156.095 Professional development programs and training schedule -- Required
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/ky/156-095A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
topics -- Professional development coordinator -- Long-term improvement
plans -- Electronic consumer bulletin board -- Training to address needs of
students at risk of school failure -- Teacher academics -- Annual report to
Juvenile Justice Oversight Council.
(a)The Kentucky Department of Education shall establish, direct, and maintain a
statewide program of professional development to improve instruction in the
public schools.
(b)By August 1, 2025, the department shall create a four
(4)year recurring
professional development training schedule that includes all professional
development for certified personnel required by subsection
(2)of this section
and federal law.
(c)Each local school district shall implement the professional development
training schedule created by the department.
(2)All certified school district employees and public charter school employees shall
complete at least one
(1)hour of each of the following trainings within twelve
months of initial hire and at least once every four
(4)years thereafter:
(a)How to respond to an active shooter situation training prepared by the
Department of Criminal Justice Training in collaboration with the department,
the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, and the Center for School Safety;
(b)Child abuse and neglect prevention, recognition, and reporting training from
the list of trainings approved by the department in accordance with subsection
(7)of this section;
(c)1. High-quality, evidence-based suicide prevention training, including risk
factors, warning signs, protective factors, response procedures, referral,
postvention, and the recognition of signs and symptoms of possible
mental illness.
2. As used in this paragraph, "postvention" means a series of planned
supports and interventions with persons affected by a suicide for the
purpose of facilitating the grieving or adjustment process, stabilizing the
environment, reducing the risk of negative behaviors, and limiting the
risk of further suicides through contagion; and
(d)Self-study review of seizure disorder materials.
(a)Each local school district superintendent shall appoint a certified school
employee to fulfill the role and responsibilities of a professional development
coordinator who shall disseminate professional development information to
schools and personnel. Upon request by a school council or any employees of
the district, the coordinator shall provide technical assistance to the council or
the personnel that may include assisting with needs assessments, analyzing
school data, planning and evaluation assistance, organizing districtwide
programs requested by school councils or groups of teachers, or other
coordination activities.
(b)The manner of appointment, qualifications, and other duties of the
professional development coordinator shall be established by the local board
of education.
(c)The local district professional development coordinator may participate in the
Kentucky Department of Education annual training program for local school
district professional development coordinators. The training program may
include but not be limited to the demonstration of various approaches to needs
assessment and planning; strategies for implementing long-term, school-based
professional development; strategies for strengthening teachers' roles in the
planning, development, and evaluation of professional development; and
demonstrations of model professional development programs. The training
shall include information about teacher learning opportunities relating to the
core content standards. The department shall regularly collect and distribute
this information.
(4)The department shall provide or facilitate optional, professional development
programs for certified personnel throughout the Commonwealth that are based on
the statewide needs of teachers, administrators, and other education personnel.
Programs may include classified staff and parents when appropriate. Programs
offered or facilitated by the department shall be at locations and times convenient to
local school personnel and shall be made accessible through the use of technology
when appropriate. They shall include programs that: address the goals for Kentucky
schools as stated in KRS 158.6451, including reducing the achievement gaps as
determined by an equity analysis of the disaggregated student performance data
from the state assessment program developed under KRS 158.6453; engage
educators in effective learning processes and foster collegiality and collaboration;
and provide support for staff to incorporate newly acquired skills into their work
through practicing the skills, gathering information about the results, and reflecting
on their efforts. Professional development programs shall be made available to
teachers based on their needs which shall include but not be limited to the following
areas:
(a)Strategies to reduce the achievement gaps among various groups of students
and to provide continuous progress;
(b)Curriculum content and methods of instruction for each content area,
including differentiated instruction;
(c)School-based decision making;
(d)Assessment literacy;
(e)Integration of performance-based student assessment into daily classroom
instruction;
(f)Nongraded primary programs;
(g)Research-based instructional practices;
(h)Instructional uses of technology;
(i)Curriculum design to serve the needs of students with diverse learning styles
and skills and of students of diverse cultures;
(j)Instruction in reading, including phonics, phonemic awareness,
comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary;
(k)Educational leadership; and
(l)Strategies to incorporate character education throughout the curriculum.
