR 5:280, was updated. The process is as follows:
- The local board of education will consider whether the school’s council should be reinstated within 60 days from the date of eligibility on the CSI exit letter
- If the school board reinstates council’s authority, the council’s parent and teacher constituent groups will host elections to establish council.
- If the school board does not reinstate council’s authority, the school board must provide the following
- A rationale for declining to reinstate council's authority;
- A list of criteria the school must meet in order to seek reconsideration of the decision; and
- A date which the school may seek reconsideration.
- If the board declines to reinstate the council, the school’s ALT remains in place until council’s authority is reinstated.
Please note that advisory leadership team information must be reported in the SBDM verification database. See additional details regarding member verification and minority membership in this newsletter in the “Council Verification Data” and “SAAR Minority Report” sections.
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