Section 156.095 - Professional development programs - Professional development coordinator - Long-term improvement plans - Suicide prevention awareness information - Suicide prevention training - Active shooter training, also applicable to charter schools - Evidence-informed trainings on child abuse and neglect - Electronic consumer bulletin board - Training to address needs of students at risk - Teacher academics - Annual report to Juvenile Justice Oversight Council(1) The Kentucky Department of Education shall establish, direct, and maintain a statewide program of professional development to improve instruction in the public schools.(2) Each local school district superintendent shall appoint a certified school employee to fulfill the role and responsibilities of a professional development coordinator who shall disseminate professional development information to schools and personnel. Upon request by a school council or any employees of the district, the coordinator shall provide technical assistance to the council or the personnel that may include assisting with needs assessments, analyzing school data, planning and evaluation assistance, organizing districtwide programs requested by school councils or groups of teachers, or other coordination activities.(a) The manner of appointment, qualifications, and other duties of the professional development coordinator shall be established by Kentucky Board of Education through promulgation of administrative regulations.(b) The local district professional development coordinator shall participate in the Kentucky Department of Education annual training program for local school district professional development coordinators. The training program may include, but not be limited to, the demonstration of various approaches to needs assessment and planning; strategies for implementing long-term, school-based professional development; strategies for strengthening teachers' roles in the planning, development, and evaluation of professional development; and demonstrations of model professional development programs. The training shall include information about teacher learning opportunities relating to the core content standards. The Kentucky Department of Education shall regularly collect and distribute this information.(3) The Kentucky Department of Education shall provide or facilitate optional, professional development programs for certified personnel throughout the Commonwealth that are based on the statewide needs of teachers, administrators, and other education personnel. Programs may include classified staff and parents when appropriate. Programs offered or facilitated by the department shall be at locations and times convenient to local school personnel and shall be made accessible through the use of technology when appropriate. They shall include programs that: address the goals for Kentucky schools as stated in KRS 158.6451, including reducing the achievement gaps as determined by an equity analysis of the disaggregated student performance data from the state assessment program developed under KRS 158.6453; engage educators in effective learning processes and foster collegiality and collaboration; and provide support for staff to incorporate newly acquired skills into their work through practicing the skills, gathering information about the results, and reflecting on their efforts. Professional development programs shall be made available to teachers based on their needs which shall include but not be limited to the following areas: (a) Strategies to reduce the achievement gaps among various groups of students and to provide continuous progress;(b) Curriculum content and methods of instruction for each content area, including differentiated instruction;(c) School-based decision making;(e) Integration of performance-based student assessment into daily classroom instruction;(f) Nongraded primary programs;(g) Research-based instructional practices;(h) Instructional uses of technology;(i) Curriculum design to serve the needs of students with diverse learning styles and skills and of students of diverse cultures;(j) Instruction in reading, including phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary;(k) Educational leadership; and(l) Strategies to incorporate character education throughout the curriculum.(4) The department shall assist school personnel in assessing the impact of professional development on their instructional practices and student learning.(5) The department shall assist districts and school councils with the development of long-term school and district improvement plans that include multiple strategies for professional development based on the assessment of needs at the school level. (a) Professional development strategies may include but are not limited to participation in subject matter academies, teacher networks, training institutes, workshops, seminars, and study groups; collegial planning; action research; mentoring programs; appropriate university courses; and other forms of professional development.(b) In planning the use of the four (4) days for professional development under KRS 158.070, school councils and districts shall give priority to programs that increase teachers' understanding of curriculum content and methods of instruction appropriate for each content area based on individual school plans. The district may use up to one (1) day to provide district-wide training and training that is mandated by state or federal law. Only those employees identified in the mandate or affected by the mandate shall be required to attend the training.(c) State funds allocated for professional development shall be used to support professional development initiatives that are consistent with local school improvement and professional development plans and teachers' individual growth plans. The funds may be used throughout the year for all staff, including classified and certified staff and parents on school councils or committees. A portion of the funds allocated to each school council under KRS 160.345 may be used to prepare or enhance the teachers' knowledge and teaching practices related to the content and subject matter that are required for their specific classroom assignments.(6)(a) The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall post on its web page evidence-based suicide prevention awareness information, to include recognizing the warning signs of a suicide crisis. The web page shall include information related to suicide prevention training opportunities offered by the cabinet or an agency recognized by the cabinet as a training provider.(b) Every public school and public charter school shall provide two (2) evidence-based suicide prevention awareness lessons each school year, the first by September 15 and the second by January 15, either in person, by live streaming, or via a video recording to all students in grades six (6) through twelve (12). Every public school shall provide an opportunity for any student absent on the day the evidence-based suicide prevention awareness lesson was initially presented to receive the lesson at a later time. The information may be obtained from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or from a commercially developed suicide prevention training program.(c)1. Each school year, a minimum of one (1) hour of high-quality evidence-based suicide prevention training, including risk factors, warning signs, protective factors, response procedures, referral, postvention, and the recognition of signs and symptoms of possible mental illness, shall be required for all school district employees with job duties requiring direct contact with students in grades four (4) through twelve (12). The training shall be provided either in person, by live streaming, or via a video recording and may be included in the four (4) days of professional development under KRS 158.070. As used in this subparagraph, "postvention" means a series of planned supports and interventions with persons affected by a suicide for the purpose of facilitating the grieving or adjustment process, stabilizing the environment, reducing the risk of negative behaviors, and limiting the risk of further suicides through contagion.2. When a staff member subject to the training under subparagraph 1. of this paragraph is initially hired during a school year in which the training is not required, the local district shall provide suicide prevention materials to the staff member for review.