Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO: KRS 157.615, 157.650, 157.655, 157.660,
157.665
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 157.617(1) authorizes
the commission to promulgate administrative regulations necessary for the
orderly conduct of its affairs, which includes the education technology funding
program. KRS 157.660(3) requires the commission to promulgate administrative
regulations by which a district that receives an offer of assistance but does
not have the local match shall be able to accumulate a credit for the state
offer of assistance for a period not to exceed three (3) years. This
administrative regulation establishes the procedures and guidelines for
determining the eligibility and level of participation for a local public
school district, for making an offer of assistance to a school district, for
verifying a local public school district funding match, and for the
accumulation of credits by a local public school district that maintains its
eligibility.
Section 1. Sources of
Local Matching Funds. A local public school district shall match the state
offer of assistance from:
(1) Available state,
local district, and federal funds not otherwise restricted by the appropriate
governing agency;
(2) The proceeds
of a revenue bond or note that is:
(a) Issued
on behalf of a district to purchase technology equipment supported by the
district's general fund; and
(b) To
be retired within three (3) years from the date of issuance;
(3) A vendor or third party lender
lease;
(4) A grant from a private
source;
(5) Interest earned by a
district on a school building construction account, if the interest is not
already committed for expenditure on the construction project; or
(6) Interest earned on the "Education
Technology Fund" account.
Section
2. Offers of Assistance.
(1)
Funds available within the Education Technology Escrow Account shall be
distributed to a local school district for installation of the Kentucky
Education Technology System ("KETS") through the cooperative program
established by KRS 157.650 to 157.665, and as provided by this
section.
(2) Upon certification of
the rate of participation to the commission, the commission's executive
director shall notify an eligible district in writing of:
(a) The amount the district is entitled to
receive; and
(b) The conditions KRS 157.655(1) and 157.660(2) requires the district to meet if it accepts the offer
of acceptance.
Section
3. Acceptance of Offers of Assistance.
(1) The local board of education shall notify
the commission in writing whether it accepts an offer of assistance within
sixty (60) days after receipt of the offer of assistance. The local board's
response shall indicate how much of the amount of the offer the district plans
to accept. If a school district does not have local matching funds available
when the commission's offer of assistance is received, the district may
accumulate credits for up to three (3) years from the date of the offer of
assistance. If a district does not respond within sixty (60) days after receipt
of the offer of assistance, it shall be deemed to have rejected the offer of
assistance and the amount of the offer shall be redistributed to remaining
eligible districts. Upon written request received from a district within the
original sixty (60) day period, a single thirty (30) day extension in
responding to an offer of assistance shall be granted by the executive
director.
(2) The local school
district shall provide to the commission a copy of its board's minutes
reflecting acceptance of an offer of assistance. Upon acceptance of an offer of
assistance, a local school district shall establish an "Education Technology
Fund", which shall bear interest on the balance in the fund. The interest
received on the fund shall be applied to meet educational technology needs in
the school district. The district shall provide the commission evidence
certifying that matching funds have been committed.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 157.615, 157.655(3),
157.660(3)