2019 Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 156 - Department of education 156.095 Professional development programs -- Professional development coordinator -- Long-term improvement plans -- Suicide prevention awareness information -- Suicide prevention training -- Active shooter training, also applicable to charter schools -- Evidence-informed trainings on child abuse and neglect -- Electronic consumer bulletin board -- Training to address needs of students at risk -- Teacher academics -- Annual report to Juvenile Justice Oversight Council.
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156.095
Professional development programs -- Professional development
coordinator -- Long-term improvement plans -- Suicide prevention
awareness information -- Suicide prevention training -- Active shooter
training, also applicable to charter schools -- Evidence-informed trainings
on child abuse and neglect -- Electronic consumer bulletin board -Training to address needs of students at risk -- Teacher academics -Annual report to Juvenile Justice Oversight Council.
(1)
(2)
(3)
The Kentucky Department of Education shall establish, direct, and maintain a
statewide program of professional development to improve instruction in the
public schools.
Each local school district superintendent shall appoint a certified school
employee to fulfill the role and responsibilities of a professional development
coordinator who shall disseminate professional development information to
schools and personnel. Upon request by a school council or any employees of
the district, the coordinator shall provide technical assistance to the council or
the personnel that may include assisting with needs assessments, analyzing
school data, planning and evaluation assistance, organizing districtwide
programs requested by school councils or groups of teachers, or other
coordination activities.
(a) The manner of appointment, qualifications, and other duties of the
professional development coordinator shall be established by Kentucky
Board of Education through promulgation of administrative regulations.
(b) The local district professional development coordinator shall participate in
the Kentucky Department of Education annual training program for local
school district professional development coordinators. The training
program may include, but not be limited to, the demonstration of various
approaches to needs assessment and planning; strategies for
implementing long-term, school-based professional development;
strategies for strengthening teachers' roles in the planning, development,
and evaluation of professional development; and demonstrations of model
professional development programs. The training shall include information
about teacher learning opportunities relating to the core content
standards. The Kentucky Department of Education shall regularly collect
and distribute this information.
The Kentucky Department of Education shall provide or facilitate optional,
professional development programs for certified personnel throughout the
Commonwealth that are based on the statewide needs of teachers,
administrators, and other education personnel. Programs may include
classified staff and parents when appropriate. Programs offered or facilitated
by the department shall be at locations and times convenient to local school
personnel and shall be made accessible through the use of technology when
appropriate. They shall include programs that: address the goals for Kentucky
schools as stated in KRS 158.6451, including reducing the achievement gaps
as determined by an equity analysis of the disaggregated student performance
data from the state assessment program developed under KRS 158.6453;
engage educators in effective learning processes and foster collegiality and
collaboration; and provide support for staff to incorporate newly acquired skills
(4)
(5)
into their work through practicing the skills, gathering information about the
results, and reflecting on their efforts. Professional development programs shall
be made available to teachers based on their needs which shall include but not
be limited to the following areas:
(a) Strategies to reduce the achievement gaps among various groups of
students and to provide continuous progress;
(b) Curriculum content and methods of instruction for each content area,
including differentiated instruction;
(c) School-based decision making;
(d) Assessment literacy;
(e) Integration of performance-based student assessment into daily
classroom instruction;
(f) Nongraded primary programs;
(g) Research-based instructional practices;
(h) Instructional uses of technology;
(i) Curriculum design to serve the needs of students with diverse learning
styles and skills and of students of diverse cultures;
(j) Instruction in reading, including phonics, phonemic awareness,
comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary;
(k) Educational leadership; and
(l) Strategies to incorporate character education throughout the curriculum.
The department shall assist school personnel in assessing the impact of
professional development on their instructional practices and student learning.
The department shall assist districts and school councils with the development
of long-term school and district improvement plans that include multiple
strategies for professional development based on the assessment of needs at
the school level.
(a) Professional development strategies may include, but are not limited to,
participation in subject matter academies, teacher networks, training
institutes, workshops, seminars, and study groups; collegial planning;
action research; mentoring programs; appropriate university courses; and
other forms of professional development.