(5)The department shall assist school personnel in assessing the impact of professional
development on their instructional practices and student learning.
(a)Upon the request of a school district or school council, the department shall
assist with the development of long-term school and district improvement
plans that include multiple strategies for professional development based on
the assessment of needs at the school level.
(b)Professional development strategies may include but are not limited to
participation in subject matter academies, teacher networks, training institutes,
workshops, seminars, and study groups; collegial planning; action research;
mentoring programs; appropriate university courses; and other forms of
professional development.
(c)In planning the use of the four
(4)days for professional development under
KRS 158.070, school councils and districts shall give priority to programs that
increase teachers' understanding of curriculum content and methods of
instruction appropriate for each content area based on individual school plans.
The district may use up to one
(1)day to provide district-wide training and
training that is mandated by state or federal law. Only those employees
identified in the mandate or affected by the mandate shall be required to
attend the training.
(d)State funds allocated for professional development shall be used to support
professional development initiatives that are consistent with local school
improvement and professional development plans and teachers' individual
growth plans. The funds may be used throughout the year for all staff,
including classified and certified staff and parents on school councils or
committees. A portion of the funds allocated to each school council under
KRS 160.345 may be used to prepare or enhance the teachers' knowledge and
teaching practices related to the content and subject matter that are required
for their specific classroom assignments.
(a)The department shall develop and maintain a list of approved comprehensive
evidence-informed trainings on child abuse and neglect prevention,
recognition, and reporting that encompass child physical, sexual, and
emotional abuse and neglect.
(b)The trainings shall be web-based or in-person and cover, at a minimum, the
following topics:
1. Recognizing child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect;
2. Reporting suspected child abuse and neglect in Kentucky as required by
KRS 620.030 and the appropriate documentation;
3. Responding to the child; and
4. Understanding the response of child protective services.
(c)The trainings shall include a questionnaire or other basic assessment tool upon
completion to document basic knowledge of training components.
(d)Each local board of education shall adopt one
(1)or more trainings from the
list approved by the department to be implemented by schools.
(8)The department shall establish an electronic consumer bulletin board that posts
information regarding professional development providers and programs as a
service to school district central office personnel, school councils, teachers, and
administrators. Participation on the electronic consumer bulletin board shall be
voluntary for professional development providers or vendors, but shall include all
programs sponsored by the department. Participants shall provide the following
information: program title; name of provider or vendor; qualifications of the
presenters or instructors; objectives of the program; program length; services
provided, including follow-up support; costs for participation and costs of
materials; names of previous users of the program, addresses, and telephone
numbers; and arrangements required. Posting information on the bulletin board by
the department shall not be viewed as an endorsement of the quality of any specific
provider or program.
(9)The department shall provide voluntary training to address the characteristics and
instructional needs of students at risk of school failure and most likely to drop out
of school. The training shall be developed to meet the specific needs of all certified
and classified personnel depending on their relationship with these students. The
training for instructional personnel shall be designed to provide and enhance skills
of personnel to:
(a)Identify at-risk students early in elementary schools as well as at-risk and
potential dropouts in the middle and high schools;
(b)Plan specific instructional strategies to teach at-risk students;
(c)Improve the academic achievement of students at risk of school failure by
providing individualized and extra instructional support to increase
expectations for targeted students;
(d)Involve parents as partners in ways to help their children and to improve their
children's academic progress; and
(e)Significantly reduce the dropout rate of all students.
(10)The department shall establish teacher academies to the extent funding is available
in cooperation with postsecondary education institutions for elementary, middle
school, and high school faculty in core disciplines, utilizing facilities and faculty
from universities and colleges, local school districts, and other appropriate agencies
throughout the state. Priority for participation shall be given to those teachers who
are teaching core discipline courses for which they do not have a major or minor or
the equivalent. Participation of teachers shall be voluntary.
(11)The department shall annually provide to the oversight council established in KRS
15A.063, the information received from local schools pursuant to KRS 158.449.