Commissioner's Monday Message

February 21, 2022

Dear Colleagues:

Spring is often called “the awards season” and we at the department are already in full swing.

Today is the last day to nominate teachers for the 2023 Kentucky Teacher of the Year program. Any full-time public school teacher in the state with at least three years of experience is eligible. Nominations may be submitted using this Google form and take just a few minutes.

Our goal is to have at least one nomination from every public school district in the state and we are close. As of this morning, we had 1,898 nominations.

I know there are excellent teachers all across this Commonwealth. If you haven’t yet, please take a few minutes today to nominate the outstanding educators you see every day who are making a difference in the lives of their students. Please don’t let your teachers be overlooked for this prestigious recognition.

Another great opportunity is we are accepting applications for the non-voting student and teacher members of the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE), who will serve from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

To be selected as the teacher member, the applicant must be employed on a full-time basis by a Kentucky public school district in a position for which Education Professional Standards Board certification is required, not employed in an administrative role and must reside in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District.

Counties in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District include: Anderson (partial), Bath (partial), Bourbon, Clark, Estill, Fayette, Fleming, Garrard, Jessamine, Madison, Mercer, Montgomery, Nicholas, Powell, Scott and Woodford.

To be selected as the student member, the applicant must be enrolled in a Kentucky public high school, be a junior in good standing on July 1 – which means a sophomore at the time of application – and reside in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District.

Counties in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District include: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Carter (partial), Gallatin, Grant, Greenup, Harrison, Henry, Kenton, Lewis, Mason, Nelson (partial), Oldham, Owen, Pendleton, Robertson, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble.

We particularly need more students to apply to be members of the KBE. While I know some students have been concerned about the time commitment required for this position to be prepared to have meaningful discussion at the board meetings, I also want to stress how important this position is. Our board members ask for and consider all input given by our current student member, Solyana Mesfin. Solyana also has gained so many public speaking and leadership skills, as well as confidence, from her time on the board. Please encourage your students to consider applying.

We also are accepting nominations for the 2022 Karem Award for Excellence in Education Policy. The award, named for former board chairman David Karem, is given in the spring of each year to state policymakers, education leaders or citizens who have made notable, state-level contributions to the improvement of Kentucky’s public education system.

Criteria for the award includes demonstrated leadership in policy development, passage or implementation resulting in increased educational opportunities for students; improved educational, postsecondary or workforce outcomes for students; or increased capacity of teachers or school staff to better meet the academic, social or emotional needs of Kentucky students.

And finally, I wanted to remind you of our sixth superintendent huddle for the districts that were impacted by December’s tornadoes. The huddle will be 1:30-2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 23. You should have received an invitation to the Teams meeting already.

Kind regards,

Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.

Commissioner and Chief Learner

FY2023 Declaration of Participation Notification

It is time for the Declaration of Participation Report to be completed by your district in accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This report is used to identify the number of students enrolled in area private nonprofit and home schools. Federal programs participating in the Declaration of Participation are Title II-A Supporting Effective Instruction, Title III - Language Instruction for English Learners (EL), Title IV-A Student Support, and Academic Enrichment Grants and IDEA-B - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Please note: The Title III EL data collection is used to identify the number of English learner students and the number of immigrant students enrolled in area private nonprofit and home schools.

You are asked to list all private nonprofit schools and all home schools that are physically located in your school district’s geographic boundaries, not just those participating. Include memberships of all private schools and all home schools, regardless of whether they will participate or are eligible to participate in the above programs in 2022-2023. A grand total of the participants in each program also is required.

Do not include private schools or home schools located outside your district's boundaries that are required to be contacted for Title I services. Because participating private school and home school membership data directly impacts the per-pupil dollar amount allocated to the public school district for Title III-EL/Immigrant and IDEA-B, it is critical these totals be accurate. Public school membership information already is on file with Kentucky Department of Education (per School Data Forms) and should not be included.

According to federal law, only private schools having an official nonprofit status are eligible to receive services under Title II-A, Title III-EL/Immigrant, Title IV-A and IDEA-B. Beginning with school year 2001-2002 and following, any private school wishing to participate in such programs must have filed Articles of Incorporation with the office of the Kentucky Secretary of State as a nonprofit corporation under KRS 273 or have received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service granting them 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit corporation. Home schools, by their nature, are considered nonprofit.

A signed assurance statement, verifying an official nonprofit status, must be filed with the respective local education agency (LEA) for each private school or home school wishing to participate in Title II-A, Title III-EL/Immigrant, Title IV-A or IDEA-B. (See the nonprofit compliance statement on the Private, Non-profit (PNP) School Declaration of Participation for Title II-A, a Title IV-A and IDEA-B form located on the website.

Of the three compliance statements, a school official must have checked “no” for the first two and “yes” for the third in order to participate in any of the programs. Just checking the program in which the school wishes to participate does not make the school eligible to participate.

The signed individual Private, Non-profit (PNP) Schools and Home Schools Declaration of Participation for Title II-A, Title IV-A and IDEA-B assurance forms and the Private, Non-profit (PNP) Schools and Home Schools Declaration of Participation for Title III-EL assurance forms are to be retained at your district office rather than copied and submitted to the Kentucky Department of Education. Documentation that you have corresponded with private schools and home schools physically located in your school district’s geographic boundaries to offer them the opportunity to participate must be kept on file locally. Please copy the Private, Non-profit (PNP) School Declaration of Participation for Title II-A, and IDEA-B form and the Private, Non-profit (PNP) Schools and Home Schools Declaration of Participation for Title III-EL forms as needed.

