Jess Clark

Kentucky’s next commissioner of education Robbie Fletcher said he wants to reform school accountability measures, like testing, and change the conversation about teaching.

The committee gave its approval to a version of Senate Bill 2, a school safety bill, which included an amendment from Republican Rep. Josh Calloway of Irvington. Calloway’s amendment would add licensed pastoral counselors to the list of personnel that can form part of a school’s mental health services team.

HB 2, one of the most controversial measures of the session, will put a question on the November ballot asking if voters want lawmakers to change the Kentucky Constitution so that they can “provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools.”

A divisive measure that would allow state lawmakers to fund private schools and charter schools passed the state House Wednesday.

A controversial bill that would allow public dollars to flow to private schools passed a Kentucky House committee on Tuesday with little time for the public to weigh in.

Kentucky teachers used to be required to complete the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program (KTIP) to get fully certified. But lawmakers stopped funding that program after 2018, leaving districts to fund and design their own supports for new teachers.

Bill sponsor Republican Sen. Mike Wilson told the committee he thinks Senate Bill 8 will make the Kentucky Board of Education more accountable to parents with kids in schools.

Kentucky teachers-in-training would be paid for their work starting next year under the House budget proposal. Student teachers would receive a $5,000 stipend during their 70-day training period, earning about $9.52 an hour.

Under Senate Bill 6, Kentucky’s public colleges and universities couldn’t ask students or staff to endorse certain concepts that the bill describes as “discriminatory.”

HB 300 would give the Education Professional Standards Board a time limit for completing investigations into educator misconduct and taking action. The EPSB grants educators certifications and has the power to revoke them over illegal or unethical conduct.