Superintendent Carrie Ballinger told the Rockcastle County Board of Education that the district is preparing a phased rollout of a monitored communications platform (branded as “Rooms” in the district app), is collecting parental waivers for volunteers and will continue to track related state developments tied to Senate Bill 181.

Why it matters: the platform and volunteer tracking are described by the superintendent as measures to centralize school–family communication, provide an auditable message trail and ensure compliance with anticipated state requirements.

What the superintendent said: Ballinger said she had discussed legislative timing with state Representative Josh Bray and that she had no indication the legislature would reconvene immediately; "It looks like that it will be January" before the legislature can readdress the bill, she said. Locally, Ballinger said district staff have prepared parent waivers and are developing school-level tracking to manage the forms during the summer and at the start of the school year.

Rooms app and communications: Ballinger and district staff described Rooms as an integrated feature of the Rockcastle County Schools app that will present district notices and class- or team-level feeds to families. The district said Rooms provides messaging functionality that can be monitored and tracked to show whether communications were posted and seen. Staff emphasized that student-to-student direct messaging is disabled; teacher-to-student messaging is allowed and monitored for safety and recordkeeping. The district plans training for coaches and teachers and will provide back-to-school support for parents who need help downloading or using the app.

Volunteer waivers and implementation: Ballinger said the district is collecting waivers at central office during the summer and will transfer them to individual schools when classes resume. She described internal planning to maintain a school-level tracking system for waivers so administrators can verify volunteers’ status.

Why some board members support the steps: board members said they view the app and waivers as tools to protect students and staff, reduce fragmented group-text communication and provide clearer records of outreach. The superintendent noted the district will provide marketing and in-person help at open houses to assist grandparents and other caregivers in setting up access.

Ending: the board accepted the update; staff offered to demonstrate the Rooms platform to board members on request and to provide parent training at school open houses.