KRS 156.405: State Quality Curriculum Task Force -- Duties -- Membership --

Instructional materials reviewers.

(1) The State Quality Curriculum Task Force is hereby established to:

(a) Promote increased access to high quality instructional materials;

(b) Support school districts in the evaluation, selection, and use of high quality

instructional materials;

(c) Provide a state -approved list of current and high quality textbooks and

instructional materials to school districts that complement the educationa l

program in Kentucky schools;

(d) Provide a consumer guide to schools to aid with the selection of high quality

instructional materials; and

(e) Provide for public participation in the review process.

(2) (a) The task force shall consist of a minimum of ten (10) appointive members

who shall be appointed by the chief state school officer in accordance with

subsection (6) of this section for terms of four (4) years, with two (2)

appointments each year, except that every fourth year there shall be four (4)

appointments. A member shall not be eligible to serve more than two (2) full

terms consecutively.

(b) All vacancies that occur on the task force shall be filled in like manner for the

remainder of the unexpired terms.

(c) The department and the task force shall receive assistance in the instructional

materials review process from professionals and lay citizens appointed to be

instructional materials reviewers under subsection (4) of this section.

(3) For the subjects of rea ding and writing, mathematics, science, and social studies,

the task force shall:

(a) Select and direct the activities of the instructional materials reviewers, who

shall develop and recommend subject specific selection criteria and evaluation

forms to be used in a school district's selection of instructional materials and

programs;

(b) Develop general selection criteria and evaluation forms with the help of the

instructional materials reviewers and department staff to be used in a school

district's selection of instructional materials and programs;

(c) Approve the selection criteria and evaluation forms developed by instructional

materials reviewers under paragraph (a) of this subsection;

(d) Review the instructional materials reviewers' evaluations, and co nsider

instructional materials or programs as it deems necessary, in order to select

from them a state-approved list of high quality instructional materials;

(e) Provide notice of and the opportunity for public inspection of the instructional

materials and programs that are included in the state-approved list and offered

for adoption and use in the public schools, which may be done through the

instructional materials depository;

(f) Select, recommend, and publish from the list provided by the instructional

materials depository under KRS 156.407 the state -approved list of high

quality instructional materials and programs; and

(g) Publish a consumer guide and distribute it to Kentucky public schools that

shall include the general selection criteria, subject -specific selection criteria,

and the evaluation forms for a school district's review and selection of

instructional materials and programs.

(4) The instructional materials reviewers shall be:

(a) Composed of a minimum of eight (8) individuals who served on t he advisory

panels or review committees as part of the standards review process

established in KRS 158.6453 for the area or areas being considered, two (2) of

whom are parents who have a child currently enrolled in public schools in

Kentucky; and

(b) Approved by the task force based on the recommendation of the chief state

school officer.

(5) The instructional materials reviewers shall:

(a) Develop and submit to the task force subject specific selection criteria and

evaluation forms to be used by school dis tricts in reviewing instructional

materials and programs; and

(b) Attend meetings and training sessions as requested by the task force and the

department.

(6) (a) The chief state school officer shall appoint the following members of the task

force:

1. Eight (8) members who have had not less than five (5) years teaching or

supervising experience in the public schools of Kentucky and shall have

had at the time of their appointment at least four (4) years of college

training in a recognized institution of higher education, of whom:

a. Two (2) members who are classroom teachers or instructional

coaches actively employed in the public schools of Kentucky as

teachers or instructional coaches in subject field or fields for

which the task force will select instructional materials; and

b. Six (6) members who are principals, instructional supervisors, or

superintendents of public schools or public school systems;

2. At least one (1) member who is a member of the faculty of a public

institution of higher education engaged in teacher preparation; and

3. At least one (1) member who is a lay citizen who has a child enrolled in

a public school at the time of appointment.

(b) In appointing the members of the task force, the chief state school officer shall

give due regard to representation from rural and urban areas and from

elementary, middle, and high school levels.

(7) Members of the task force and the instructional materials reviewers shall serve

without compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary travel and expense s

while attending meetings at the same per diem rate promulgated in administrative

regulation for state employees under KRS Chapter 45. The department shall provide

funds to school districts to cover the cost of substitute teachers for those teacher

members of the task force at the rate established for substitute teachers at each

school district.

(8) The meetings of the task force shall be open to the public, and notice of meetings

shall be given in accordance with KRS 61.805 to 61.850.

(9) Not later than May 1 each year, if funding is available, the chief state school officer

shall call the task force into session. The members of the task force shall elect one

(1) of its voting members as chair.

(10) At the direction of the chief state school officer, the task force may select,

recommend, and publish instructional materials in subjects beyond reading and

writing, mathematics, science, and social studies to be added to the state -approved

list. The revie w and selection process shall be in accordance with KRS 156.395 to

156.476.