(FRANKFORT, KY) – Kentucky superintendents heard the latest on efforts to combat chronic absenteeism with the You Belong! – Attendance Matters campaign during the Superintendents Webcast on Dec. 11.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has created a new You Belong! – Attendance Matters video and poster contest category for the upcoming 2026 Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) State Championship on April 24 in Lexington.
Each year, students representing schools from all corners of Kentucky demonstrate what they can do with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). Students take part in STLP competition areas – including robotics, coding, web design and newscasting – uniting bright minds from different backgrounds and communities.
The You Belong KY! – Attendance Matters contest invites K–12 public school students across the Commonwealth to create a short commercial or digital poster that highlights belonging, connection and why showing up to school matters. This contest elevates student voices while providing districts with authentic, student-created materials that support the statewide Attendance Matters campaign.
Ashley Gates, Persistence to Graduation consultant in KDE’s Division of Student Success, said the idea gained traction during the Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council meeting in October.
“This contest is something that has been talked about at KDE way before now, but the idea has kept resurfacing as we considered how to elevate student voice in our statewide attendance efforts,” Gates said.
Registration for the contest is open through Feb. 13. Gates explained the process for judging and recognition, including the district-level review process that ends with the district submission deadline of March 13. Then a panel led by KDE will review the entries and the winners will be declared on April 24 during the STLP State Championship.
Waivers and Nutrition Options for Unanticipated Building Closures
KDE staff spent time providing an overview of procedures for districts to handle waivers for when schools or entire districts are closed due to an emergency.
Ronda Devine, manager of KDE’s Student Tracking Data Branch, explained the different types of calendars – either a tradition calendar with at least 170 student attendance days or a variable calendar with no set requirement for days, but still with the 1,062-hour requirement for instructional time for students – and how schools can handle a variety of different emergency closure situations depending on which calendar they use. The waivers cover district-wide emergency days for when only part of the district needs an emergency day and when entire districts use nontraditional instruction (NTI) days.
Devine also explained how funding works when those emergency waivers are factored into the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funding program when it comes to attendance calculations.
Lauren Moore, director of KDE’s Division of School and Community Nutrition, explained how districts can choose to maintain school and community nutrition programs during unanticipated school closures.
If NTI is used, the appropriate program for non-group meal service is the National School Lunch Program. Although students are not physically in the building, they are still participating in instructional hours. Only enrolled students may receive meals.
If the district opts for a full closure (no instruction occurring), the appropriate program for non-group meal service is a community feeding program such as Seamless Summer Option or the Summer Food Service Program. In this case, all community children aged 18 and younger may receive meals.
For more information, please reference the KDE’s Guidance on Unanticipated School Building Closures document.
District Insurance Coverage
The Kentucky Legislature amended KRS 160.105(2) to require school districts provide certified employees within the district primary liability insurance coverage for at least $1 million “for the protection of the employee from liability arising in the course and scope of pursuing the duties of employment.”
KRS 161.212 created the Educators Employment Liability Insurance Program to provide “educators employment liability insurance to protect all certified employees of Kentucky public schools from liability for judgments or settlements that are in excess of the coverage provided in KRS 160.105.” KDE shared information with superintendents about the state’s contract for excess liability coverage.
Steve Lyles in KDE’s Office of Finance and Operations went over reporting requirements for schools under the administrative regulation governing primary liability insurance coverage, 702 KAR 3:330, which requires information to be submitted to KDE about the district’s insurance carrier and other aspects of its primary liability insurance coverage by Oct. 1. KDE received these reports this year through a survey sent to school district finance officers.
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