(b) In planning the use of the four (4) days for professional development
under KRS 158.070, school councils and districts shall give priority to
programs that increase teachers' understanding of curriculum content and
methods of instruction appropriate for each content area based on
individual school plans. The district may use up to one (1) day to provide
district-wide training and training that is mandated by state or federal law.
Only those employees identified in the mandate or affected by the
mandate shall be required to attend the training.
(c) State funds allocated for professional development shall be used to
support professional development initiatives that are consistent with local
school improvement and professional development plans and teachers'
individual growth plans. The funds may be used throughout the year for
all staff, including classified and certified staff and parents on school
(6)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(7)
(a)
(b)
(c)
councils or committees. A portion of the funds allocated to each school
council under KRS 160.345 may be used to prepare or enhance the
teachers' knowledge and teaching practices related to the content and
subject matter that are required for their specific classroom assignments.
By August 1, 2010, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services
shall post on its Web page suicide prevention awareness information, to
include recognizing the warning signs of a suicide crisis. The Web page
shall include information related to suicide prevention training
opportunities offered by the cabinet or an agency recognized by the
cabinet as a training provider.
By September 15 of each year, every public school shall provide suicide
prevention awareness information in person, by live streaming, or via a
video recording to all students in grades six (6) through twelve (12). The
information may be obtained from the Cabinet for Health and Family
Services or from a commercially developed suicide prevention training
program.
1.
Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, and every other year
thereafter, a minimum of one (1) hour of high-quality suicide
prevention training, including the recognition of signs and symptoms
of possible mental illness, shall be required for all school district
employees with job duties requiring direct contact with students in
grades six (6) through twelve (12). The training shall be provided
either in person, by live streaming, or via a video recording and may
be included in the four (4) days of professional development under
KRS 158.070.
2.
When a staff member subject to the training under subparagraph 1.
of this paragraph is initially hired during a school year in which the
training is not required, the local district shall provide suicide
prevention materials to the staff member for review.
The requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection shall apply
to public charter schools as a health and safety requirement under KRS
160.1592(1).
By November 1, 2019, and November 1 of each year thereafter, a
minimum of one (1) hour of training on how to respond to an active
shooter situation shall be required for all school district employees with
job duties requiring direct contact with students. The training shall be
provided either in person, by live streaming, or via a video recording
prepared by the Kentucky Department of Education in collaboration with
the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council and the Center for School Safety
and may be included in the four (4) days of professional development
under KRS 158.070.
When a staff member subject to the training requirements of this
subsection is initially hired after the training has been provided for the
school year, the local district shall provide materials on how to respond to
an active shooter situation.
The requirements of this subsection shall also apply to public charter
schools as a health and safety requirement under KRS 160.1592(1).
(8)
(a)
The Kentucky Department of Education shall develop and maintain a list
of approved comprehensive evidence-informed trainings on child abuse
and neglect prevention, recognition, and reporting that encompass child
physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect.
(b) The trainings shall be Web-based or in-person and cover, at a minimum,
the following topics:
1.
Recognizing child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and
neglect;
2.
Reporting suspected child abuse and neglect in Kentucky as
required by KRS 620.030 and the appropriate documentation;
3.
Responding to the child; and
4.
Understanding the response of child protective services.
(c) The trainings shall include a questionnaire or other basic assessment tool
upon completion to document basic knowledge of training components.
(d) Each local board of education shall adopt one (1) or more trainings from
the list approved by the Department of Education to be implemented by
schools.
(e) All current school administrators, certified personnel, office staff,
instructional assistants, and coaches and extracurricular sponsors who
are employed by the school district shall complete the implemented
training or trainings by January 31, 2017, and then every two (2) years
after.
(f) All school administrators, certified personnel, office staff, instructional
assistants, and coaches and extracurricular sponsors who are employed
by the school district hired after January 31, 2017, shall complete the
implemented training or trainings within ninety (90) days of being hired
and then every two (2) years after.
