KRS § 156.095 — KY Code / Title XIII / Chapter 156 / Section 156.095
156.095 Professional development programs and training schedule -- Required 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
Status: in_force

156.095 Professional development programs and training schedule -- Required

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.

(1) (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 (12)

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.

(3) (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.

(6) (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.

(7) (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.