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Dear Colleagues:
The next Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) meeting will take place tomorrow and Wednesday in two half-day sessions at the Logan County Area Technology Center that can be watched on KDE's Media Portal. It will be a full agenda, including my review by the board tomorrow.
I am proud of the work we as a department have accomplished over the past year. We have kicked off an extensive literacy professional learning program, continued our work on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, raised the awareness of teacher shortages across the state and are continuing to work on ways to expand the educator workforce.
I am excited about the opportunities that are opening up for education in Kentucky. While we continue to have our challenges, there is a lot of momentum moving in a positive direction. I look forward to working with the board in the coming year.
One agenda item coming before the KBE is on Wednesday, when the board will be considering regulations related to public charter schools. These 10 proposed regulations are necessary in order to conform to the requirements set by House Bill (HB) 9, a bill that modified Kentucky’s charter school law and set up a funding mechanism for charter schools. The Local Superintendents Advisory Council approved them – with reservations – at its Sept. 27 meeting
I just want to restate that I’m not opposed to public charter schools if they are run well. We have a lot of experience across the country about charter schools now that helps inform us of what has and hasn’t worked for the schools and the students they serve. The regulations set forth in HB 9 contain numerous constitutional uncertainties. While KBE must pass these regulations, I think certain questions about how they operate may ultimately be decided in a court of law.
One more big event happening this week is the beginning of the release of accountability and assessment data on the School Report Card (SRC) for the 2021-2022 school year. On Thursday, a secure URL/password will be shared with district assessment coordinators and School Report Card contacts. They are being asked to share this access information with superintendents, and school and district leaders that understand this is an embargo period.
The release of data to media will be Friday, Oct. 14. KDE is coordinating the release to the media. This release period provides media with the time to review and prepare stories prior to public release. All data is embargoed until Oct. 18; however, if you are comfortable sharing, it may be discussed with media during this period to prepare for a local press release.
I know seeing the assessment results will bring challenges for all of us. The scores are not where we would like for them to be, but they are in line with what we are seeing across the country after two years of learning disrupted by the COVID pandemic. We are looking at these results as a new baseline from where we will try to get our students moving forward quickly. Now that we know where our students are, let’s keep focusing on how to keep moving ahead to help make up for the unfinished learning over the past two years.
Kind regards,
Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.
Commissioner and Chief Learner
School Report Card – Embargo Period Opens Thursday
The School Report Card (SRC) district embargo period opens Thursday, Oct. 13. During this embargo period – Oct. 13-17 – districts and schools may discuss results internally or with media, but not in public meetings. This release provides an opportunity for districts to see all final School Report Cards and access the Research Data sets for all districts before the public release.
During the embargo period, no data can be changed. Data has been reviewed in the SRC approval tool or Student Data Review and Roster; however, this is the first opportunity to review Assessment (Academic Performance) and Accountability data in the School Report Card.
A secure URL/password will be shared with district assessment coordinators (DACs) and School Report Card contacts. They are asked to share this access information with superintendents, and school and district leaders that understand this is an embargo period.
The release of data to media will be Friday, Oct. 14. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is coordinating the release to the media. This release period provides media with the time to review and prepare stories prior to public release. All data is embargoed until Oct. 18; however, it may be discussed with media during this period to prepare for a local press release.
The public user’s guide provides details on how to navigate the public site. The School Report Card Change Summary has been updated and reflects noteworthy changes to the 2022 SRC. The SRC timeline, previous communications and SRC resources are available on KDE’s SRC Resource webpage.
During the last few days before embargo release, schools and districts should:
- Prepare for media and community questions. Updates can still be made to the collector items or superintendent message through Tuesday, Oct. 11; however, no changes can be made during the embargo period.
- Develop a local plan for sharing the SRC, including updating school and district websites. Previously posted URLs may need to be updated to reflect a direct link to 2022 data. School Report Card sharing requirements are available on the SRC Resource webpage.
- Ensure that signed School Profile Reports are available for each school in the district board office. This was due by Oct. 1. Once the SRC is public, the School Profile Report is available from the school’s Report Card landing page (bottom right).
