Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, December 1, 2023
RELATES TO:
KRS
156.108,
156.160(1),
160.107
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
156.160(1) requires the
Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations and
KRS
156.108 requires the Kentucky Board of
Education to promulgate administrative regulations to prescribe the conditions
and procedures to be used by a local board of education to be approved as a
district of innovation by the Kentucky Board of Education. This administrative
regulation establishes the requirements and approval process for districts of
innovation.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Competency based learning" means a
framework for the awarding of credit to students upon mastery of Kentucky
Academic Standards established in 704 KAR Chapter 3 and 8 or upon mastery of
any additional competencies which shall also include explicit, measurable,
transferable learning objectives that empower students and that include
application and creation of knowledge along with the development of important
skills and dispositions.
(2)
"District of Innovation" is defined in
KRS
156.108(1)(a) and does not
include a district with an innovation plan that does not require the Kentucky
Board of Education to approve an exemption from any administrative regulation
or statute.
(3) "Eligible
employees" is defined in
KRS
160.107(3)(b).
(4) "Expanded learning opportunities" means
initiatives that provide students additional opportunities for enrichment,
personal growth, and engagement outside the traditional school day, and that
may include extended day or year initiatives, before- and after-school
programs, Saturday, weekend, and summer programs, distance learning, and early
childhood education initiatives.
(5) "Innovation" is defined in
KRS
156.108(1)(b).
(6) "Innovative strategies" means strategies
that provide non-traditional approaches to all areas of curriculum,
instruction, assessment, governance, and school operation.
(7) "School of Innovation" is defined in
KRS
156.108(1)(c).
Section 2. Conditions and Areas of
Emphasis for Innovation.
(1) Any public school
district may submit an application for approval as a District of Innovation in
accordance with the application process established in Section 3 of this
administrative regulation. A district may submit a District of Innovation
Application for a minimum of one (1) school within the district; however, an
individual school shall not submit an application except as part of a district
application.
(2) A district may
incorporate in its application any innovative strategies and models that have
been shown to be effective in other districts or states or new innovative
strategies or models created by the district or school. Innovative strategies
may include:
(a) Moving to a competency based
learning system, including development of alternate methods for delivering
curriculum or for measuring mastery of standards and skills;
(b) Creating multiple pathways to graduation,
including rigorous career and technical pathways, apprenticeships, early
college high schools, early graduation options, or digital learning
opportunities;
(c) Redefining the
times and places that learning occurs, including lengthening or flexing the
school day or school year, moving learning beyond the traditional school
building, or incorporating expanded learning opportunities;
(d) Implementing alternative forms of school
governance that include the engagement of teachers, parents, and community
members and that does not meet the requirements of
KRS
160.345;
(e) Designing learning environments that
include the student in the design of learning pathways; or
(f) Creating additional job classifications
for certified or classified staff beyond the traditional roles of teacher and
instructional assistants and compensating staff on schedules other than single
salary schedules.
Section
3. Application Process.
(1) A
district may submit an original or renewal District of Innovation Application
to the Kentucky Department of Education at any time within the calendar year.
Each implementation of an approved application shall begin at the start of a
school term, and a district shall submit an application at least ninety (90)
days prior to the beginning of a school term to have the application considered
for implementation at the beginning of the upcoming school term.
(2) A district shall identify and include in
its application:
(a) Any schools that have
voluntarily chosen to be schools of innovation pursuant to
KRS
160.107(3)(a);
(b) Any schools identified for Comprehensive
Support and Improvement pursuant to
KRS
160.346 that a local board of education has
chosen, pursuant to
KRS
160.107(3)(c), to make
schools of innovation; and
(c) Any
district-operated schools that a district plans to create through the
application.
(3) The
department shall provide technical assistance to districts prior to application
submission.
(4) In addition to the
application requirements established in
KRS
160.107(1), the application
shall include the following components:
(a) An
individual school level plan for each existing school included in the
district's innovation plan and for any district-operated school the district
plans to create through the application;
(b) Where the application proposes
alternative education programs and services and in order to comply with the
innovation plan requirements in
KRS
160.107(2)(b), a description
of the district's attendance policy for non-traditional settings and the
district's plan to ensure that all students meet attendance requirements as
required pursuant to
KRS
158.030 and
KRS
158.100;
(c) A description and rationale for the
innovative strategies and models chosen to be implemented;
(d) A description of expected gains in
student learning as a result of implementing these strategies, including a
description of how improved student learning will be measured and
reported;
(e) A complete list of
statutes, administrative regulations, and local board policies, except as
provided in
KRS
160.107(2), from which the
local district is seeking a waiver or exemption in order to implement
innovative strategies and an explanation detailing:
1. How the requirements of those authorities
are a barrier to implementing innovative strategies; and
2. How a waiver or exemption, if granted by
the Kentucky Board of Education, will ease or remove barriers to
implementation.
(f)
Documentation of support for the proposed innovations as required by
KRS
160.107(1)(d). This
documentation may include:
1. Minutes of
local board of education meetings at which the District of Innovation
Application was discussed;
2.
Transcripts or minutes from stakeholder meetings designed specifically to
develop or support the District of Innovation Application;
3. Minutes of school-based decision making
council meetings at which the District of Innovation Application was discussed;
or
4. Letters of support and
commitment to adhere to the innovation plan from a variety of local stakeholder
groups including parent, community, and business groups.
