Rhonda Sims, associate commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education, presents statements of consideration for the new Kentucky accountability system during a special meeting of the Kentucky Board of Education. Photo by Bobby Ellis, Dec. 5, 2017

Rhonda Sims, associate commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education, presents statements of consideration for the new Kentucky accountability system during a special meeting of the Kentucky Board of Education.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Dec. 5, 2017

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – At a special meeting in Frankfort Dec. 5, the Kentucky Board of Education approved statements of consideration for regulations that would govern Kentucky’s accountability system and several aspects of charter schools.

In the statement of consideration for 703 KAR 5:270, Kentucky’s accountability system, department staff recommended changes to the transition readiness indicator based on public feedback. Schools would receive credit for a student if he or she earns a high school or alternate diploma and achieves academic readiness or career readiness.

To be considered academic ready, a student would have to:

  • Score at or above the benchmark score as determined by the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) on the college admissions examination; or
  • Complete six or more hours of Kentucky Department of Education-approved dual credit and receiving a course grade of B or higher in each course; or
  • Complete two or more advanced placement (AP) courses and receive a score of three or higher on each AP assessment; or
  • Receive a score of five or higher on two examinations for International Baccalaureate courses; or
  • Score at or above the benchmark on two or more Cambridge Advanced International 24 examinations; or
  • Complete a combination of academic readiness indicators listed above.

Students also may demonstrate academic readiness in quantitative reasoning or natural sciences and written or oral communication, or arts and humanities, or social and behavioral sciences learning outcomes.

To be considered career ready, a student would have to:

  • Score at or above the benchmark on industry certifications as approved by the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board on an annual basis; or
  • Score at or above the benchmark on the career and technical education end-of-program assessment, formally Kentucky Occupational Skill Standards Assessment (KOSSA) for articulated credit; or
  • Complete six or more hours of Kentucky Department of Education-approved CTE dual credit, and receiving a grade of B or higher in each course; or
  • Complete a Kentucky Department of Education-approved or labor cabinet-approved apprenticeship; or
  • Complete a Kentucky Department of Education-approved alternate process to verify exceptional work experience.

The board eliminated the option for military readiness in the accountability system based on public feedback.

Under the opportunity and access indicator, staff recommended schools earn credit for whole child support based on providing:

  • A school-based counselor or mental health provider;
  • A school nurse;
  • Teachers with specialist certification in visual arts, music, dance, theater, media arts, physical education, health and world language, and delivering instruction in that area; or
  • A career counselor or career coach at the middle and high school levels.

Because library media specialists are required by law and all but a handful of districts already provide Family Resource/Youth Service Centers based on the percentage of their students in poverty, the board agreed to remove these two options from the opportunity and access indicator, yet recognized the importance of schools providing both of these whole child supports.

Concerning the five-star overall rating, the statement of consideration provides clarification that schools and districts may not be rated above three stars if they:

  • Have an achievement gap closure indicator of low or very low; or
  • Are identified for targeted support and improvement (TSI); or
  • Have statistically significant achievement gaps.

Also, the board approved the statements of consideration with several technical and clarifying changes for:

  • 701 KAR 8:010, Charter school student application, lottery, and enrollment
  • 701 KAR 8:020, Evaluation of charter school authorizers

Due to the length of the meeting, the board agreed to move the following items to its regular meeting Dec. 6:

  • Statements of Consideration for:
    • 701 KAR 8:030, Charter school appeal process; and
    • 701 KAR 8:040, Conversion charter school petition, conversion, and operation
    • 704 KAR 3:370, Kentucky framework for personnel evaluation
  • Approval of KBE Budget and Policy Priorities for the 2018 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly
  • Settlement of United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Complaint