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AN ACT relating to English language learners. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
ď˘Section 1. KRS 158.6455 is amended to read as follows: 3
It is the intent of the General Assembly that schools succeed with all students and receive 4
the appropriate consequences in proportion to that success. 5
(1) (a) The Kentucky Board of Education shall create an accountability system to 6
classify districts and schools in accordance with the academic standards and 7
student assessment program developed pursuant to KRS 158.6453. 8
(b) The accountability system shall include an annual meaningful differentiation 9
of all public schools in the state using multiple measures that describe the 10
overall performance of each district, school, and student subgroup. 11
Performance shall be based on a combination of academic and school quality 12
indicators and measures, hereinafter called "state indicators." The state 13
indicators shall exclusively include: 14
1. Student assessment results; 15
2. Progress toward achieving English proficiency by limited English 16
proficiency students; 17
3. Quality of school climate and safety; 18
4. High school graduation rates; 19
5. Postsecondary readiness for each high school student, which shall be 20
included as an academic indicator, and shall be measured by one (1) of 21
the following: 22
a. Meeting or exceeding a college readiness benchmark score on the 23
college admissions examination used as the statewide assessment 24
in KRS 158.6453(5)(b)5. or a college placement examination 25
approved by the Council on Postsecondary Education. The college 26
readiness benchmark score shall be established by the Council on 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 934
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Postsecondary Education; 1
b. Achieving a minimum of three (3) hours of dual credit by 2
completing a course approved by the Kentucky Board of 3
Education or qualifying for a minimum of three (3) hours of 4
postsecondary articulated credit associated with a statewide 5
articulation agreement; 6
c. Achieving a benchmark score on an Advanced Placement, 7
International Baccalaureate, Cambridge Advanced International, 8
or other nationally recognized exam approved by the Kentucky 9
Board of Education that generally qualifies the student for three 10
(3) or more hours of college credit; 11
d. Completing a required number of hours or achieving a benchmark 12
within an apprenticeship, cooperative, or internship that is: 13
i. Not required to be offered as a high school course or during 14
the regular school day, week, or year; 15
ii. Aligned with a credential or associate degree; and 16
iii. Approved by the Kentucky Board of Education after 17
receiving input from the Local Superintendents Advisory 18
Council; or 19
e. Achieving any industry-recognized certifications, licensures, or 20
credentials, with more weight in accountability for industry-21
recognized certifications, licensures, or credentials identified as 22
high demand in accordance with the process described in 23
paragraph (e) of this subsection. Eligible industry-recognized 24
certifications, licensures, or credentials shall not be limited to 25
those earned in conjunction with a minimum sequence of courses. 26
Each high school shall publicly report the credits, hours, and 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 934
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credentials on an annual basis; and 1
6. Any other factor mandated by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act 2
of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95, or its successor. 3
(c) 1. Beginning with data from the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years, 4
the accountability system performance for each district, school, and 5
student subgroup determined by the state indicators shall be based on a 6
combination of annual performance, hereinafter called "status," and 7
improvement over time, hereinafter called "change." 8
2. Status and change shall receive equal weight in determining overall 9
performance. For all students as a group and separately for individual 10
subgroups, status shall be determined, beginning with the data from the 11
2020-2021 academic year, by using the current year performance and 12
change shall be determined, beginning with the data from the 2021-2022 13
academic year, by using the difference in performance from the prior to 14
current year, except change shall be based on the difference in 15
performance for the prior three (3) years for the purpose of determining 16
the lowest-performing five percent (5%) of schools under KRS 17
160.346(2) and (3). 18
3. For each state indicator, there shall be five (5) status levels ranging from 19
very high to very low and five (5) change levels ranging from increased 20
significantly to declined significantly. 21
4. The percentile cut scores for status and change levels shall be based on 22
distribution and shall be approved by the Kentucky Department of 23
Education and the Local Superintendents Advisory Council. The cut 24
scores shall remain in place for at least six (6) years unless existing cut 25
scores no longer support meaningful differentiation of schools as 26
required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 934
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114-95, or its successor. 1
5. Limited English proficiency students shall participate in the student 2
assessment program, including the state-approved English language 3
proficiency assessment, regardless of time enrolled in a school in the 4
United States. In determining status and change, the accountability 5
system performance for limited English proficiency students shall 6
apply according to the following schedule: 7
a. During a limited English proficiency student's first full year of 8
enrollment in a school in the United States, the student's results 9
on the student assessment program shall be excluded from the 10
accountability system. One full year of enrollment is defined as 11
two-hundred forty (240) instructional days or twelve (12) months 12
of cumulative education in a school in the United States, 13
whichever comes first; 14
b. During a limited English proficiency student's second full year 15
of enrollment in a school in the United States, the student's 16
results on the student assessment program shall be included only 17
in calculating change for the accountability system as discussed 18
in this paragraph of this subsection; and 19
c. During a limited English proficiency student's third full year of 20
enrollment and any subsequent years, the student's results on the 21
student assessment program shall be included in calculating 22
status and change for the accountability system as set forth in 23
this paragraph. 24
(d) Beginning in the fall of 2022, the Kentucky Department of Education shall 25
develop an online display of the accountability system results hereinafter 26
called a "dashboard." A color-coded performance level for each state indicator 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 934
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shall be displayed in a straightforward manner on the dashboard for overall 1
performance, status, and change by district, school, and individual subgroups. 2
Overall performance shall aggregate all available data for the state indicators. 3
