160.380 School district personnel actions -- Restrictions on appointment of
2,480 words·~11 min read·
/ky/160-380A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
relatives, violent offenders, and persons convicted of sex crimes -- Restriction
on assignment to alternative education program as disciplinary action --
National and state criminal history background checks and clear CA/N checks
-- Requirements for drivers of non-school bus passenger vehicles --
Probationary status -- Termination on basis of criminal record -- Fingerprint
card -- Application forms -- Employees charged with felony offenses --
Notification by employee found to have abused or neglected a child.
(1)As used in this section:
(a)"Administrative finding of child abuse or neglect" means a substantiated
finding of child abuse or neglect issued by the Cabinet for Health and Family
Services that is:
1. Not appealed through an administrative hearing conducted in
accordance with KRS Chapter 13B;
2. Upheld at an administrative hearing conducted in accordance with KRS
Chapter 13B and not appealed to a Circuit Court; or
3. Upheld by a Circuit Court in an appeal of the results of an
administrative hearing conducted in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B;
(b)"Alternative education program" means a program that exists to meet the
needs of students that cannot be addressed in a traditional classroom setting
but through the assignment of students to alternative classrooms, centers, or
campuses that are designed to remediate academic performance, improve
behavior, or provide an enhanced learning experience. Alternative education
programs do not include career or technical centers or departments;
(c)"Clear CA/N check" means a letter from the Cabinet for Health and Family
Services indicating that there are no administrative findings of child abuse or
neglect relating to a specific individual;
(d)"Relative" means father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, son and
daughter; and
(e)"Vacancy" means any certified position opening created by the resignation,
dismissal, nonrenewal of contract, transfer, or death of a certified staff
member of a local school district, or a new position created in a local school
district for which certification is required. However, if an employer-employee
bargained contract contains procedures for filling certified position openings
created by the resignation, dismissal, nonrenewal of contract, transfer, or
death of a certified staff member, or creation of a new position for which
certification is required, a vacancy shall not exist, unless certified positions
remain open after compliance with those procedures.
(2)Except as provided in KRS 160.346, the school district personnel actions identified
in this section shall be carried out as follows:
(a)All appointments, promotions, and transfers of principals, supervisors,
teachers, and other public school employees shall be made only by the
superintendent of schools, who shall notify the board of the action taken. All
employees of the local district shall have the qualifications prescribed by law
and by the administrative regulations of the Kentucky Board of Education and
of the employing board. Supervisors, principals, teachers, and other
employees may be appointed by the superintendent for any school year at any
time after February 1 preceding the beginning of the school year. No
superintendent of schools shall appoint or transfer himself or herself to
another position within the school district;
(b)When a vacancy occurs in a local school district, the superintendent shall
submit the job posting to the statewide job posting system described in KRS
160.152 fifteen
(15)days before the position shall be filled. The local school
district shall post position openings in the local board office for public
viewing;
(c)When a vacancy needs to be filled in less than fifteen
(15)days' time to
prevent disruption of necessary instructional or support services of the school
district, the superintendent may seek a waiver from the chief state school
officer outside of the process established in KRS 156.161. If the waiver is
approved, the appointment shall not be made until the person recommended
for the position has been approved by the chief state school officer. The chief
state school officer shall respond to a district's request for waiver or for
approval of an appointment within two
(2)working days; and
(d)When a vacancy occurs in a local district, the superintendent shall conduct a
search to locate minority teachers to be considered for the position. The
superintendent shall, pursuant to administrative regulations of the Kentucky
Board of Education, report annually the district's recruitment process and the
activities used to increase the percentage of minority teachers in the district.
(3)Restrictions on employment of relatives shall be as follows:
(a)No relative of a superintendent of schools shall be an employee of the school
district. However, this shall not apply to a relative who is a classified or
certified employee of the school district for at least thirty-six
(36)months
prior to the superintendent assuming office and who is qualified for the
position the employee holds. A superintendent's spouse who has previously
been employed in a school system may be an employee of the school district.
