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Committee backs bill to identify struggling schools annually and strengthen misconduct rules
Summary
House Bill 298 would move Kentucky from triennial to annual identification of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools under ESSA, require management audits and professional development, and incorporate measures on employee misconduct; the committee approved the bill and adopted a title amendment.
The Senate Education Committee gave a favorable report to House Bill 298, a measure that would change how Kentucky identifies and supports schools designated for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and would add provisions aimed at addressing employee misconduct in schools.
Representative James Tipton, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure would require annual identification of CSI schools rather than the current three-year cycle under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). He told the committee that regular identification would allow the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to conduct management audits, recommend actions regarding principals’ capacity to lead turnarounds, require professional development in reading and math for teachers at identified schools, and require districts to use high-quality instructional resources.
Tipton also described provisions carried into HB 298 regarding employee misconduct that mirror work done in prior sessions; he said the bill includes language similar to measures that passed earlier in the House and previously reached the Senate but had not been enacted. In committee questions Senator Givens asked about a small drafting change: the word "investigation" was removed in a subsection dealing with required applicant disclosures; Tipton confirmed the change and explained which lines were altered.
The committee adopted a committee substitute, debated the bill and voted to report HB 298 favorably. Senators explained their votes on the record and the clerk announced, "House bill 2 98 as amended by committee sub passes unanimously with favorable expression." The committee also adopted a title amendment distributed in members’ packets.
Supporters argued the changes would enable KDE and districts to address struggling schools more quickly and to deploy targeted professional development and turnaround resources. The bill includes a provision allowing districts with multiple identified schools to contract with turnaround vendors. The transcript shows members repeatedly praised Tipton’s work on both CSI policy and employee-misconduct reforms.
The bill proceeds to the full Senate with the committee sub and title amendment adopted; committee members indicated the expectation that KDE and districts would implement identification and audit procedures under the new schedule.
