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State Representative Josh Branscum - Legislative Update

 

We have come a long way from the primers and alphabet boards used to educate children in Kentucky’s early days. The first school opened in Harrodsburg when we were still part of Virginia and the children who met in those modest, unhewn cabins still represented only the few families that could afford to send them. Today’s students have traded horn books for Chromebooks and our system of public education has evolved to include 173 school districts and almost 650,000 students, as well as more than 42,000 teachers and 46,000 classified staff.

 

More than 42 percent of our state’s general fund is spent on educating children in kindergarten through 12th grade. However, Kentucky consistently ranks among the lowest states in literacy and student achievement. The COVID-19 pandemic and the state’s response to it have only exacerbated the challenges facing education and our educators. Yet, I am optimistic because our state’s history is chock-full of examples of using difficulties to forge opportunities.

 

So, what are we going to do? As a legislator, my view of public education begins and ends with one question: Is this good for children? Before I vote on a bill, I ask myself how it will impact the children sitting in classrooms across our state. I am happy to share that we made strides in improving the educational opportunities offered to our children.

 

HB 178: This measure addresses the current instability in the organization in the Kentucky Board of Education, which has seen several commissioners and reorganizations in the last few years. It requires appointments to the Kentucky Board of Education to reflect equal gender representation and proportionally reflect the Commonwealth's political affiliation and minority racial composition. It provides that members can be removed if composition requirements are not met and adds a student and a teacher to the board as non-voting members. HB 178 also prohibits the Governor from reorganizing the board.

 

SB 128: You may have heard this legislation referred to as the “do-over bill” because it provides Kentucky’s public and non-public K-12 students the option to complete a “do-over” of the school year interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students and their parents or caregivers must submit their request for a supplemental school year to retake and supplement coursework already completed to their local board of education, who can accept or deny all requests. While some have managed to continue learning through this pandemic, this is not the case for all students. We know the digital divide and access to technology, availability of a parent or other supportive adult throughout the school day, and many other factors impact how a student fared during the 2020-2021 school year. A “do-over” academic year offers families the opportunity to put their child’s individual education needs first and help close any learning gaps.

 

HB 331: Endorsed by the Kentucky School Boards Association, HB 331 is aimed at holding local school board members accountable to the people who elected them. The measure eliminates the Commissioner of Education and Kentucky Board of Education’s authority to remove a local school board member. Kentucky’s Attorney General can petition the court to remove a school board member for a number of reasons, including engaging in bribery or forgery, influencing school personnel decision, nepotism, conflict of interest, moving out of the district, missing three meetings in a row or not completing the required school board training.

 

HB 163: This measure eliminates an unnecessary burden keeping quality educators from our classrooms.  Currently, a teacher’s certification might expire if they retire, change careers, or take time away from the classroom. Getting that certification back can be an expensive, lengthy process that ultimately has no impact on their ability to teach. HB 163 creates new eligibility standards for a limited opportunity to gain recertification.

 

SB 101: Career and technical education provides thousands of Kentucky students with a successful career path each year. SB 101 will help build a stronger relationship between the centers and their local communities by allowing local management while still providing a consistent, reliable level of state funding. 

 

SB 127: Saving lives does not have to be complicated. SB 127 encourages school districts to include two emergency inhalers with their student medication policies.

 

SB 129: This new law creates a technical advisory panel within the Kentucky Department of Education to provide input on establishing state school goals, designing school accountability, and recommending state academic assessments. 

 

HB 258: Teacher’s Retirement System costs have grown significantly (from $360 million in 2000 to more than $1 billion in 2020), and are projected to grow significantly more in the future ($2.5 billion by 2040). HB 258 modernizes the retirement benefit plans that will be available to new hires as of January 1, 2022. The proposed new tier includes a stabilization fund that prevents the pension from being underfunded and a combination of defined benefit and defined contribution approaches. We chose to do this because teachers are not allowed to participate in Social Security, so a defined benefit approach is critical to ensuring a consistent benefit. This measure was endorsed by the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, Kentucky Association of School Administration, Jefferson County Teacher’s Association, public universities, and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

 

As you can see, education was a hot topic during the 2021 Session and this legislature is committed to doing what is right for Kentucky. However, nowhere is it more evident than in the pages of our state budget and how we chose to invest taxpayer dollars. This session we committed $140 million to pay the entire cost of full-day kindergarten; $75 million to local vocational education centers’ construction pool; $3 million each in funding for the Kentucky School for the Deaf and the Kentucky School for the Blind; $2.6 million for Advanced Placement Exams; $800,000 for Dolly’s Imagination Library; and an additional $1 million for the Kentucky Adult Learner Pilot Program. We also allocated $127 million in federal COVID-relief funds to the School Facilities Construction Commission to replace aging and inadequate school buildings.

 

I once heard that the best way to find out what your priorities are is to look at your checkbook. While the amount we spend is important, it is equally critical that we spend every single dollar with an eye on getting the best return possible for our state.

 

Now that the 2021 Regular Session has adjourned, I will use these legislative updates to share summaries of the legislation we passed this year. I can still be reached through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181 or by email at Josh.Branscum@lrc.ky.gov. If you would like more information about any of these bills or legislative actions, you can also visit legislature.ky.gov.

 

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