156.553 Teachers' professional growth fund -- Purposes -- Courses -- Duties of Department of Education -- Professional development programs -- Administrative regulations -- Advancement by local bo - Kentucky Statutes

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Page 1 of 4 156.553 Teachers' professional growth fund -- Purposes -- Courses -- Duties of Department of Education -- Professional development programs --
Administrative regulations -- Advancement by local boards of funds to
teachers for professional development education -- Reimbursement -- Priority
for use of funds from 2010 to 2016. (1) The teachers' professional growth fund is hereby created to provide teachers with high quality professional development in content knowledge in mathematics,
reading, science, language arts, social studies, arts and humanities, practical living,
vocational studies, and foreign languages; classroom-based screening, diagnostic,
assessment, and intervention strategies; and teaching methodologies, including
professional development that may lead to additional certification endorsements or
renewal of certification. Based on available funds, student achievement data, and
teacher data, the Kentucky Board of Education shall annually determine the priority
for content emphasis based on the greatest needs. (2) (a) The fund may provide moneys to teachers for: 1. Tuition reimbursement for successful completion of college or
university level courses, including on-line courses and seminars,
approved for this purpose by the Education Professional Standards
Board; 2. Stipends for participation in and successful completion of:
a. College or university courses, including on-line courses and
seminars, approved for this purpose by the Education Professional
Standards Board; b. Teacher institutes developed for core content instructors by the
Department of Education in compliance with KRS 156.095; and c. Other professional development programs approved by the
Kentucky Department of Education, including professional
development for teachers participating in grants awarded by the
Middle School Mathematics and Science Scholars Program
established under KRS 158.848; 3. Reimbursement for the purchase of materials required for professional
development programs; and 4. Reimbursement for other approved professional development activities
throughout the school year, including reimbursement for:
a. Travel to and from professional development workshops; and b. Travel to and from other schools for the observation of, and
consultation with, peer mentors; or (b) The fund may be used to provide grants to local school districts to support staff participation in specific, statewide initiatives for the professional
development of teachers and administrators in specific content areas as
established by the Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky
Board of Education under the provisions of subsections (4), (5), and (6) of this
section and referenced in KRS 158.842. Page 2 of 4 (c) The fund may be used to provide grants to colleges and universities to plan and develop statewide professional development institutes and other
professional development services. (d) The fund may be used to provide grants to local school districts, to colleges and universities, or other entities to assist the Kentucky Department of
Education in evaluating costs and the effectiveness of activities and initiatives
established under this section. (3) The Education Professional Standards Board shall determine the college and university courses, including on-line courses and seminars, for which teachers may
receive reimbursement from the fund. (4) The Department of Education shall: (a) Administer the fund. In order to process reimbursements to teachers promptly, the reimbursements shall not be subject to KRS 45A.690 to 45A.725; (b) Determine the professional development programs for which teachers may receive reimbursement, or districts or colleges and universities may receive
grants, from the fund; (c) Determine the level of stipend or reimbursement, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, for particular courses and programs, under subsection (2)
of this section; and (d) Provide an accounting of fund expenditures and results of the use of the funds for each biennium to the Interim Joint Committee on Education by November
1 of each odd-numbered year. (5) The professional development programs approved by the Department of Education for which teachers may receive support from the fund shall:
(a) Focus on improving the content knowledge of teachers;
(b) Provide training in the use of research-based and developmentally appropriate classroom-based screening, diagnostic, assessment, and intervention
strategies; (c) Provide instruction on teaching methods to effectively impart content knowledge to all students; (d) Include intensive training institutes and workshops during the summer;
(e) Provide programs for the ongoing support of teacher participants throughout the year, which may include:
1. A peer coaching or mentoring, and assessment program; and 2. Planned activities, including:
a. Follow-up workshops; and b. Support networks of teachers of the core disciplines using
technologies, including but not limited to telephone, video, and on-
line computer networks; Page 3 of 4 (f) Provide teacher participants with professional development credit toward renewal of certification under the provisions of KRS 161.095, relating to
continuing education for teachers; and (g) Provide teacher participants with the opportunity to obtain certificate endorsements or extensions in critical shortage areas, with priority given to
mathematics and science through 2016, and in core content areas to their
existing certifications through the TC-HQ process, established by the
Education Professional Standards Board to meet the requirements of the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq. (6) The Kentucky Board of Education shall specify through promulgation of administrative regulations:
(a) The application and approval process for receipt of funds;
(b) The requirements and process for the disbursal of funds; and
(c) The number of each kind of approved course for which applicants may receive funds. (7) Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary, a local school board may advance the funds necessary for its teachers to participate in a college course or
professional development seminar or activity approved by the Kentucky Department
of Education and the Education Professional Standards Board under provisions of
this section and receive reimbursement from the department at the conclusion of the
activity or course by the teacher. If funds are advanced for the benefit of a teacher
under this subsection, but the teacher does not fulfill his or her obligation, the
teacher shall reimburse the school district for the funds expended by the district on
the teacher's behalf. (8) Notwithstanding the provisions of KRS 45.229, unexpended funds in the teachers' professional growth fund in the 2000-2001 fiscal year or in any subsequent fiscal
year shall not lapse but shall carry forward to the next fiscal year and shall be used
for the purposes established in subsections (1) and (2) of this section. (9) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary, beginning June 1, 2006, through the 2009-2010 school year, priority for the use of funds from the
teachers' professional growth fund shall be used to train and support teams of
teachers from all school levels to be trained as reading coaches and mentors or as
mathematics coaches and mentors in statewide institutes referenced in KRS 158.840
and 158.842, and for selected teachers to be highly trained in providing diagnostic
assessment and intervention services for students in the primary program struggling
with mathematics.
(a) The design of the statewide mathematics institutes to train mathematics coaches and mentors shall be developed by the Committee for Mathematics
Achievement established in KRS 158.842. The committee shall provide
recommendations to the Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky
Board of Education in the preparation of administrative regulations that may
be promulgated by the board to implement the provisions of this subsection
relating to mathematics. Page 4 of 4 (b) The design of the professional development program to provide highly trained mathematics intervention teachers in the primary program shall be developed
by the Center for Mathematics in collaboration with public and private
institutions of postsecondary education. (c) The development of the statewide program to train reading coaches and mentors shall be coordinated by the Kentucky Department of Education with
recommendations from the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development,
established in KRS 164.0207, and the reading steering committee established
in KRS 158.794. The design of the program shall reflect a consensus of the
agencies involved in the development of the program. The training program
for reading coaches and mentors shall complement other statewide reading
initiatives, funded with state and federal funds, and shall give priority to
teachers in grades four (4) through twelve (12). The program shall be
implemented no later than June 1, 2006. The board shall promulgate
administrative regulations required to implement the provisions of this
subsection relating to reading. (10) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, beginning June 1, 2010, through the 2015-2016 school year, priority for the use of funds from the
teachers' professional growth fund shall be for the purpose of increasing the number
of certified teachers with extensions or endorsements in mathematics and science as
described in subsection (5)(g) of this section. Effective: July 15, 2008
History: Amended 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 134, sec. 13, effective July 15, 2008; and ch. 185, sec. 2, effective April 24, 2008. -- Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 164, sec. 5, effective
March 18, 2005. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 135, sec. 4, effective April 2, 2002. -
- Amended 2001 Ky. Acts ch. 135, sec. 1, effective June 21, 2001. -- Created 2000
Ky. Acts ch. 527, sec. 2, effective July 14, 2000. Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2008). This section was amended by 2008 Ky. Acts chs. 134 and 185, which do not appear to be in conflict and have been
codified together.