Mercer County board reviews policy updates tied to Senate Bill 181; discusses parent permission form for outside communications

The Mercer County School Board received a first reading of annual policy updates Wednesday that, officials said, incorporate recent state law changes including a shift to a five‑year evaluation cycle for tenured teachers under Senate Bill 181.

A staff member (policy) told the board the district’s review uses model language provided by the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) and that the personnel committee drafted a five‑year observation and evaluation cycle intended to reduce paperwork for teachers: "The law that impacted the certified evaluation system was asking for tenure teachers to go to a 5 year evaluation cycle as opposed to a 3 year cycle," the staff member said. The staff member said the current cycle will be adjusted to comply with the law and that the district created a schedule showing when observations and full evaluations will occur under the new five‑year cycle.

The board also discussed a new parent permission form for outside, "traceable" communications — a mechanism the district is proposing to document and approve district staff or volunteers using communication tools outside the district’s internal systems. A staff member (policy) said parents must submit the form for each individual employee or volunteer (for example, one form per coach), rather than listing multiple employees on a single authorization: "If a parent wants to give permission to an employee or volunteer to communicate with someone outside the trace of communication that you all approve, then they would fill this form out. They have to do it for each individual so they can't list all the football coaches on there." The staff member gave as an example when an instructional assistant might want to use a hired babysitter who lives outside the district and the communication would cross districts.

Board members were shown a list the staff identified as currently used "traceable" platforms. The list presented to the board included: Google Education Suite, Comparo, Edgidity, ClassDojo, Remind, Infinite Campus, district‑provided email, Payer (as listed), Gradient (as listed) and Clever. The staff member said the list reflects tools that teachers and coaches currently use and that additional platforms could be added only after review and approval.

Board members were told the policy updates are being presented as a first reading; procedures tied to some policies may require only a single reading before being adopted. No vote on the policy updates or on the traceable‑communications form was recorded in the transcript.

Why it matters: the policy and the permission form affect how staff and volunteers may contact students using third‑party apps and the documentation parents must provide. The changes also implement a statutory change to teacher evaluation cadence, affecting when tenured teachers receive full evaluations.

Next steps: staff indicated the procedures tied to the policies will return for additional review, and the communications form will be refined and reviewed in subsequent agenda packets.