KASS Legislative Update – February 12, 2021

We are about halfway through the 30-day Legislative Session of the Kentucky General Assembly.  It is critical we stay diligent in our advocacy efforts with legislators to provide input on the important policy proposals aligned to our priorities. As we enter the last half of the session, continue to stay focused on the priority bills below.  Your leadership and advocacy are making a big difference!

Strong Support Priorities

  • Pass HB192 – the State Budget that includes:

      • an inflationary increase to SEEK;
      • full funding of the ARC for TRS;
      • funding the statutory contribution to the medical insurance trust fund;
      • and providing equalization for the facility nickels.
      • Detailed Talking Points on the State Budget
      • Contact both Senate and House members on this bill.

  • Pass HB258 – the New Tier for TRS without modification.

  • Pass SB5 – the liability relief bill provides meaningful protections for businesses, organizations, schools, and individuals who have reopened and are following recommended guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Pass HB208 – the education relief measures for schools and districts due to the pandemic. We support passage without any amendments.

 Strong Opposition

  • Vote NO on HB149 – Tax credits for Education Opportunity Accounts

  • Vote NO on HB133 – Reducing required signatures to 100 for a petition on a tax levy proposal by a Board of Education.


Other Selected Bills of Interest :

SB 77, sponsored by Sen. Raque Adams, R-Louisville, passed the Senate this week. It now goes to the House. This bill would add several minority members to superintendent screening committees in districts with a student minority population of 50% or more. KASS supports this bill.

SB 115, sponsored by Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, passed the Senate Education Committee. This is the “Read to Succeed Act” which would make numerous changes to literacy instruction and interventions in grades K-3, and transform the existing Read-to-Achieve grants into a new statewide approach. The committee substitute  is the version that will move forward. Of note to school boards, the bill would allow each board to adopt a common comprehensive reading program for kindergarten through third grade for all its schools or a subset of schools notwithstanding the law that now allows school councils to do this. This bill now goes to the full Senate.

SB 168, sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, passed the Senate Education Committee. It would codify recent executive orders that reorganized some education agencies, including allowing the Education Professional Standards Board will remain part of the Kentucky Department of Education, under the direction of the commissioner of education. This bill now goes to the full Senate.

HB 178, sponsored by Rep. Steve Sheldon, R-Bowling Green, which would require future appointments to the Kentucky Board of Education to reflect equal gender representation and proportionally reflect the state’s political affiliation and minority racial composition, add a student and a teacher as non-voting members, and prohibit a governor from reorganizing the board. KASS supports this bill.

SB 128, sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, would allow current high school students to request to use the 2021-22 school year as a “supplemental school year” to either retake or supplement coursework already completed. It would require local school boards to either approve or deny all requests, to protect districts from being faced with more students than they could accommodate while also preventing any possible discriminatory selections of individual students. It would ensure that students using supplemental school years are not ineligible to participate in KHSAA activities.

SB 170, sponsored by Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, would allow school districts to receive funding for any nonresident student enrolled in the district pursuant to local policy, was introduced and is expected to be heard by the Senate Education Committee next week.

HB 436, sponsored by Rep. Ed Massey, R-Hebron – will prevent the TRS Board of Trustees from being reorganized by the Governor.

HB 135, sponsored by Rep. Randy Bridges, R-Paducah – require property to be valued at the highest and best use by the PVA.

KASS Weekly Legislative Zoom Podcasts

In these informational podcasts, we bring you important updates on the happenings in Frankfort and occasionally Washington DC with guests who provide insights and expertise on public policy matters impacting public education.  With the busy superintendent in mind, we try to keep each podcast to an hour or less.  As we continue to refine the product, we welcome your feedback and suggestions.  Feel free to share with anyone who may be interested and enjoy the podcast!

KASS Weekly Legislative Update Zoom Podcast – February 12, 2021

This week we had Senate Majority Whip Mike Wilson and Superintendent Gary Fields of Bowling Green Independent Schools as our guests.

Here are links to some important information regarding the Legislative Session:

LRC Website

Regular Session Calendar

Standing Committee Meeting Schedule

Weekly Legislative Calendar

Bills Home Page

2021 Pre-filed Bills

Legislators

Legislative Message Line – 800-372-7181

Again, it is very important we communicate with our legislators throughout the 2021 Legislative Session, particularly on the priorities above.  As always, feel free to contact me or Greg Coker for any questions or assistance.

Thanks for Your Advocacy and Lead Onward!

Jim

Dr. Jim Flynn
Executive Director
Kentucky Association of School Superintendents
87 C. Michael Davenport Blvd.
Frankfort, KY 40601
270-776-0444
www.kysupts.org
Follow me on Twitter @jimflynnkysupts