[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6659258,"mediaKeyId","2472376-656c0bbff10727c50a941235656b2505","parentId",2472376,"title","Senate committee clears School Innovation Act creating voluntary waivers for schools","audioSeconds",1688,"startMs",1182000,"endMs",2870000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2472376-656c0bbff10727c50a941235656b2505&start=1182&end=2870","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2472376-656c0bbff10727c50a941235656b2505/thumbnail_1182000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6659258/Kentucky/Senate-committee-clears-School-Innovation-Act-creating-voluntary-waivers-for-schools","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6659258-f1d085a37f0a56657a708cf18734ced4/orig.mp4?Expires=1775365270&Signature=daVkuB7NSkjA7HDr9suUJS3JSmoDTI1-Zj1b276WNQNKV-1lQiiGx5OQCNJq4S-QJU9wbIqrSTVxqIZRE-BoUn3ksprQ1uUBlimKf3psEbMb9gYweP29ryO~Dh6LWExORyVZ4ffj93SU-duX1gNBxqvhNepwic~zyaL9d7fQmhEQlhNzbQkYAo0SY1JFac9KqZt6YoXmJU-Q9dH-OuiQsEwYAdGI4e~lEgER8uc0ijIH3vB9NXttq2tz1TKLzMmanfWaXhIUPyMHaslTxHFX-H7fCnWQTPUphscXEUkucFPDGFjqK-nFHIodRXPqXE~U5XgKO-d3f5SiKXqNnhTPAA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Kentucky Legislature","date","2025-03-03T17:53:25.01Z","article","FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Senate Education Committee on Monday unanimously approved Senate Bill 207, the \"School Innovation Act,\" which would create a voluntary waiver process for public schools to operate as three-year \"schools of innovation\" under contracts approved by the Kentucky Board of Education.

Sponsor Senator West said the option is intended to give districts a tool to try new approaches at underperforming schools or to provide flexibility for high-performing campuses. \"This bill allows district leadership to say, this school in its current form is failing our kids and parents, and we need to try something different,\" West said during the committee presentation.

Under the bill, districts may apply to the state board for waivers from listed administrative regulations; the bill also lists specific regulations that would not be waivable. Contracts would run three years and the district would retain ownership of school facilities and responsibility for transportation and SEEK funding flows.

Senator West and witnesses cited examples from other states, including South Carolina and Indianapolis, and said districts could also attract private philanthropy to supplement school resources under an innovation contract.

Committee members sought details on eligibility, fiscal effects and student assignment rules. Senator Thomas asked whether the bill is limited to chronically low-performing schools; West replied the bill does not limit eligibility to a particular performance band and that any district could use the option if it chose. Senator Thomas said he could see potential value for high-performing schools as well.

On student access and enrollment concerns, Senator Givens flagged a drafting question about whether the bill should explicitly say \"notwithstanding any law to the contrary.\" He asked whether innovation schools could avoid open-enrollment obligations. West answered that the legislation is not intended to allow \"cherry-picking\" of students and that existing law and board policies governing admissions would continue to apply. \"We don't wanna cherry pick kids,\" West said.

Committee members asked about fiscal implications. West said the fiscal note is indeterminate because costs depend on how many districts participate. He told the committee that state SEEK funding and local taxes would continue to flow through districts and that district-owned buildings and transportation responsibilities would remain with the district.

Senator Givens, who said the bill provides more latitude than the older \"districts of innovation\" statutory language, asked staff to check a cross-reference: Section 11 repeals the district-of-innovation provisions in existing statute so that the new school-level authority can be used instead. \"You're providing, in my mind, even more latitude,\" Givens said.

Motion and vote

Senator Givens moved to report the bill favorably; Senator Wise seconded. The committee passed SB 207 by recorded vote; the chair announced, \"Bill passes 11. No nays.\"

What the bill would do (clarifying details)

- Establish a new waiver and contract option for individual public schools to become \"schools of innovation\" for three-year terms under Kentucky Board of Education approval.
- Preserve district ownership of school buildings, transportation responsibilities, and state SEEK funding flows; the district retains authority to terminate contracts for cause, including financial misconduct.
- Identify regulations that cannot be waived and require procedural guardrails for application and approval.
- Repeal prior \"districts of innovation\" statutory language (Section 11) to replace that mechanism with school-level innovation contracts.

Evidence of outcomes from other states

Sponsor testimony cited evaluations and examples from South Carolina and Indianapolis that show positive student-growth outcomes in some innovation schools, while noting the evidence base is limited and results vary by implementation.

