KRS 156.161: Waiver of administrative regulations and statutes by Kentucky Board of

Education -- Request by local board of education -- Limitations -- Assistance

by Department of Education -- Procedures -- Schools of innovation -- School

district not penalized -- Administrative regulation.

(1) Except as provided in KRS 156.1611 or otherwise provided in statute, the Kentucky

Board of Education, upon the request of the local board of education of a school

district, may grant a waiver from the requirement s of an administrative regulation

promulgated by the state board or from a statute over which the state board has

authority to enforce. The state board may also grant a waiver from the requirements

of an administrative regulation promulgated by the Educati on Professional

Standards Board or from a statute over which the Education Professional Standards

Board has authority to enforce, after consultation with the Education Professional

Standards Board. A waiver granted by the state board shall expire on June 3 0 of the

third full school year after the request was first approved, regardless of subsequent

amendment, unless the state board renews the waiver prior to expiration. However,

a waiver related to specific school district facility projects that may include the

construction or renovation of school buildings or the acquisition or disposition of

property shall not expire unless the state board specifically provides for expiration

when granting the waiver. The state board shall not approve any waiver request to

overturn a certification determination of a specific individual by the Education

Professional Standards Board. The state board shall not waive any statute or

administrative regulation:

(a) Relating to health and safety, including required criminal backgro und checks

for staff and volunteers specified in KRS 160.380 and 161.148;

(b) Relating to civil rights;

(c) Required by federal law;

(d) Relating to compulsory attendance requirements under KRS 158.030 and

158.100, or the recording of data necessary for p articipation in the fund to

support education excellence in Kentucky;

(e) Establishing certification requirements for teachers, except a waiver may

authorize up to twenty -five percent (25%) of the teaching staff of a school

may be employed without teacher certification if the individual possesses a:

1. Baccalaureate or graduate degree in the subject the individual is hired to

teach; or

2. Recognized industry credential in the technical education area the

individual is hired to teach;

(f) Requiring students' participation in state assessment of student performance as

required under KRS 158.6453;

(g) Financial audits, audit procedures, and audit requirements under KRS

156.265;

(h) Open records and open meeting requirements under KRS Chapter 61;

(i) Purchasing requirements and limitations under KRS Chapter 45A and KRS

156.074 and 156.480; or

(j) Requiring instructional time that is at least equivalent to the student

instructional year specified in KRS 158.070.

(2) A waiver request under subsection (1) of this section shall:

(a) Identify the specific statutes and administrative regulations for which the local

board is seeking a waiver;

(b) Specify the schools or programs within the district to which the waiver shall

apply;

(c) Explain how the waiver for the schools or programs of each specific statute or

administrative regulation will improve operations or student academic

achievement; and

(d) Include any evidence the district wishes to submit to support the request.

(3) A local board may reques t the Kentucky Department of Education to assist in the

development of a waiver request. To receive assistance, a local board shall provide

the department with a list of innovative practices the local board intends to submit

in a waiver request. The depart ment shall provide a timely analysis of the list to the

local board that identifies which statutes and administrative regulations under the

authority of the state board or the Education Professional Standards Board, if any,

would need to be waived to allow the innovative practice.

(4) The department may provide the state board an analysis of a waiver request to assist

the state board with consideration of the waiver request. However, if the waiver

request was previously analyzed by the department while assisting under subsection

(3) of this section and has not been modified, then the analysis for the state board

shall be consistent with the completed analysis for the local board. The department

and the commissioner shall not recommend approval or denial to t he state board,

but may provide the benefits and disadvantages of approving the waiver request.

(5) Upon the majority vote of a local board approving a waiver request, the

superintendent of the district or the local board's designee shall submit the waiver

request to the state board. The state board shall consider the waiver of each statute

or administrative regulation included in the request at a meeting occurring no later

than thirty (30) calendar days after submission and shall either approve or deny the

request. In considering approval for each statute or administrative regulation

identified in a waiver request, the state board shall grant the request if, when

considered in conjunction with the findings and declarations of KRS 156.1613, the

waiver request reasonably demonstrates that approval is more likely than not:

(a) To improve that school's or program's operation without hindering student

academic achievement; or

(b) To improve student academic achievement at that school or program.

(6) In submittin g a waiver request for consideration under subsection (5) of this

section, a local board may seek to identify the school or program that is the subject

of the request as a school of innovation for the purposes of providing innovative

educational opportunities to students. An application for identification as a school

of innovation may also incorporate any waivers previously approved and in effect

under this section or KRS 156.1611. The state board shall approve the request to be

identified as a school of innovation if the request demonstrates that all the approved

waivers under this section and KRS 156.1611 attempt to improve student outcomes

in a manner that would be difficult or impossible without the approved waivers.

Notwithstanding any previous expirati on date, the waivers incorporated in the

identification as a school of innovation shall expire on June 30 of the third full

school year after the identification is made.

(7) A local board whose request to waive a statute or administrative regulation under

subsection (5) or (6) of this section was denied may amend the original request for

reconsideration at the state board's next regularly scheduled meeting.

(8) A local board may seek to amend a previously approved waiver request by

submitting the amendment for approval by the state board under the same

procedures as the original request.

(9) A local board that is granted a waiver under subsection (5) or (6) of this section

may submit a request to renew the waiver to the state board. A renewal request shall

be submitted no earlier than six (6) months prior to that waiver's expiration. The

renewal request shall include evidence of the operational improvement of the

school or program that is subject to the waiver, the academic achievement of the

students enrolle d in the schools or program, comparisons of those students with

similar students across the state, and any other evidence of the waiver's benefit to

student academic achievement. If the state board finds that the waiver has had a

positive impact on the school's or program's operation or the academic achievement

of students, then the renewal request shall be approved. An approved renewal

request shall extend the waiver for an additional three (3) school years. However, a

waiver related to school district fac ility projects, as identified in subsection (1) of

this section, shall not expire unless the state board specifically provides for

expiration when granting the waiver.

(10) Any school that is subject to a waiver shall admit any and all children eligible to

attend the school subject to the local board's policies.

(11) If the state board at any time finds by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote that a specific

waiver previously granted has hindered school or program operations, endangered

students, impeded studen t academic achievement, or supported financial

malfeasance or criminal activity, then the waiver shall be rescinded. The existence

of a waiver shall not negate the legal duties or professional responsibilities of a

district employee.

(12) The Kentucky Boar d of Education, the commissioner of education, and the

Kentucky Department of Education shall not penalize a school district for an action

that violates a statute or administrative regulation if:

(a) The action was described in a request for assistance un der subsection (3) of

this section; and

(b) The analysis of the request for assistance submitted to the district by the

department:

1. Indicated that the action would not violate any statute or administrative

regulation in existence at the time of the analysis; or

2. Did not include the statute or administrative regulation in existence at

the time of the analysis and the exact request for assistance was

approved as a waiver request by the Kentucky Board of Education.

(13) The state board shall promulgate ad ministrative regulations in accordance with

KRS Chapter 13A to adopt a standardized waiver request form and establish any

procedures for processing waiver requests in compliance with this section.