KDE has made available the Title IX, Part E Uniform Provisions Subpart 1 – Private Schools guidance. This guidance is intended to assist local education agencies and other entities in fulfilling their obligations under ESSA to provide equitable services to eligible private school students, teachers and other educational personnel, and under some programs, to parents. This guidance does not impose any requirements beyond those in the law. It is our hope that this guidance will be helpful to districts in meeting their obligation to private schools. Your district is urged to print this document and share with all federal program coordinators and the private school contacts.

By April 15, 2022, please complete the FY2023 Declaration of Participation in the Grant Management Application and Planning System (GMAP). The report may be found under Funding/Applications/Application Supplements/FY2023. To access the report, the appropriate staff must have the role of Declaration of Participation Report Submitter. Contact your district’s GMAP User Access Administrator to add the role. A list of the district GMAP User Access Administrators is in GMAP under KDE Resources.

If you have additional questions, you may: email Kristen Jarboe (Title II-A) or call her at (502) 564-1479, ext. 4502; email Jessica Sanderson (Title III-ELL) or call her at (502) 564-4970, ext. 4157; email Lalah Brewer (Title IV-A) or call her at (502) 564-4772, ext. 4028; email Karla Miller (IDEA-B) or call her at (502) 564-4970, ext. 4155; or email Jennifer Baker (GMAP Technical) or call her at (502) 564-1979, ext. 4501.

All the forms are available on the Additional Federal Grant Information webpage on KDE’s website. 

Determining a Cost Per Mile for Tornado-Impacted Districts

School districts impacted by the 2021 December storms and tornadoes may seek reimbursement for additional transportation costs for students displaced from their district or county. This reimbursement opportunity is made available through an appropriation to the Western Kentucky State Aid Funding for Emergencies (SAFE) Fund as enacted into law through House Bill 5 (2022 Session).

Districts that are receiving assistance from other entities, including other local school districts, should request an invoice from the provider to substantiate the requested reimbursement amount. To assist districts in their calculations for request for reimbursement and/or preparation of an invoice, the Kentucky Department of Education is providing the attached methodology to determine a “cost per mile” for the use of a district bus. The cost per mile may then be multiplied by the number of additional transport miles per invoice period. Districts also may add in the costs, if applicable, for additional bus drivers and monitor salaries or compensation as well as applicable benefits.

If there are additional transportation costs contemplated for reimbursement, please do not hesitate to email Chay Ritter. If you have any questions on how to utilize this spreadsheet, email Karen Conway.

We also will review the spreadsheet at the next Tornado Impacted Districts Huddle Webcast, scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 1:30 p.m. ET. You already should have a calendar invite from Commissioner Jason E. Glass.

CDL 3rd Party Examiner Program Funding

Starting March 1, funding will be provided for the CDL 3rd Party Examiner program to reimburse school districts with examiners. Reimbursements will be given for examiners providing testing to school districts other than their own.

School districts collecting funds from other districts for the exam should no longer do so for any exams given March 1 going forward. The Kentucky Department of Education also is working toward reopening locations that closed due to funding.

Examiners and their transportation directors can expect to receive instructions on electronic filing for monthly reimbursement.

Please email Elisa Hanley with any questions.

Register to Attend Introductory Session on Deeper Learning

Faced with all the possibilities, inequities, anxieties and complexities of contemporary life, educators and students alike are questioning how much traditional schooling does to prepare students for those challenges. Educators are finding ways to orient student work around meaningful questions and practices, replacing coverage with mastery of knowledge, busy work with disciplined creativity, and a “one size fits all” approach with a diversity of promising approaches. This reorientation is being described as deeper learning.

The Deeper Learning Dozen works with district and state leaders on equity and systems change. To learn about this approach to deeper learning and apply it to your organization, a webinar will be available on March 11 from noon-1:30 p.m. ET.

• In this session, the following questions will be explored:
  What is deeper learning?
• What does deeper learning look like in practice?
• How would we need to change schools to make deep learning more prevalent?
• What is the Deeper Learning Dozen and how can I get involved?

Register online to attend the session.

Comprehensive District Improvement Planning: Phase Four

Continuation of Learning Plan for Districts and English Learner Plan for Districts (Lau Plan)

Phase Four of the continuous improvement planning process includes two district-level diagnostics that will be due later this spring.

The Continuation of Learning Plan will support the district in designing and implementing a plan for a continuation of learning during times when nontraditional instruction may be needed to prevent a loss of learning. This diagnostic is due May 1 and will describe the plan for the following school year. For questions regarding the Continuation of Learning Plan, email Steve Kissinger or David Cook.

The English Learner Plan for Districts (Lau Plan) diagnostic supports the district’s commitment to ensuring that English learner (EL) students can meaningfully participate in the district’s educational programs and services. It outlines the affirmative steps taken by the district to overcome educational barriers that impede equal participation by EL students in their instructional programs. This diagnostic is also due by May 1. For questions regarding this district level diagnostic, email Jessica Sanderson.

Those receiving this at KSB and KSD, please make sure all employees receive it. Also, ATC principals are asked to forward it to their staffs.

Please send your questions, comments and suggestions on the Monday Message to Jennifer Ginn by 10 a.m. Friday to be published in the upcoming week.