(d) The requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection shall apply to public charter schools as a health and safety requirement under KRS 160.1592(1).(7)(a) By November 1 of each year, a minimum of one (1) hour of training on how to respond to an active shooter situation shall be required for all school district employees with job duties requiring direct contact with students. The training shall be provided either in person, by live streaming, or via a video recording prepared by the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training in collaboration with the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, the Kentucky Department of Education, and the Center for School Safety and may be included in the four (4) days of professional development under KRS 158.070.(b) When a staff member subject to the training requirements of this subsection is initially hired after the training has been provided for the school year, the local district shall provide materials on how to respond to an active shooter situation.(c) The requirements of this subsection shall also apply to public charter schools as a health and safety requirement under KRS 160.1592(1).(8)(a) The Kentucky Department of Education shall develop and maintain a list of approved comprehensive evidence-informed trainings on child abuse and neglect prevention, recognition, and reporting that encompass child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect.(b) The trainings shall be web-based or in-person and cover, at a minimum, the following topics: 1. Recognizing child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect;2. Reporting suspected child abuse and neglect in Kentucky as required by KRS 620.030 and the appropriate documentation;3. Responding to the child; and4. Understanding the response of child protective services.(c) The trainings shall include a questionnaire or other basic assessment tool upon completion to document basic knowledge of training components.(d) Each local board of education shall adopt one (1) or more trainings from the list approved by the Department of Education to be implemented by schools.(e) All school administrators, certified personnel, office staff, instructional assistants, and coaches and extracurricular sponsors who are employed by the school district shall complete the implemented training or trainings within ninety (90) days of being hired and then every two (2) years after.(f) Every public school shall prominently display the statewide child abuse hotline number administered by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the National Human Trafficking Reporting Hotline number administered by the United States Department for Health and Human Services, and the Safe Haven Baby Boxes Crisis Line number administered by the Safe Haven Baby Boxes national organization or any equivalent successor entity.(g) The requirements of this subsection shall also apply to public charter schools as a health and safety requirement under KRS 160.1592(1).(9) The Department of Education shall establish an electronic consumer bulletin board that posts information regarding professional development providers and programs as a service to school district central office personnel, school councils, teachers, and administrators. Participation on the electronic consumer bulletin board shall be voluntary for professional development providers or vendors, but shall include all programs sponsored by the department. Participants shall provide the following information: program title; name of provider or vendor; qualifications of the presenters or instructors; objectives of the program; program length; services provided, including follow-up support; costs for participation and costs of materials; names of previous users of the program, addresses, and telephone numbers; and arrangements required. Posting information on the bulletin board by the department shall not be viewed as an endorsement of the quality of any specific provider or program.(10) The Department of Education shall provide training to address the characteristics and instructional needs of students at risk of school failure and most likely to drop out of school. The training shall be developed to meet the specific needs of all certified and classified personnel depending on their relationship with these students. The training for instructional personnel shall be designed to provide and enhance skills of personnel to:(a) Identify at-risk students early in elementary schools as well as at-risk and potential dropouts in the middle and high schools;(b) Plan specific instructional strategies to teach at-risk students;(c) Improve the academic achievement of students at risk of school failure by providing individualized and extra instructional support to increase expectations for targeted students;(d) Involve parents as partners in ways to help their children and to improve their children's academic progress; and(e) Significantly reduce the dropout rate of all students.(11) The department shall establish teacher academies to the extent funding is available in cooperation with postsecondary education institutions for elementary, middle school, and high school faculty in core disciplines, utilizing facilities and faculty from universities and colleges, local school districts, and other appropriate agencies throughout the state. Priority for participation shall be given to those teachers who are teaching core discipline courses for which they do not have a major or minor or the equivalent. Participation of teachers shall be voluntary.(12) The department shall annually provide to the oversight council established in KRS 15A.063, the information received from local schools pursuant to KRS 158.449.Amended by 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 165,§ 9, eff. 7/15/2024.Amended by 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 5,§ 10, eff. 7/14/2020.Amended by 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 5,§ 15, eff. 3/11/2019.Amended by 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 53,§ 1, eff. 7/14/2018.Amended by 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 171,§ 2, eff. 6/29/2017.Amended by 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 125,§ 1, eff. 7/14/2016.Amended by 2015 Ky. Acts ch. 7,§ 1, eff. 6/22/2015.Amended by 2014 Ky. Acts ch. 132,§ 10, eff. 7/15/2014.Effective:7/15/2010
Amended 2010, Ky. Acts ch. 6, sec. 1, effective7/15/2010. -- Amended 2009, Ky. Acts ch. 101, sec. 8, effective 3/25/2009. -- Amended 2002, Ky. Acts ch. 302, sec. 2, effective 7/15/2002. -- Amended 2000, Ky. Acts ch. 162, sec. 4, effective 7/14/2000; ch. 452, sec. 3, effective 7/14/2000; and ch. 527, sec. 10, effective 7/14/2000. -- Amended 1998, Ky. Acts ch. 514, sec. 4, effective 7/15/1998.; and ch. 609, sec. 1, effective 7/15/1998. -- Amended 1996, Ky. Acts ch. 362, sec. 6, effective 7/15/1996. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 476, Pt. I, sec. 13, effective 7/13/1990. -- Amended 1985 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 10, sec. 1, effective 10/18/1985; Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 155, sec. 82, effective 6/17/1978. -- Amended 1956 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 7, Art. II, sec. 2. -- Created 1950 Ky. Acts ch. 127, sec. 1.