AN ACT relating to education.

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AN ACT relating to education. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 161.030 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Notwithstanding the age of the pupil, the certification of all teachers and other 4
school personnel, hired by [in] public schools only, is vested in the Education 5
Professional Standards Board. When so certif ied, teachers and other school 6
personnel shall not be required to have licensure, certification, or other forms of 7
approval from any other state agency for the performance of their respective 8
assignments within the system of public schools, except as provi ded for by law. All 9
certificates authorized under KRS 161.010 to 161.126 shall be issued in accordance 10
with the administrative regulations of the Education Professional Standards Board. 11
[After July 15, 1994, ] All certificate applications and other data col lection 12
instruments of the board shall include a request for voluntary information about the 13
applicant's ethnic background. This information shall be available to help local 14
school districts locate minority candidates. A person who holds a certificate prio r to 15
this requirement may request that ethnic information be added to his or her file. 16
Nothing in this section shall preclude the right of an individual in a nonpublic 17
school from seeking voluntary certification by the Education Professional Standards 18
Board. 19
(2) Certificates shall be issued upon written application and in accordance with statutes 20
and regulations in effect at the time of application to persons who have completed, 21
at colleges, universities, or local school district programs approved by the 22
Education Professional Standards Board for the preparation of teachers and other 23
school personnel, the curricula prescribed by the administrative regulations of the 24
Education Professional Standards Board. 25
(3) (a) Certification of all new teachers and teacher s seeking additional certification 26
shall require the successful completion of appropriate assessments prior to 27
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certification. The assessments shall be selected by the Education Professional 1
Standards Board and shall measure knowledge in the specific teaching field of 2
the applicant, including content of the field and teaching of that content. The 3
Education Professional Standards Board shall determine the minimum 4
acceptable level of achievement on each assessment. The assessments shall 5
measure those concepts, ideas, and facts which are being taught in teacher 6
education programs in Kentucky. Upon successful completion of the 7
assessments and the approved teacher preparation program, a professional 8
certificate valid for five (5) years shall be issued. 9
(b) If an applicant for teacher certification has completed the approved teacher 10
preparation program and has taken but failed to successfully complete the 11
appropriate assessments selected by the Education Professional Standards 12
Board, a conditional certificate may be issued for a period not to exceed one 13
(1) year. The employing school district, in collaboration with the teacher 14
education institution, shall provide technical assistance and mentoring support 15
to the conditionally certified teacher. The teacher sha ll retake the assessments 16
during the validity period of the conditional certificate. The conditional 17
certificate shall not be reissued. Upon successful completion of the required 18
assessments, a professional certificate valid for five (5) years shall be iss ued. 19
The Education Professional Standards Board shall promulgate administrative 20
regulations to establish the standards and procedures for issuance of a 21
conditional certificate. 22
(c) If an out -of-state teacher with less than two (2) years' experience comes t o 23
Kentucky after the deadline for taking the assessments, a temporary certificate 24
may be issued for a period up to six (6) months. The teacher shall take the 25
assessments during the period of the temporary certificate. If the teacher fails 26
the assessments, the temporary certificate shall be valid only for the current 27
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semester. If the teacher passes the assessments, a professional certificate valid 1
for five (5) years shall be issued. 2
(4) A reasonable fee to be paid by the teacher and directly related to the a ctual cost of 3
the administration of the assessments shall be established by the Education 4
Professional Standards Board. Provisions shall be made for persons having less than 5
minimum levels of performance on any assessment to repeat that assessment, and 6
candidates shall be informed of their strengths and weaknesses in the specific 7
performance areas. The Education Professional Standards Board shall provide for 8
confidentiality of the individual assessment scores. Scores shall be available only to 9
the candidate and to the education officials who are responsible for determining 10
whether established certification standards have been met. Scores shall be used only 11
in the assessment for certification of new teachers and of out -of-state teachers with 12
less than two (2) years of teaching experience who are seeking initial certification 13
in Kentucky. 14
(5) If an applicant establishes eligibility for a five (5) year professional certificate under 15