Next steps

SB 207 reported favorably from committee and will move to the Senate floor; committee members asked staff to confirm cross-references and drafting details before floor action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Standing Committee on Education (3-3-25)","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 207 would allow districts to contract three-year \"schools of innovation\" with waivers from specified state regulations; the committee passed the bill 11-0 after debate about eligibility, fiscal impact and safeguards to prevent student \"cherry-picking.\"","taxTitle","Education, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Kentucky","taxId",29200,"location","Kentucky","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":44,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6659263,"Committee approves bill to trim duplicative school reporting, update budget publication rules",1038,144000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2472376-656c0bbff10727c50a941235656b2505&start=144&end=1182","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2472376-656c0bbff10727c50a941235656b2505/thumbnail_144000.jpg","/articles/6659263/Kentucky/Committee-approves-bill-to-trim-duplicative-school-reporting-update-budget-publication-rules","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6659263-9c0072b37aa60ef9e1a36c082eb8b4cb/orig.mp4?Expires=1775365270&Signature=bm1ufojDyR0tyQ7VV1SzcVWoAIyWZZWKDMUgE0ZkV~R~CInmV7idDj142S72nF45dzZqOCcaUuUHAVAAr7xs4QBetmSPpFAYGr4ffAsKUPn8Sz66ayqRNg9W7Uq7gyG9zt4UCC62r9we6wCqVlZb4hdF-4aU47t91QCsl~RxUiLSoTFLiqm99HrVClETKe7ciof90LwjdAnnQ0IC85ajLWgDxyrRy9x3uChNwa-qQhwm6Cd2yN0AgnbMGs5FIdUCOxxcB6b8r1i5nd~OG-fAlBeTBqgDnSFv4zdYaETL6KuWyqqbrDeqghTv1fMwKss5vE~kqBBcVyYo1fmo0U8eDA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Senate Standing Committee on Education on Monday adopted a committee substitute and then unanimously passed Senate Bill 68, an education bill that removes several state reporting requirements and updates how school budgets are published.

Supporters said the bill removes reports that KDE said are duplicative of federal monitoring or no longer useful, and replaces an outdated 1958 reference about publishing school budgets in a manner consistent with modern practice.

Senator Steve Rawlings, the sponsor, framed the bill as a step to reduce burdens on districts and to emphasize career and technical education alongside academics. \"This bill is a key step toward reversing that trend,\" Rawlings said in opening remarks about refocusing state policy on core learning and vocational training.

The committee substitute makes targeted changes in several sections: Section 4 removes the department\u0000\u0000report requirement on local wellness policies while leaving intact the statutory requirement that districts adopt such policies; Section 5 removes an interim report on school breakfast programs; Section 6 updates language about publication of school budgets (removing an archaic filing requirement tied to a county taxing authority); and Section 7 repeals KRS 157.061, a redundant annual-audit provision that KDE said is covered under other audit statutes.

Matt Ross, associate commissioner in KDE's Office of Finance and Operations, described the deletions as reducing unnecessary paperwork. \"We're not really doing anything to the local wellness policy except striking the report that the Department makes,\" Ross said. He told the committee that local wellness policies will remain required, will continue to be reviewed under federal school nutrition monitoring where applicable, and that KDE has struggled to collect consistent, meaningful responses to the statutory reporting requirement.

Committee members asked about physical-activity reporting that also is struck from the statute. Senator Thomas asked why the bill removes reporting on the amount of physical activity in schools, noting the legislature\u0000\u0000often values that information. Ross replied that districts must adopt policies but KDE lacks authority to require standardized reporting, and the data KDE receives are \"apples and oranges\" and therefore of limited use in statewide reports.

Senator Neal, explaining his aye vote, reiterated the value members place on student physical activity while supporting the measure's intent to cut duplicative reporting: \"Physical activity is important,\" he said, and expressed confidence KDE will continue to monitor relevant policies through federal reviews.

The committee first adopted the committee substitute on a motion by Senator Givens, seconded by Senator Tichenor. The committee then voted to pass SB 68, as amended, by a unanimous roll call.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to adopt committee substitute: moved by Senator Givens; seconded by Senator Tichenor. Outcome: adopted (voice/committee action recorded).
- Final passage in committee of SB 68 (as amended by committee substitute): outcome: approved unanimously (committee recorded a unanimous aye vote).

What the bill changes (clarifying details)

- Local wellness policies: districts remain required to adopt policies; the KDE report on those policies is removed as duplicative and inconsistently reported to KDE. (Source: testimony from Matt Ross.)
- School breakfast interim report: removed; KDE said nearly all districts provide breakfast and the interim statewide report is no longer useful. (Matt Ross)
- School budget publication: language tied to a 1958 statute about filing with county clerks is updated to align with modern publication practices (newspaper and district website). The change reflects that districts now act as taxing authorities.
- Audits: the bill repeals KRS 157.061 (annual audits of school districts), which KDE said is duplicative of existing audit provisions (referencing other audit statutes).

Implementation and scope

KDE told the committee the changes are intended to reduce duplicative reporting and clarification burdens on districts, not to remove underlying federal or state responsibilities for wellness, nutrition monitoring or audits. KDE said federal school nutrition regulation and federal monitoring continue to apply where districts participate in those programs.

Next steps

SB 68 passed the Senate Education Committee and will proceed to the full Senate calendar for consideration.

","The Senate Education Committee adopted a substitute and unanimously passed Senate Bill 68, which removes several reporting requirements the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) described as duplicative or outdated and updates how school budgets are published.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate committee clears School Innovation Act creating voluntary waivers for schools

Committee approves bill to trim duplicative school reporting, update budget publication rules