A superintendent's spouse who is employed under this provision shall not hold
a position in which the spouse supervises certified or classified employees. A
superintendent's spouse may supervise teacher aides and student teachers.
However, the superintendent shall not promote a relative who continues
employment under an exception of this subsection;
(b)No superintendent shall employ a relative of a school board member of the
district;
(c)No principal's relative shall be employed in the principal's school; and
(d)A relative that is ineligible for employment under paragraph (a), (b), or
(c)of
this subsection may be employed as a substitute for a certified or classified
employee if the relative is not:
1. A regular full-time or part-time employee of the district;
2. Accruing continuing contract status or any other right to continuous
employment;
3. Receiving fringe benefits other than those provided other substitutes; or
4. Receiving preference in employment or assignment over other
substitutes.
(4)No superintendent shall assign a certified or classified staff person to an alternative
education program as part of any disciplinary action taken pursuant to KRS 161.011
or 161.790 as part of a corrective action plan established pursuant to the local
district evaluation plan.
(5)No superintendent shall employ in any position in the district any person who:
(a)Has been convicted of an offense that would classify a person as a violent
offender under KRS 439.3401;
(b)Has been convicted of a sex crime as defined by KRS 17.500 or a
misdemeanor offense under KRS Chapter 510;
(c)Is required to register as a sex offender under KRS 17.500 to 17.580; or
(d)Has an administrative finding of child abuse or neglect in records maintained
by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
(6)Requirements for background checks shall be as follows:
(a)A superintendent shall require the following individuals to submit to a
national and state criminal background check by the Department of Kentucky
State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and have a clear CA/N
check, provided by the individual:
1. Each new certified or classified hire;
2. A nonfaculty coach or nonfaculty assistant as defined under KRS
161.185;
3. A student teacher;
4. A school-based decision making council parent member; and
5. Any adult who is permitted access to school grounds on a regularly
scheduled and continuing basis pursuant to a written agreement for the
purpose of providing services directly to a student or students as part of
a school-sponsored program or activity;
(b)1. The requirements of paragraph
(a)of this subsection shall not apply to:
a. Classified and certified individuals employed by the school district
prior to June 27, 2019;
b. Certified individuals who were employed in another certified
position in a Kentucky school district within six
(6)months of the
date of hire and who had previously submitted to a national and
state criminal background check and who have a clear CA/N check
for the previous employment; or
c. Student teachers who have submitted to and provide a copy of a
national and state criminal background check by the Department
of Kentucky State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
through an accredited teacher education institution in which the
student teacher is enrolled and who have a clear CA/N check.
2. The Education Professional Standards Board may promulgate
administrative regulations to impose additional qualifications to meet
the requirements of Pub. L. No. 92-544;
(c)A parent member may serve prior to the receipt of the criminal history
background check and CA/N letter required by paragraph
(a)of this
subsection but shall be removed from the council on receipt by the school
district of a report documenting a record of abuse or neglect, or a sex crime or
criminal offense against a victim who is a minor as defined in KRS 17.500, or
as a violent offender as defined in KRS 17.165, and no further procedures
shall be required;
(d)A superintendent may require a volunteer or a visitor to submit to a national
and state criminal history background check by the Department of Kentucky
State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and have a clear CA/N
check, provided by the individual; and
(e)The superintendent of a school district operating under an alternative
transportation plan approved by the Kentucky Department of Education in
accordance with KRS 156.153(3) shall require the driver of any non-school
bus passenger vehicle authorized to transport students to and from school
pursuant to the alternative transportation plan who does not have a valid
commercial driver's license issued in accordance with KRS Chapter 281A
with an "S" endorsement to:
1. Submit to a national and state criminal background check by the
Department of Kentucky State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation at least once every three
(3)years and a criminal records
check conducted in accordance with KRS 27A.090 in all other years;
2. Submit to drug testing consistent with the requirements of 49 C.F.R. pt.
40;
3. Provide a biannual driving history record check performed by the
Transportation Cabinet;
4. Provide an annual clear CA/N check;
5. Immediately notify the superintendent of any conviction for a violation
under KRS Chapter 189 for which penalty points are assessed; and
6. Immediately notify the superintendent of any citation or arrest for a
violation of any provision of KRS Chapter 189A. The superintendent
shall inform the Kentucky Department of Education of the notification.