(g) Every public school shall prominently display the statewide child abuse
hotline number administered by the Cabinet for Health and Family
Services, and the National Human Trafficking Reporting Hotline number
administered by the United States Department for Health and Human
Services.
(9) The Department of Education shall establish an electronic consumer bulletin
board that posts information regarding professional development providers and
programs as a service to school district central office personnel, school
councils, teachers, and administrators. Participation on the electronic consumer
bulletin board shall be voluntary for professional development providers or
vendors, but shall include all programs sponsored by the department.
Participants shall provide the following information: program title; name of
provider or vendor; qualifications of the presenters or instructors; objectives of
the program; program length; services provided, including follow-up support;
costs for participation and costs of materials; names of previous users of the
program, addresses, and telephone numbers; and arrangements required.
Posting information on the bulletin board by the department shall not be viewed
as an endorsement of the quality of any specific provider or program.
(10) The Department of Education shall provide training to address the
characteristics and instructional needs of students at risk of school failure and
most likely to drop out of school. The training shall be developed to meet the
specific needs of all certified and classified personnel depending on their
relationship with these students. The training for instructional personnel shall
be designed to provide and enhance skills of personnel to:
(a) Identify at-risk students early in elementary schools as well as at-risk and
potential dropouts in the middle and high schools;
(b) Plan specific instructional strategies to teach at-risk students;
(c) Improve the academic achievement of students at risk of school failure by
providing individualized and extra instructional support to increase
expectations for targeted students;
(d) Involve parents as partners in ways to help their children and to improve
their children's academic progress; and
(e) Significantly reduce the dropout rate of all students.
(11) The department shall establish teacher academies to the extent funding is
available in cooperation with postsecondary education institutions for
elementary, middle school, and high school faculty in core disciplines, utilizing
facilities and faculty from universities and colleges, local school districts, and
other appropriate agencies throughout the state. Priority for participation shall
be given to those teachers who are teaching core discipline courses for which
they do not have a major or minor or the equivalent. Participation of teachers
shall be voluntary.
(12) The department shall annually provide to the oversight council established in
KRS 15A.063, the information received from local schools pursuant to KRS
158.449.
Effective:March 11, 2019
History: Amended 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 5, sec. 15, effective March 11, 2019. -Amended 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 53, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2018. -- Amended
2017 Ky. Acts ch. 171, sec. 2, effective June 29, 2017. -- Amended 2016 Ky.
Acts ch. 125, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2016. -- Amended 2015 Ky. Acts ch. 7,
sec. 1, effective June 24, 2015. -- Amended 2014 Ky. Acts ch. 132, sec. 10,
effective July 15, 2014. -- Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 6, sec. 1, effective July
15, 2010. -- Amended 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 101, sec. 8, effective March 25, 2009.
-- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 302, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended
2000 Ky. Acts ch. 162, sec. 4, effective July 14, 2000; ch. 452, sec. 3, effective
July 14, 2000; and ch. 527, sec. 10, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998
Ky. Acts ch. 514, sec. 4, effective July 15, 1998.; and ch. 609, sec. 1, effective
July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 362, sec. 6, effective July 15,
1996. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 476, Pt. I, sec. 13, effective July 13, 1990.
-- Amended 1985 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 10, sec. 1, effective October
18, 1985; Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 155, sec. 82, effective June 17, 1978. -Amended 1956 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 7, Art. II, sec. 2. -- Created 1950
Ky. Acts ch. 127, sec. 1.
2018-2020 Budget Reference. See State/Executive Branch Budget, 2018 Ky. Acts
ch. 169, Pt. I, C, 3, (5) at 1310.
Legislative Research Commission Note (3/11/2019). Under the authority of KRS
7.136(1), the Reviser of Statutes has relettered the paragraphs in subsection (7)
of this statute. No words were changed in this process.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/2000). This section was amended
by 2000 Ky. Acts chs. 162, 452, and 527. Where these Acts are not in conflict,
they have been codified together. As to subsection (7) of this section, a conflict
exists, in part, between Acts chs. 452 and 527. Under KRS 446.250, Acts ch.
527, which was last enacted by the General Assembly, prevails in this conflict.
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