Download as PDF
160.107 Application and implementation requirements for districts of
innovation.
(1)
(2)
A district which is an applicant to be designated as a district of innovation
under KRS 156.108 shall:
(a) Establish goals and performance targets for the district of innovation
proposal, which may include:
1.
Reducing achievement gaps among groups of public school
students by expanding learning experiences for students who are
identified as academically low-achieving;
2.
Increasing pupil learning through the implementation of high,
rigorous standards for pupil performance;
3.
Increasing the participation of students in various curriculum
components and instructional components within selected schools to
enhance students' preparation at each grade level;
4.
Increasing the number of students who are college and
career-ready; and
5.
Motivating students at different grade levels by offering more
curriculum choices and student learning opportunities to parents and
students within the district;
(b) Identify changes needed in the district and schools to lead to
better-prepared students for success in life and work;
(c) Have a district-wide plan of innovation that describes and justifies which
schools and innovative practices will be incorporated;
(d) Provide documentation of community, educator, parental, and the local
board's support of the proposed innovations;
(e) Provide detailed information regarding the rationale of requests for
waivers from Kentucky Revised Statutes and administrative regulations,
and exemptions for selected schools regarding waivers of local board of
education policies;
(f) Document the fiscal and human resources the board will provide
throughout the term of the implementation of the innovations within its
plan; and
(g) Provide other materials as required by the Kentucky Department of
Education in compliance with the state board's administrative regulations
and application procedures.
The district and all schools participating in a district's innovation plan shall:
(a) Ensure the same health, safety, civil rights, and disability rights
requirements as are applied to all public schools;
(b) Ensure students meet compulsory attendance requirements under KRS
158.030 and 158.100;
(c) Ensure that high school course offerings meet or exceed the minimum
required under KRS 156.160 for high school graduation or meet early
graduation requirements that may be enacted by the General Assembly;
(d) Ensure the student performance standards meet or exceed those
(3)
(4)
adopted by the Kentucky Board of Education as required by KRS
158.685, including compliance with the statewide assessment system
specified in KRS 158.6453;
(e) Adhere to the same financial audits, audit procedures, and audit
requirements as are applied under KRS 156.265;
(f) Require state and criminal background checks for staff and volunteers as
required of all public school employees and volunteers within the public
schools and specified in KRS 160.380 and 161.148;
(g) Comply with open records and open meeting requirements under KRS
Chapter 61;
(h) Comply with purchasing requirements and limitations under KRS Chapter
45A and KRS 156.074 and 156.480;
(i) Provide overall instructional time that is equivalent to or greater than that
required under KRS 158.070, but which may include on-site instruction,
distance or virtual learning, and work-based learning on nontraditional
school days or hours; and
(j) Provide data to the Kentucky Department of Education as deemed
necessary to generate school and district reports.
(a) Only schools that choose to be designated as schools of innovation shall
be included in a district's application.
(b) 1.
As used in this paragraph, "eligible employees" means employees
that are regularly employed at the school and those employees
whose primary job duties will be affected by the plan.
2.
A vote shall be taken among eligible employees in a school to
determine if the school shall be an applicant as a school of
innovation in a district's proposal and to approve the school's plan of
innovation before it is submitted to the district. At least seventy
percent (70%) of those casting votes shall vote in the affirmative in
order for the school to request inclusion in the district's plan and to
approve the school's plan of innovation.
3.
The school-based decision making council shall be responsible for
conducting the vote provided for in subparagraph 2. of this
paragraph, which shall be by secret ballot.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, a local
board of education may require a school that has been identified as a
persistently low-achieving school under KRS 160.346 to participate in the
district's plan of innovation.
(a) With approval of the state board, a school of innovation may request and
be granted waivers from all or selected provisions of KRS 160.345
relating to school-based decision making.
(b) To be exempt from KRS 160.345, a school-based decision making
council shall vote by secret ballot to determine if it wishes to request a
waiver from KRS 160.345 or specific provisions within that statute. Only a
school that has seventy percent (70%) or more of the teachers and staff
in the school voting to waive its rights and responsibilities under KRS
160.345 shall be eligible.
(c)
(5)
No local board of education or superintendent nor the Kentucky Board of
Education may compel a school to waive its rights under KRS 160.345,
except as provided in KRS 160.346.
(d) Before the provisions of KRS 160.345 are waived by the Kentucky Board
of Education for a specific school, there shall be assurances that
teachers, parents, and staff in the affected school will be actively involved
in the management and decision-making operations of the schools,
including input into employment matters and selection of personnel.
Notwithstanding any statutes to the contrary, the Kentucky Board of Education
may approve the requests of districts of innovation to:
(a) Use capital outlay funds for operational costs;
(b) Hire persons for classified positions in nontraditional school and district
assignments who have bachelor's and advanced degrees from
postsecondary education institutions accredited by a regional accrediting
association as defined in KRS 164.740;
(c) Employ teachers on extended employment contracts or extra duty
contracts and compensate them on a salary schedule other than the
single salary schedule;
(d) Extend the school days as is appropriate within the district with
compensation for the employees as determined locally;
(e) Establish alternative education programs and services that are delivered
in nontraditional hours and which may be jointly provided in cooperation
with another school district or consortia of districts;
(f) Establish a virtual school within the district for delivering alternative
classes to meet high school graduation requirements;
(g) Use a flexible school calendar;
(h) Convert existing schools into schools of innovation; and
(i) Modify the formula under KRS 157.360(2) for distributing support
education excellence in Kentucky funds for students in average daily
attendance in nontraditional programming time, including alternative
programs and virtual programs. Funds granted to a district shall not
exceed those that would have otherwise been distributed based on
average daily attendance during regular instructional days.
Effective:July 12, 2012
History: Created 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 40, sec. 2, effective July 12, 2012.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/12/2012). The internal numbering of
subsection (3)(b) of this statute has been modified by the Reviser of Statutes
from the way it appeared in 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 40, sec. 2, under the authority of
KRS 7.136(1). The words in the text were not changed.
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Kentucky may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