(g) For each school included in the District
of Innovation Application, evidence showing at least seventy (70) percent of
eligible employees cast an affirmative vote to request inclusion as required by
KRS
160.107(3);
(h) For each school included in the District
of Innovation Application that is requesting a waiver of the school council
structure established in
KRS
160.345:
1.
Evidence showing the school-based decision making council voted and at least
seventy (70) percent of eligible employees voted to approve the waiver request
as required by
KRS
160.107(4)(b); and
2. A description of the governance model to
be used in the affected school to ensure teachers, parents, and staff continue
to share leadership responsibilities as required by
KRS
160.107(4)(d).
(i) A detailed budget indicating
how the local board of education shall support implementation of the innovation
plan over the course of the initial five (5) year innovation period;
(j) Signatures of the superintendent and
board chair along with official board minutes documenting the vote to approve
submission of the application; and
(k) A description of how the district shall
support job-embedded professional learning.
(5) A committee designated by the
Commissioner of Education shall review and recommend approval or denial of a
completed application to the Kentucky Board of Education within forty-five (45)
days from receipt of the completed application based on use of the District of
Innovation Application Scoring Rubric.
(6)
(a) The
Kentucky Board of Education shall make the final decision on approval or denial
of the application at its first regularly scheduled meeting following the
committee's review of the application and recommendations based on the District
of Innovation Application Scoring Rubric.
(b) A successful application shall be given
an initial approval for five (5) years.
(7) At the end of the term of approval¸
a District of Innovation with an active application may submit a renewal
application using the same application process established for initial
applications in this section. Each renewal of a District of Innovation shall
not exceed five (5) years.
(8)
(a) A District of Innovation may amend its
plan as needed at any time by submitting a written amendment request to the
department.
(b) The amendment
request shall contain the following:
1. The
description of the amendment, a proposed timeline for implementation, and a
justification for the request;
2.
How the proposed amendment improves the application;
3. Evidence that the amendment was supported
in a manner similar to that established in Section 3, subsection (4)(f) of this
administrative regulation; and
4.
Evidence that an amendment affecting an individual School of Innovation
complies with subsection (4)(g) and (h), if applicable, of this
section.
(c) The amended
plan shall be referred to a committee designated pursuant to subsection (5) of
this section. The committee shall review and recommend approval or denial of an
amendment request to the Kentucky Board of Education within forty-five (45)
days from receipt of the amendment submission based on use of the District of
Innovation Application Scoring Rubric.
(d) The Kentucky Board of Education shall
make the final decision on approval or denial of the amended plan at its first
regularly scheduled meeting following the committee's review of the amendment
request and recommendations based on the District of Innovation Application
Scoring Rubric.
(e) An amended plan
approved by the Kentucky Board of Education shall be in effect for the
remainder of the period of approval granted pursuant to subsection (6) or (7)
of this section.
Section
4. Monitoring of Plan Implementation.
(1) District and school innovation plans
shall:
(a) Be incorporated within the overall
district and school comprehensive improvement plans; or
(b) Replace the district and school
comprehensive improvement plans.
(2) At the completion of the second year
after plan approval and each year thereafter for the term of the approval
status, a District of Innovation shall annually provide an implementation
report to the department that shall include the following data:
(a) Number of students served by the
innovation plan, including the total number and the total number disaggregated
by socio-economic status, race or ethnicity, gender, disability, and grade
level;
(b) Number of students
served by the innovation plan that are not on track to graduate from high
school, including the total number and the total number disaggregated by
socio-economic status, race or ethnicity, gender, disability, and grade
level;
(c) Documentation of student
performance measures, including proficiency, growth, and transition readiness;
and
(d) Other measurable outcomes
specific to the district's innovation plan as described in the initial
application or through modification of the original plan.
Section 5. Probation, Revocation,
and Appeal Procedures.
(1) After its annual
review of a district's implementation report, the Kentucky Board of Education
may determine that a district's status as a District of Innovation shall be
placed on probation or revoked.
(2)
A District of Innovation placed on probation shall be provided with a
corrective action plan and, upon the subsequent year's review of the
implementation report, the Kentucky Board of Education may revoke a district's
approval as a District of Innovation if it does not believe the district has
met the expectations of the corrective action plan.
(3) Prior to having its status as a District
of Innovation placed on probation or revoked, a district shall receive a site
visit from a review team selected and trained by the department. The purpose of
the visit shall be to monitor the district's progress in implementing the
innovation plan, collect qualitative data on the effectiveness of the
innovation plan, and verify the district's compliance with all applicable laws.
A site visit shall be made following adequate advance notice to the district
and may include the gathering of information through:
(a) Direct observation;
(b) Interviews with staff and students;
or
(c) Examination of
records.
(4) Upon
notification of probation or revocation of District of Innovation status, the
Kentucky Board of Education shall give the district thirty (30) days to appeal
the decision in writing and shall rule on the appeal at its next regularly
scheduled meeting following the submission of the appeal.
(5) Any district that has had its status as a
District of Innovation revoked shall wait a minimum of one (1) calendar year
before re-applying to be a District of Innovation.
Section 6. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) The following material is incorporated by
reference:
(a) "District of Innovation
Application", August 2018; and
(b)
"District of Innovation Application Scoring Rubric", August 2018.
(2) This material may be
inspected, copied, or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the
Kentucky Department of Education, Office of Continuous Improvement and Support,
300 Sower Boulevard, 5th Floor, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Monday through
Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
39 Ky.R. 1345;
1889; 2023; eff. 5-3-2013; 45 Ky.R. 766, 1526; eff.
1-4-2019.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
156.108,
156.160