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AN ACT relating to education. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 161.030 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Notwithstanding the age of the pupil, the certification of all teachers and other 4
school personnel, hired by[in] public schools only, is vested in the Education 5
Professional Standards Board. When so certified, teachers and other school 6
personnel shall not be required to have licensure, certification, or other forms of 7
approval from any other state agency for the performance of their respective 8
assignments within the common schools, except as provided for by law. All 9
certificates authorized under KRS 161.010 to 161.126 shall be issued in accordance 10
with the administrative regulations of the Education Professional Standards Board. 11
After July 15, 1994, all certificate applications and other data collection instruments 12
of the board shall include a request for voluntary information about the applicant's 13
ethnic background. This information shall be available to help local school districts 14
locate minority candidates. A person who holds a certificate prior to this 15
requirement may request that ethnic information be added to his or her file. Nothing 16
in this section shall preclude the right of an individual in a nonpublic school from 17
seeking voluntary certification by the Education Professional Standards Board. 18
(2) Certificates shall be issued upon written application and in accordance with statutes 19
and regulations in effect at the time of application to persons who have completed, 20
at colleges, universities, or local school district programs approved by the Education 21
Professional Standards Board for the preparation of teachers and other school 22
personnel, the curricula prescribed by the administrative regulations of the 23
Education Professional Standards Board. 24
(3) (a) Certification of all new teachers and teachers seeking additional certification 25
shall require the successful completion of appropriate assessments prior to 26
certification. The assessments shall be selected by the Education Professional 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 487
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Standards Board and shall measure knowledge in the specific teaching field of 1
the applicant, including content of the field and teaching of that content. The 2
Education Professional Standards Board shall determine the minimum 3
acceptable level of achievement on each assessment. The assessments shall 4
measure those concepts, ideas, and facts which are being taught in teacher 5
education programs in Kentucky. Upon successful completion of the 6
assessments and the approved teacher preparation program, a certificate valid 7
for one (1) year shall be issued. 8
(b) If an applicant for teacher certification has completed the approved teacher 9
preparation program and has taken but failed to successfully complete the 10
appropriate assessments selected by the Education Professional Standards 11
Board, a conditional certificate may be issued for a period not to exceed one 12
(1) year, if the employing school district, in collaboration with the teacher 13
education institution, agrees to provide technical assistance and mentoring 14
support to the conditionally certified teacher. The teacher shall retake the 15
assessments during the validity period of the conditional certificate. The 16
conditional certificate shall not be reissued. Upon successful completion of 17
the required assessments, a certificate valid for one (1) year shall be issued 18
and the teacher shall be eligible to participate in the internship program as 19
provided in subsection (5) of this section. The teacher shall not be eligible to 20
participate in the internship program while teaching on the conditional 21
certificate. The Education Professional Standards Board shall promulgate 22
administrative regulations to establish the standards and procedures for 23
issuance of the conditional certificate. 24
(c) If an out-of-state teacher with less than two (2) years' experience comes to 25
Kentucky after the deadline for taking the assessments, a temporary certificate 26
may be issued for a period up to six (6) months provided the local board 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 487
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cannot fill the vacant position with a certified teacher. The teacher shall take 1
the assessments if they are administered during the period of the temporary 2
certificate. The certificate shall be extended for the remainder of the year if the 3
teacher successfully completes the assessments. If the teacher fails the 4
assessments, the temporary certificate shall be valid only for the current 5
semester. 6
(4) A reasonable fee to be paid by the teacher and directly related to the actual cost of 7
the administration of the assessments shall be established by the Education 8
Professional Standards Board. Provisions shall be made for persons having less than 9
minimum levels of performance on any assessment to repeat that assessment, and 10
candidates shall be informed of their strengths and weaknesses in the specific 11
performance areas. The Education Professional Standards Board shall provide for 12
confidentiality of the individual assessment scores. Scores shall be available only to 13
the candidate and to the education officials who are responsible for determining 14
whether established certification standards have been met. Scores shall be used only 15
in the assessment for certification of new teachers and of out-of-state teachers with 16
less than two (2) years of teaching experience who are seeking initial certification in 17
Kentucky. 18
(5) Except as provided in subsection (3)(b) of this section, all new teachers and out-of-19
state teachers with less than two (2) years of successful teaching experience who are 20
seeking initial certification in Kentucky shall serve a one (1) year internship. The 21
teacher shall be a full-time employee or shall have an annual contract and serve on 22
at least a half-time basis and shall have supervision, assistance, and assessment 23