[the provisions of ] subsection (3)(a) of this section, the applicant shall also be 16
eligible for the issuance of a certificate for substitute teaching as provided by the 17
administrative regulations of the Education Professional Standards Board. 18
(6) (a) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a ten (10) year 19
emeritus certificate to an applicant who has: 20
1. Retired or will retire not more than one (1) year prior to the expiration 21
date of the certificate; 22
2. Met the requirements to receive an emeritus certificate as set forth in 23
administrative regulation promulgated by the Ed ucation Professional 24
Standards Board; and 25
3. Completed the required application unless the provisions of KRS 26
161.120 apply. 27
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(b) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a one (1) time five (5) 1
year exception certificate to an individual: 2
1. Whose certificate has expired; 3
2. Whose rank upon expiration was Rank I or Rank II; 4
3. Who has met the requirements to receive an exception certificate as set 5
forth in administrative regulation promulgated by the Education 6
Professional Standards Board; 7
4. Who completed three (3) years of classroom instruction prior to the 8
certificate's expiration; and 9
5. Who has completed the required application unless the provisions of 10
KRS 161.120 apply. 11
(7) The Education Professional Standards Board shall approve the curr icula of any 12
college or university, or of any department thereof, for the training of teachers, and 13
any nontraditional or alternative teacher preparation program offered in a public or 14
private postsecondary education institution, private contractor, or sta te agency, and 15
shall also approve the curricula of any local district alternative certification 16
program, when the curricula comply with the administrative regulations of the 17
Education Professional Standards Board for the issuance of certificates and when 18
the institution has met the terms and conditions provided in KRS 161.010 to 19
161.120. Any student who has completed any of these curricula, as approved by the 20
Education Professional Standards Board, and who has completed the prescribed 21
requirements for the i ssuance of certificates shall be granted a certificate 22
corresponding to the curricula completed. 23
(8) The issuance of any certificate, except emergency certificates issued pursuant to 24
KRS 161.100, by the Education Professional Standards Board shall not be 25
dependent upon an offer of employment. The certification process, except for 26
emergency certificates, is independent of any job prospects and certification shall 27
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be awarded on the basis of completing a teacher preparation program or an 1
alternative certification pathway and passing required assessments. 2
Section 2. KRS 199.894 is amended to read as follows: 3
As used in KRS 199.892 to 199.896, unless the context otherwise requires: 4
(1) "Cabinet" means the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; 5
(2) "Secretary" means secretary for health and family services; 6
(3) "Child-care center" means any child -care center that provides full - or part -time 7
care, day or night, to four (4) or more children in a nonresidential setting who are 8
not the children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or children in legal custody of the 9
operator. "Child-care center" shall not include any child -care facility operated by a 10
religious organization while religious services are being conducted, [ or] a youth 11
development agency , or a learning pod . For the purposes of this 12
subsection[section], "youth development agency" means a program with tax -13
exempt status under 26 U.S.C. sec. 501(c)(3), which operates continuously 14
throughout the year as an outside -school-hours cent er for youth who are six (6) 15
years of age or older, and for which there are no fee or scheduled-care arrangements 16
with the parent or guardian of the youth served; 17
(4) "Department" means the Department for Community Based Services;[ and] 18
(5) "Family child-care home": 19
(a) Means a private home that is the primary residence of an individual who 20
provides full or part -time care day or night for six (6) or fewer children who 21
are not the children, siblings, stepchildren, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or 22
children in legal custody of the provider; and 23
(b) Does not include a learning pod. 24
(6) "Learning pod" means a private arrangement among a group of parents to group 25
not more than twelve (12) children, regardless of time or place, or whether 26
payment is made for any services, to provide education support to their children 27
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in kindergarten through grade twelve (12) who are enrolled in a public or private 1
school and conduct instructional activities remotely. 2
Section 3. KRS 194A.381 is amended to read as follows: 3
KRS 194A.380 to 194A.383 shall not apply to: 4
(1) Public school districts or programs sponsored by the school district; 5
(2) Private schools; 6
(3) Child-care centers, child -caring and child -placing agencies; family child -care 7
homes; and foster care, relative caregiver services or adoptive homes otherwise 8
governed by KRS Chapter 199;[ or] 9
(4) Babysitting or child -care arrangements made by a child's parent or guardian and 10
occurring within a private home; or 11
(5) Learning pods as defined in Section 2 of this Act. 12