Legislation Report - January

January 12, 2010

Bill to address failing schools passes House

FRANKFORT – Kentucky could respond to low-achieving schools through a number of intervention options-- including school closure--under a bill that passed the Kentucky House yesterday by a vote of 96-0.

House Bill 176, sponsored by Rep. Carl Rollins, D-Midway, would offer several options to schools that consistently rank near the bottom in student achievement and are facing closure. Those options include replacing the principal and implementing school-performance enhancing strategies, re-staffing a school after removing its principal and at least 50 percent of its faculty and staff, school consolidation and transferring the daily operation of the school to a state Board of Education-approved non- or for-profit organization.

Under the closure option, Rollins said staff would be transferred to other school in their districts that are meeting state accountability measures.

Some lawmakers said they would support the legislation although they favor the establishment of charter schools which are not established under HB 176. Charter schools are privately-run schools that receive public funding.

“I’m hopeful that sometime this session, we can consider the issue of charter schools,” said Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington.

Passage of HB 176 is aimed at helping Kentucky compete for $45 million in federal aid for school improvement and $160-$200 million under the federal Race to the Top school achievement program over four years. Money from the programs could be used to help low-achieving schools, defined in HB 176 as schools that consistently perform in the bottom five percent in reading and math proficiency and have graduation rates at or below 60 percent.

Kentucky’s application for the Race to the Top program is due Tuesday, Jan. 19, Rollins said, adding that HB 176 would have to pass into law this week for Kentucky to apply this round. Currently, 11 schools qualify for the $45 million in school improvement funds, he said.

“Time is of the essence for this legislation…,” said Rollins.

HB 176 now goes to the Senate for its consideration.


January 8, 2010

This week in Frankfort

FRANKFORT – Without the gritty specifics that will come later this month in his Budget Address -- but awash in an almost aggressive optimism -- Gov. Steve Beshear offered a hopeful if not quite upbeat assessment of the State of the Commonwealth to a joint session of the General Assembly this week.

Beshear's address, his third since taking office, came on Day 2 of the 2010 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, which convened Tuesday in Frankfort.

In what seemingly has become a yearly ritual, lawmakers gathered in the Capitol amid revenue projections that once again fall far short of expectations. While some key lawmakers dispute the governor's figures, Beshear has warned of shortfalls up to $1.5 billion facing the Legislature as it writes a two-year spending plan for the state. If true, that means some major policy decisions face lawmakers when the governor's actual proposed budget is figuratively nailed to the House Chamber door Jan. 19. Even if not, the money picture is gray as winter, and hard policy choices await.

But Wednesday's speech by the governor was more inspirational and thematic than policy-wonkish. While acknowledging the day's fiscal adversity, he insisted we see it as opportunity – and cited a laundry list of accomplishments the state has achieved despite round-after-round of cuts since the last budget was passed two years ago. He urged continued 'strategic thinking' in dealing with the problem. (One example of which came the next day, when key legislative leaders said they'd consider issuing bonds for school construction and other community-development projects this session despite the shortfall, to take advantage of historically low interest rates).

The governor did mention a couple of significant initiatives for this session: Raising the state's school drop-out age beyond the current 16, and paying for stop-smoking programs with Medicaid. He also called for tougher domestic-violence legislation, and eliminating a small monthly premium for some very low-income recipients of the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program. None of those are big-ticket items.

He also set a priority on maintaining base funding – the SEEK formula -- for public schools

But he did not mention something that has become the signature issue of his governorship: Expanded gambling in the form of racetrack slots. While a slots proposal passed the House last session, it died in a Senate committee – and there's no indication the Senate is any more agreeable this time around. The Senate may, however, consider an alternative proposal to let the voters themselves decide the issue in a Constitutional referendum.