during the one (1) year internship. The internship may be served in a public school 24
or a nonpublic school which meets the state performance standards as established in 25
KRS 156.160 or which has been accredited by a regional or national accrediting 26
association. Successful completion shall be determined by a majority vote of the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 487
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beginning teacher committee. The internship period shall be counted as experience 1
for the purpose of continuing contract status, retirement eligibility, and benefits for 2
single salary experience increments. Upon successful completion of the beginning 3
teacher program, the one (1) year initial teaching certificate shall be extended for 4
the remainder of the usual duration period established for that particular certificate 5
by Education Professional Standards Board administrative regulations. 6
(6) The beginning teacher committee shall be composed of three (3) persons who have 7
successfully completed special training in the supervision and assessment of the 8
performance of beginning teachers as provided in subsection (8) of this section, 9
except as provided in paragraph (g) of this subsection. The committee shall consist 10
of a resource teacher, the school principal of the school where the internship is 11
served, and a teacher educator appointed by a state-approved teacher training 12
institution. 13
(a) If more than two (2) teacher interns are employed in the same school, the 14
principal's responsibility may be shared with an assistant principal who holds 15
certification as a principal. 16
(b) In unusual situations, the Education Professional Standards Board may permit 17
the assistant principal to serve in lieu of the principal on a beginning teacher 18
committee. 19
(c) If the teacher training institution is unable to provide a member, the district 20
superintendent shall appoint an instructional supervisor from the school 21
district. 22
(d) If the intern is teaching in a regionally or nationally accredited nonpublic 23
school without a principal, the person filling the principal member position 24
may have other appropriate qualifications as required by administrative 25
regulations promulgated by the Education Professional Standards Board. 26
(e) If the teacher training institution is unable to provide a member to serve on the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 487
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beginning teacher committee in a nonpublic school, the chief officer of the 1
school shall appoint an instructional supervisor or a teacher with like 2
qualifications and responsibilities to serve on the beginning teacher committee 3
in lieu of the teacher educator. 4
(f) The resource teacher shall be appointed by the Education Professional 5
Standards Board with recommendations from the local school district from a 6
pool of qualified resource teachers, and, any statutes to the contrary 7
notwithstanding and to the extent of available appropriations, shall be entitled 8
to be paid a reasonable stipend by the Education Professional Standards Board 9
for work done outside normal working hours. In the case of a resource teacher 10
in a nonpublic school, payment shall be made directly to the resource teacher 11
by the Education Professional Standards Board. Priority shall be given to 12
resource teachers in the following order, except as provided in paragraph (g) 13
of this subsection: 14
1. Teachers with the same certification in the same school; 15
2. Teachers with the same certification in the same district; 16
3. Teachers in the same school; 17
4. Teachers in the same district; and 18
5. Teachers in an adjacent school district. 19
(g) 1. The resource teacher for an individual pursuing initial certification as a 20
baccalaureate level teacher of exceptional children/communication 21
disorders shall be a master's level teacher of exceptional 22
children/communication disorders, if one is available. 23
2. If a master's level teacher of exceptional children/communication 24
disorders is not available, the Education Professional Standards Board 25
may allow a licensed speech-language pathologist to serve on the 26
beginning teacher committee in lieu of a resource teacher. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 487
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(h) The committee shall meet with the beginning teacher a minimum of three (3) 1
times per year for evaluation and recommendation with all committee 2
members present. In addition, each member of the committee shall observe 3
the beginning teacher in the classroom a minimum of three (3) times per year. 4
If the teacher's first year performance is judged by the committee to be less 5
than satisfactory, the teacher shall be provided with an opportunity to repeat 6
the internship one (1) time if the teacher is employed by a school district. 7
(7) The resource teacher shall spend a minimum of seventy (70) hours working with the 8
beginning teacher. Twenty (20) of these hours shall be in the classroom setting, and 9
fifty (50) of these hours shall be in consultation other than class time or attending 10
assessment meetings. The resource teacher shall have completed at least four (4) 11
years of successful teaching experience as attested to by his or her immediate 12
supervisor or by having achieved tenure and be able to show evidence of continuing 13
professional development by having achieved a master's degree or its equivalent or 14
the accumulation of two thousand (2,000) hours of continuing professional 15
activities. 16
(8) By contract with teacher education institutions in the Commonwealth, the 17
Education Professional Standards Board shall provide special training for persons 18
who will be serving on the beginning teacher committees. Completion of special 19
training shall be evidenced by successfully passing the assessments as prescribed by 20
the Education Professional Standards Board. A principal hired after July 15, 1996, 21
shall be required to complete the beginning teacher committee training program 22
within one (1) year after his or her appointment. 23