(e) Based on data from the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce 4
Statistics, each local workforce investment board, in conjunction with local 5
economic development organizations from its state regional sector, shall 6
annually compile a list of industry-recognized certifications, licensures, and 7
credentials specific to the state and regional workforce area, rank them by 8
demand for the state and regional area, and provide the list to the Kentucky 9
Workforce Innovation Board. The Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board, in 10
conjunction with the Kentucky Department of Education, may revise the lists 11
before the Kentucky Department of Education disseminates the lists to all 12
school districts to be used as postsecondary readiness indicators. 13
(f) 1. The Kentucky Department of Education shall pay for the cost of an 14
assessment taken by a high school student for attaining an industry-15
recognized certification, credential, or licensure if the student 16
consecutively completes at least two (2) related career pathway courses 17
approved by the department prior to taking the assessment. 18
2. If a high school student has not completed the two (2) course 19
requirement described in subparagraph 1. of this paragraph but meets 20
performance-based experience eligibility and passes an assessment, the 21
department shall provide a weighted reimbursement amount to the 22
school district for the cost of the assessment based on the level of 23
demand of the certificate, credential, or license earned. The Kentucky 24
Board of Education shall promulgate regulations establishing the 25
performance-based experience eligibility requirements and weighted 26
reimbursement amounts. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 934
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(g) Prior to promulgating administrative regulations to revise the accountability 1
system, the board shall seek advice from the School Curriculum, Assessment, 2
and Accountability Council; the Office of Education Accountability; the 3
Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee; and the 4
department's technical advisory committee. 5
(2) A student's test scores shall be counted in the accountability measure of: 6
(a) 1. The school in which the student is currently enrolled if the student has 7
been enrolled in that school for at least a full academic year as defined 8
by the Kentucky Board of Education; or 9
2. The school in which the student was previously enrolled if the student 10
was enrolled in that school for at least a full academic year as defined by 11
the Kentucky Board of Education; and 12
(b) The school district if the student is enrolled in the district for at least a full 13
academic year as defined by the Kentucky Board of Education; and 14
(c) The state if the student is enrolled in a Kentucky public school prior to the 15
beginning of the statewide testing period. 16
(3) After receiving the advice of the Office of Education Accountability; the School 17
Curriculum, Assessment, and Accountability Council; and the department's 18
technical advisory committee, the Kentucky Board of Education shall promulgate 19
an administrative regulation in conformity with KRS 158.6471 and 158.6472 and 20
KRS Chapter 13A to establish more rigorous action, intervention, and appropriate 21
consequences for schools that fail to exit comprehensive support and improvement 22
status described in KRS 160.346. The consequences shall be designed to improve 23
the academic performance and learning environment of identified schools and may 24
include but not be limited to: 25
(a) A review and audit process to determine the appropriateness of a school's or 26
district's classification and to recommend needed assistance; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 934
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(b) School and district improvement plans; 1
(c) Eligibility to receive Commonwealth school improvement funds under KRS 2
158.805; 3
(d) Education assistance from highly skilled certified staff; and 4
(e) Observation of school personnel. 5
(4) All students who drop out of school during a school year shall be included in a 6
school's annual average school graduation rate calculation. 7
(5) After receiving the advice of the Education Assessment and Accountability Review 8
Subcommittee, the Office of Education Accountability; the School Curriculum, 9
Assessment, and Accountability Council; and the department's technical advisory 10
committee, the Kentucky Board of Education may promulgate by administrative 11
regulation, in conformity with KRS 158.6471 and 158.6472 and KRS Chapter 13A, 12
a system of district accountability that includes establishing a formula for 13
accountability, goals for improvement over a three (3) year period, rewards for 14
leadership in improving teaching and learning in the district, and consequences that 15
address the problems and provide assistance when one (1) or more schools in the 16
district fail to exit comprehensive support and improvement status after three (3) 17
consecutive years of implementing the turnaround intervention process described in 18
KRS 160.346. 19
(6) After receiving the advice of the Office of Education Accountability; the School 20
Curriculum, Assessment, and Accountability Council; and the department's 21
technical advisory committee, the Kentucky Board of Education shall promulgate 22
administrative regulations in conformity with KRS 158.6471 and 158.6472 and 23
KRS Chapter 13A to establish a process whereby a school or school district shall be 24
allowed to appeal any performance judgment made by the department under this 25
section or KRS 160.346 of a principal, superintendent, school, or school district 26
which it considers grossly unfair. Upon appeal, an administrative hearing shall be 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 934
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conducted in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B. The state board may adjust a 1
performance judgment on appeal when evidence of unusual circumstances warrants 2
the conclusion that the performance judgment is based on fraud or a mistake in 3
computations, is arbitrary, is lacking any reasonable basis, or when there are 4
significant new circumstances occurring during the three (3) year assessment period 5
which are beyond the control of the appellant school or school district. 6
(7) Advice and recommendations provided by the department's technical advisory 7
committee shall be summarized and reported by the department by July 1 and 8
December 1 of each year to the Office of Education Accountability. The report shall 9
include: 10
(a) Advice and recommendations provided by panel members relating to: 11
1. Development and modification to the assessment and accountability 12
system; 13
2. The development of administrative regulations governing the 14
assessment and accountability system; 15
3. The setting of standards used in the assessment and accountability 16
system; and 17
4. KRS 158.6453, 158.6455, 158.782, or 158.860; and 18
(b) Any documentation used by the panel in support of the panel's advice and 19
recommendations. 20
Upon receipt of the report, the Office of Education Accountability shall forward the 21
report to the Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee and 22
the co-chairs of the Interim Joint Committee on Education. 23