Substantively, some committees began holding hearings this week, including the House Judiciary Committee, which reviewed and passed House Speaker Greg Stumbo’s House Bill 1. Known as Amanda’s Bill -- in memory of domestic violence victim Amanda Ross, who was murdered in Lexington last fall -- HB 1 would allow Kentucky courts to use GPS monitoring in some domestic violence cases. HB 1 now goes to the full House.

The Kentucky Legislature encourages citizen participation in the legislative process, as this year's 60-working-days session works its way through mid-April.

Its Home Page, http://www.lrc.ky.gov/, provides information on each of Kentucky’s senators and representatives, including phone numbers, addresses, and committee assignments. The page also has summaries and full texts of bills under consideration, as well as information on the daily progress each bill has made through the legislative process.

By going to the LRC eNews page, www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/listserv.htm, citizens can subscribe to frequent e-mail updates on what's happening at the Capitol. In addition, the General Assembly has its own blog, Capitol Notes,www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/capitol_notes.htm

Kentuckians can also keep abreast of General Assembly action in the following ways:

A taped message containing information on legislative committee meeting scheduled is updated daily at 1-800-633-9650.

To leave a message for any legislator, call the General Assembly’s toll-free Message Line at 1-800-372-7181. People with hearing difficulties may leave messages for lawmakers by calling the TTY Message Line at (808) 896-0305.

To check the status of any bill, call 1-866-840-2835.


Education, Elementary and Secondary
10RS
WWW Version
ACT scores, placement use, prohibition of - SB 9
Average daily attendance, calculation of - SJR 7
Career
and technical education vacation, evidence-based models, use of - SB 28
and technical education, career academic and career pathways, creation of - SB 28
guidance coaches, employment of - SB 28
Charter
schools, application and approval of - HB 21
schools, limitations and requirements of - HB 21
Classified position, employment of person in - HB 142
Compulsory
school age, increase to age eighteen - HB 94
school age, raising from 16 to 18 - HB 140
Department of Education, reorganization, Executive Order 2009-536 - SB 61
Digital citizenship definitions include in discipline code and professional development - HB 50
District owned vehicles, prohibiting use of - HB 47
Dual enrollment course credit, transfer and acceptance of - HB 144
Early graduation program of study, creation of - SB 67
Education Professional Standards Board, increase membership of - HB 18
Expanded learning time grant program, establishment of - HB 154
Foster children, dual credit and dual enrollment courses, tuition waiver - HB 84
Franklin County schools, start time pilot program - HR 18
Green Schools Caucus, creation of endorsed - HR 24
Human sexuality education, content standards - HB 119
Kentucky educator award and recognition fund, creation of - HB 32
Massey, Ed; National School Boards Association, support election to - SR 6
National School Boards association, support Ed Massey for election to - SR 6
Persistently
low-achieving school, definition of - HB 176: HFA (3)
low-achieving schools, definitions of - HB 176: HCS, HFA (1)
low-achieving schools, intervention options in - HB 176; HB 176: HCS, HFA (2)
Physical activity for children, requirement of - HB 52
Preschool education, Strong Start Kentucky program grants - HB 190
Public
school academies, application and approval of - HB 63
school academies, limitations and requirements for - HB 63
Response to intervention, district-wide implementation of - HB 109
School board, maps of school district, provision for - SB 35
Secondary school construction , resident bidder, preference for - SB 45
Security offices, police officers, Bill of Rights, application - SB 27
Student
attendance, school-sponsored sports event - HB 22
religious expression, support of - HR 40
Students with Special Needs Scholarship Program, establishment of - SB 43; HB 77
Suicide
prevention awareness information to middle and high school students - HB 51
prevention training, participation in - SB 65
Support education excellence in Kentucky, additional funds, distribution of - HB 168
Teacher
selection training module, development of - SB 68
selection training module, principals to complete - SB 68
Teachers of mathematics, chemistry and physics, salary supplements for - SB 69
Technology, middle school students - HCR 12
Voter registration and voting, instruction on - HB 212