(9) If an applicant establishes eligibility for a one (1) year certificate under the 24
provisions of subsection (3)(a) of this section, but does not become employed on the 25
basis needed to satisfy the one (1) year internship requirement, the applicant shall be 26
eligible for the issuance of a certificate for substitute teaching as provided by the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 487
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administrative regulations of the Education Professional Standards Board. The 1
applicant shall remain eligible for the one (1) year certificate, as provided in 2
subsection (3)(a) of this section, and for the opportunity to serve the internship for a 3
period of five (5) years after establishing eligibility. If the internship is not 4
completed within the five (5) year period, the applicant must reestablish eligibility 5
by repeating and passing the assessment program in effect for new teachers at that 6
time or by completing a minimum of six (6) graduate hours toward completion of a 7
graduate program required by administrative regulations promulgated by the 8
Education Professional Standards Board. The option for renewal through 9
completion of graduate hours shall be available only for the first reestablishment of 10
eligibility. 11
(10) (a) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a ten (10) year 12
emeritus certificate to an applicant who has: 13
1. Retired or will retire not more than one (1) year prior to the expiration 14
date of the certificate; 15
2. Met the requirements to receive an emeritus certificate as set forth in 16
administrative regulation promulgated by the Education Professional 17
Standards Board; and 18
3. Completed the required application unless the provisions of KRS 19
161.120 apply. 20
(b) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a one (1) time five (5) 21
year exception certificate to an individual: 22
1. Whose certificate has expired; 23
2. Whose rank upon expiration was Rank I or Rank II; 24
3. Who has met the requirements to receive an exception certificate as set 25
forth in administrative regulation promulgated by the Education 26
Professional Standards Board; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 487
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4. Who completed three (3) years of classroom instruction prior to the 1
certificate's expiration; and 2
5. Who has completed the required application unless the provisions of 3
KRS 161.120 apply. 4
(11) The Education Professional Standards Board shall approve the curricula of any 5
college or university, or of any department thereof, for the training of teachers, and 6
any nontraditional or alternative teacher preparation program offered in a public or 7
private postsecondary education institution, private contractor, or state agency, and 8
shall also approve the curricula of any local district alternative certification 9
program, when the curricula comply with the administrative regulations of the 10
Education Professional Standards Board for the issuance of certificates and when 11
the institution has met the terms and conditions provided in KRS 161.010 to 12
161.120. Any student who has completed any of these curricula, as approved by the 13
Education Professional Standards Board, and who has completed the prescribed 14
requirements for the issuance of certificates shall be granted a certificate 15
corresponding to the curricula completed. 16
Section 2. KRS 199.894 is amended to read as follows: 17
As used in KRS 199.892 to 199.896, unless the context otherwise requires: 18
(1) "Cabinet" means the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; 19
(2) "Secretary" means secretary for health and family services; 20
(3) "Child-care center" means any child-care center that provides full- or part-time care, 21
day or night, to four (4) or more children in a nonresidential setting who are not the 22
children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or children in legal custody of the 23
operator. "Child-care center" shall not include any child-care facility operated by a 24
religious organization while religious services are being conducted, or a youth 25
development agency, or a learning pod. For the purposes of this 26
subsection[section], "youth development agency" means a program with tax-27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 487
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exempt status under 26 U.S.C. sec. 501(c)(3), which operates continuously 1
throughout the year as an outside-school-hours center for youth who are six (6) 2
years of age or older, and for which there are no fee or scheduled-care arrangements 3
with the parent or guardian of the youth served; 4
(4) "Department" means the Department for Community Based Services;[ and] 5
(5) "Family child-care home" means a private home that is the primary residence of an 6
individual who provides full or part-time care day or night for six (6) or fewer 7
children who are not the children, siblings, stepchildren, grandchildren, nieces, 8
nephews, or children in legal custody of the provider. "Family child-care home" 9
shall not include a learning pod; and 10
(6) "Learning pod" means a private arrangement among a group of parents to 11
group not more than twelve (12) children, regardless of time or place, or whether 12
payment is made for any services, to provide education support to their children 13
in kindergarten through grade twelve (12) who are enrolled in a public or private 14
school and conducting instructional activities remotely. 15
Section 3. KRS 194A.381 is amended to read as follows: 16
KRS 194A.380 to 194A.383 shall not apply to: 17
(1) Public school districts or programs sponsored by the school district; 18
(2) Private schools; 19
(3) Child-care centers, child-caring and child-placing agencies; family child-care 20
homes; and foster care, relative caregiver services or adoptive homes otherwise 21
governed by KRS Chapter 199;[ or] 22
(4) Babysitting or child-care arrangements made by a child's parent or guardian and 23
occurring within a private home; or 24
(5) Learning pods as defined in Section 2 of this Act. 25