During any discussion with staff, please emphasize the data are embargoed. The Office of Assessment and Accountability recommends district assessment coordinators (DACs) and principals ask colleagues discussing the data to read and sign an Embargoed Data Nondisclosure Agreement to emphasize the embargo. DACs should keep signed forms on file at the district office for one year.
Maintenance of Equity for FY23
Maintenance of equity requirements contained in the American Recovery Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund program require districts to maintain per-pupil expenditures and per-pupil staffing at high-poverty schools and report this data to their state educational agency (SEA).
District finance officers received an email last week outlining five options to be excepted from local maintenance of equity requirements for FY23. Like last year, guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) states that one exception option is that districts may sign an assurance that certifies they “will not implement an aggregate reduction in combined state and local per-pupil funding in FY 2023.”
To be granted this exception, superintendents must complete the local educational agency (LEA) Certification of Exception from Local Maintenance of Equity Requirements. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has placed this certification into Grant Management Application and Planning (GMAP) as an assurance document. The assurance document is available in GMAP under Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 and must be submitted by the superintendent (not the designee). To access the assurance, Change Status To: MOEquity Exception Assurance Started and to submit the assurance Change Status To: MOEquity Exception Assurance Director Approved.
Districts that complete the FY23 MOEquity Exception Assurance in GMAP will be excepted from FY23 maintenance of equity requirements. KDE will submit a list of all districts that have certified this exception to USED.
If your district qualifies for this exception, please complete the FY23 MOEquity Exception Assurance in GMAP by Wednesday, Oct. 26.
Other exceptions from MOEquity requirements also exist. If you district cannot certify this exception, please email Jessica Carlton.
List of Approved Diagnostic Assessments Now Available
To support the selection of valid and reliable universal screeners and diagnostics, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has compiled a list of approved universal screeners and diagnostics for district review.
KDE recommends beginning with the “at-a-glance” comparison chart, which provides high-level details about each approved assessment. One-pagers providing further information about each assessment and the selection criteria used to select assessments also are available. All materials can be found on the Early Literacy Screening Assessments webpage.
Per Senate Bill 9, the Read to Succeed Act, by Jan. 1, 2023:
- Each superintendent shall select:
- At least one reliable and valid universal screener for reading administered to all students in grades K-3; and
- At least one reliable and valid reading diagnostic assessment administered as part of a multi-tiered system of supports for students in grades K-3.
- All teachers of students in K-3 shall be trained on any reading diagnostic assessment and universal screener selected by the superintendent prior to administration of the assessment in the 2023-2024 school year.
The Senate Bill 9 Implementation Timeline document provides further guidance about what needs to be implemented and when.
Questions regarding the approved list of screeners and diagnostics may be emailed to Christie Biggerstaff, director of early literacy.
Sign up for Updates on Phase 2 of the Kentucky Reading Academies’ LETRS Professional Learning
Educators interested in participating in Phase 2 of the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) fully funded, statewide professional learning are encouraged to complete this interest form. You will be the first to be notified when the formal registration for Phase 2 of the Kentucky Reading Academies is open and receive periodic information and updates from the Kentucky Department of Education.
The Kentucky Reading Academies offers comprehensive no-cost professional learning for all public K-5 teachers, coaches, and building and district administrators. Phase 2 begins with LETRS Volume 1 and LETRS for Administrators in Fall 2023.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) strongly encourages a systemic approach wherein the entire school/district staff, vertical and/or horizontal professional learning communities and administrators, participate together. Participating in this systemic training will take time. Leaders are encouraged to work thoughtfully to outline the best plan for their building/district. KDE will allow for maximum flexibility needed for participation: Individual teachers may choose to participate.
Want to learn more? Watch the recording of the Phase 1 informational webinar.
KDE is committed to supporting the success of this initiative. Districts and schools with a commitment to building sustainability may reach out to Christie Biggerstaff, director of Early Literacy, for additional information on the Kentucky Reading Academies.
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