A RESOLUTION reaffirming the authority of locally elected school boards to govern school districts through policy and procedure in accordance with state law.

UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1760
Page 1 of 2
XXXX 1/16/2026 8:38 AM Jacketed
A RESOLUTION reaffirming the authority of locally elected school boards to 1
govern school districts through policy and procedure in accordance with state law. 2
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Kentucky has long recognized that locally 3
elected boards of education are best positioned to govern school districts in a manner 4
responsive to their communities; and 5
WHEREAS, the Kentucky Revised Statutes clearly vest governing auth ority, 6
policy-making power, and oversight responsibility in local boards of education; and 7
WHEREAS, KRS 160.160 establishes that members of local boards of education 8
are elected by the voters of their districts and are directly accountable to the public th ey 9
serve; and 10
WHEREAS, KRS 160.290 assigns to local boards of education the general control 11
and management of the public schools within their district, including the adoption of 12
policies, rules, and procedures necessary for effective operations; and 13
WHEREAS, KRS 160.340 authorizes local boards of education to adopt and 14
enforce policies governing personnel, students, operations, and administration consistent 15
with state law; and 16
WHEREAS, KRS 158.645 and 158.6453 recognize that while statewide standards 17
exist, local boards retain discretion in implementation through locally adopted policies 18
and procedures; and 19
WHEREAS, recent actions, directives, and practices, whether intentional or 20
inadvertent, have risked blurring or diminishing the lawful authority of local ly elected 21
school boards by bypassing, undermining, and disregarding duly adopted board policies; 22
and 23
WHEREAS, preservation of local control through elected governance is essential to 24
transparency, accountability, parental trust, and constitutional principles of a 25
representative government; 26
NOW, THEREFORE, 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1760
Page 2 of 2
XXXX 1/16/2026 8:38 AM Jacketed
Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assemb ly of the Commonwealth of 1
Kentucky: 2
Section 1. The Senate hereby reaffirms the authority of locally elected boards of 3
education as the controlling governance structure under state law to govern school 4
districts through duly adopted policies and procedures. 5
Section 2. The Senate reaffirms that: 6
(1) An individual administrator, employee, external agency, or non -elected body 7
shall not supersede, disregard, or act contrary to local school board -adopted policy unless 8
expressly authorized by Acts of the General Assembly, federal la w, or lawful local board 9
of education action; 10
(2) All district operations, administrative decisions, and enforcement actions shall 11
be conducted in strict accordance with policies adopted by the local board of education, 12
consistent with the Kentucky Revised Statutes; 13
(3) The roles of superintendents and administrators are to carry out and 14
administer local board of education policy, and not to create de facto policy through 15
unilateral action; and 16
(4) Any practice that circumvents local board of education auth ority or excludes 17
the board from its statutory role in governance is inconsistent with Kentucky law and 18
public accountability. 19
Section 3. This Resolution shall serve as the Senate's formal affirmation of local 20
school board authority. 21
Section 4. The Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of this 22
Resolution to Senator Aaron Reed, and copies to the Kentucky Department of Education, 23
300 Sower Blvd. 5th Floor, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, for distribution to each school 24
district. 25