(a)If a certified or classified position remains unfilled after July 31 or if a
vacancy occurs during a school term, a superintendent may employ an
individual, who will have supervisory or disciplinary authority over minors,
on probationary status pending receipt of the criminal history background
check and a clear CA/N check, provided by the individual. Application for the
criminal record and a request for a clear CA/N check of a probationary
employee shall be made no later than the date probationary employment
begins.
(b)Employment shall be contingent on the receipt of the criminal history
background check documenting that the probationary employee has no record
of a sex crime nor as a violent offender as defined in KRS 17.165 and receipt
of a letter, provided by the individual, from the Cabinet for Health and Family
Services stating the employee is clear to hire based on no administrative
findings of child abuse or neglect found through a background check of child
abuse and neglect records maintained by the Cabinet for Health and Family
Services.
(c)Notwithstanding KRS 161.720 to 161.800 or any other statute to the contrary,
probationary employment under this section shall terminate on receipt by the
school district of a criminal history background check documenting a record
of a sex crime or as a violent offender as defined in KRS 17.165 and no
further procedures shall be required.
(8)The provisions of KRS 161.790 shall apply to terminate employment of a certified
employee on the basis of a criminal record other than a record of a sex crime or as a
violent offender as defined in KRS 17.165, or on the basis of a CA/N check
showing an administrative finding of child abuse or neglect.
(a)All fingerprints requested under this section shall be on an applicant
fingerprint card provided by the Department of Kentucky State Police. The
fingerprint cards shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
from the Department of Kentucky State Police after a state criminal
background check is conducted. The results of the state and federal criminal
background check shall be sent to the hiring superintendent. Any fee charged
by the Department of Kentucky State Police, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall be an
amount no greater than the actual cost of processing the request and
conducting the search.
(b)Each application form, provided by the employer to an applicant for a
certified or classified position, shall conspicuously state the following: "FOR
THIS TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT, STATE LAW REQUIRES A NATIONAL
AND STATE CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK AND A
LETTER, PROVIDED BY THE INDIVIDUAL, FROM THE CABINET
FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES STATING THE APPLICANT
HAS NO ADMINISTRATIVE FINDINGS OF CHILD ABUSE OR
NEGLECT FOUND THROUGH A BACKGROUND CHECK OF CHILD
ABUSE AND NEGLECT RECORDS MAINTAINED BY THE CABINET
FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES."
(c)Each application form for a district position shall require the applicant to:
1. Identify the states in which he or she has maintained residency,
including the dates of residency; and
2. Provide picture identification.
(10)Notwithstanding any provision of the Kentucky Revised Statutes to the contrary,
when an employee of the school district is charged with any offense which is
classified as a felony, the superintendent may transfer the employee to a second
position until such time as the employee is found not guilty, the charges are
dismissed, the employee is terminated, or the superintendent determines that further
personnel action is not required. The employee shall continue to be paid at the same
rate of pay he or she received prior to the transfer. If an employee is charged with
an offense outside of the Commonwealth, this provision may also be applied if the
charge would have been treated as a felony if committed within the
Commonwealth. Transfers shall be made to prevent disruption of the educational
process and district operations and in the interest of students and staff and shall not
be construed as evidence of misconduct.
(11)Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, each certified and classified employee of
the school district shall notify the superintendent if he or she has been found by the
Cabinet for Health and Family Services to have abused or neglected a child, and if
he or she has waived the right to appeal a substantiated finding of child abuse or
neglect or if the substantiated incident was upheld upon appeal. Any failure to
report this finding shall result in the certified or classified employee being subject
to dismissal or termination.
(12)The form for requesting a CA/N check shall be made available on the Cabinet for
Health and Family Services website.