156.095 Professional development programs -- Professional development coordinator -- Long term improvement plans -- Suicide prevention awareness information -- Electronic consumer bulletin board -- Tr - Kentucky Statutes

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156.095 Professional development programs -- Professional development coordinator -- Long term improvement plans -- Suicide prevention awareness
information -- Electronic consumer bulletin board -- Training to address needs
of students at risk -- Teacher academics. (1) The Kentucky Department of Education shall establish, direct, and maintain a statewide program of professional development to improve instruction in the public
schools. (2) 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.
(a) The manner of appointment, qualifications, and other duties of the professional development coordinator shall be established by Kentucky Board
of Education through promulgation of administrative regulations. (b) The local district professional development coordinator shall 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 Kentucky Department
of Education shall regularly collect and distribute this information. (3) The Kentucky Department of Education 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. (4) The department shall assist school personnel in assessing the impact of professional development on their instructional practices and student learning. (5) The department shall assist districts and school councils 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.
(a) 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. (b) 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. (c) 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. (6) (a) By August 1, 2010, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall post on its Web page suicide prevention awareness information, to
include recognizing the warning signs of a suicide crisis. The Web page shall
include information related to suicide prevention training opportunities
offered by the cabinet or an agency recognized by the cabinet as a training
provider. (b) By September 1, 2010, and September 1 of each year thereafter, every public middle and high school administrator shall disseminate suicide prevention
awareness information to all middle and high school students. The
information may be obtained from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services
or from a commercially developed suicide prevention training program. (7) The Department of Education 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. (8) The Department of Education shall provide 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. (9) 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. Effective: July 15, 2010
History: Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 6, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 101, sec. 8, effective March 25, 2009. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts
ch. 302, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 162, sec. 4,
effective July 14, 2000; ch. 452, sec. 3, effective July 14, 2000; and ch. 527, sec. 10,
effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 514, sec. 4, effective July 15,
1998.; and ch. 609, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts
ch. 362, sec. 6, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 476, Pt. I,
sec. 13, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1985 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 10,
sec. 1, effective October 18, 1985; Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 155, sec. 82,
effective June 17, 1978. -- Amended 1956 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 7, Art. II,
sec. 2. -- Created 1950 Ky. Acts ch. 127, sec. 1. Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/2000). This section was amended by 2000 Ky. Acts chs. 162, 452, and 527. Where these Acts are not in conflict, they
have been codified together. As to subsection (7) of this section, a conflict exists, in
part, between Acts chs. 452 and 527. Under KRS 446.250, Acts ch. 527, which was
last enacted by the General Assembly, prevails in this conflict.