{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-156.161","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 156.161","heading":"Waiver of administrative regulations and statutes by Kentucky Board of","body":"Education -- Request by local board of education -- Limitations -- Assistance\nby Department of Education -- Procedures -- Schools of innovation -- School\ndistrict not penalized -- Administrative regulation.\n(1) Except as provided in KRS 156.1611 or otherwise provided in statute, the Kentucky\nBoard of Education, upon the request of the local board of education of a school\ndistrict, may grant a waiver from the requirement s of an administrative regulation\npromulgated by the state board or from a statute over which the state board has\nauthority to enforce. The state board may also grant a waiver from the requirements\nof an administrative regulation promulgated by the Educati on Professional\nStandards Board or from a statute over which the Education Professional Standards\nBoard has authority to enforce, after consultation with the Education Professional\nStandards Board. A waiver granted by the state board shall expire on June 3 0 of the\nthird full school year after the request was first approved, regardless of subsequent\namendment, unless the state board renews the waiver prior to expiration. However,\na waiver related to specific school district facility projects that may include  the\nconstruction or renovation of school buildings or the acquisition or disposition of\nproperty shall not expire unless the state board specifically provides for expiration\nwhen granting the waiver. The state board shall not approve any waiver request to\noverturn a certification determination of a specific individual by the Education\nProfessional Standards Board. The state board shall not waive any statute or\nadministrative regulation:\n(a) Relating to health and safety, including required criminal backgro und checks\nfor staff and volunteers specified in KRS 160.380 and 161.148;\n(b) Relating to civil rights;\n(c) Required by federal law;\n(d) Relating to compulsory attendance requirements under KRS 158.030 and\n158.100, or the recording of data necessary for p articipation in the fund to\nsupport education excellence in Kentucky;\n(e) Establishing certification requirements for teachers, except a waiver may\nauthorize up to twenty -five percent (25%) of the teaching staff of a school\nmay be employed without teacher certification if the individual possesses a:\n1. Baccalaureate or graduate degree in the subject the individual is hired to\nteach; or\n2. Recognized industry credential in the technical education area the\nindividual is hired to teach;\n(f) Requiring students' participation in state assessment of student performance as\nrequired under KRS 158.6453;\n(g) Financial audits, audit procedures, and audit requirements under KRS\n156.265;\n(h) Open records and open meeting requirements under KRS Chapter 61;\n(i) Purchasing requirements and limitations under KRS Chapter 45A and KRS\n156.074 and 156.480; or\n(j) Requiring instructional time that is at least equivalent to the student\ninstructional year specified in KRS 158.070.\n(2) A waiver request under subsection (1) of this section shall:\n(a) Identify the specific statutes and administrative regulations for which the local\nboard is seeking a waiver;\n(b) Specify the schools or programs within the district to which the waiver shall\napply;\n(c) Explain how the waiver for the schools or programs of each specific statute or\nadministrative regulation will improve operations or student academic\nachievement; and\n(d) Include any evidence the district wishes to submit to support the request.\n(3) A local board may reques t the Kentucky Department of Education to assist in the\ndevelopment of a waiver request. To receive assistance, a local board shall provide\nthe department with a list of innovative practices the local board intends to submit\nin a waiver request. The depart ment shall provide a timely analysis of the list to the\nlocal board that identifies which statutes and administrative regulations under the\nauthority of the state board or the Education Professional Standards Board, if any,\nwould need to be waived to allow the innovative practice.\n(4) The department may provide the state board an analysis of a waiver request to assist\nthe state board with consideration of the waiver request. However, if the waiver\nrequest was previously analyzed by the department while assisting under subsection\n(3) of this section and has not been modified, then the analysis for the state board\nshall be consistent with the completed analysis for the local board. The department\nand the commissioner shall not recommend approval or denial to t he state board,\nbut may provide the benefits and disadvantages of approving the waiver request.\n(5) Upon the majority vote of a local board approving a waiver request, the\nsuperintendent of the district or the local board's designee shall submit the waiver\nrequest to the state board. The state board shall consider the waiver of each statute\nor administrative regulation included in the request at a meeting occurring no later\nthan thirty (30) calendar days after submission and shall either approve or deny the\nrequest. In considering approval for each statute or administrative regulation\nidentified in a waiver request, the state board shall grant the request if, when\nconsidered in conjunction with the findings and declarations of KRS 156.1613, the\nwaiver request reasonably demonstrates that approval is more likely than not:\n(a) To improve that school's or program's operation without hindering student\nacademic achievement; or\n(b) To improve student academic achievement at that school or program.\n(6) In submittin g a waiver request for consideration under subsection (5) of this\nsection, a local board may seek to identify the school or program that is the subject\nof the request as a school of innovation for the purposes of providing innovative\neducational opportunities to students. An application for identification as a school\nof innovation may also incorporate any waivers previously approved and in effect\nunder this section or KRS 156.1611. The state board shall approve the request to be\nidentified as a school of innovation if the request demonstrates that all the approved\nwaivers under this section and KRS 156.1611 attempt to improve student outcomes\nin a manner that would be difficult or impossible without the approved waivers.\nNotwithstanding any previous expirati on date, the waivers incorporated in the\nidentification as a school of innovation shall expire on June 30 of the third full\nschool year after the identification is made.\n(7) A local board whose request to waive a statute or administrative regulation under\nsubsection (5) or (6) of this section was denied may amend the original request for\nreconsideration at the state board's next regularly scheduled meeting.\n(8) A local board may seek to amend a previously approved waiver request by\nsubmitting the amendment for approval by the state board under the same\nprocedures as the original request.\n(9) A local board that is granted a waiver under subsection (5) or (6) of this section\nmay submit a request to renew the waiver to the state board. A renewal request shall\nbe submitted no earlier than six (6) months prior to that waiver's expiration. The\nrenewal request shall include evidence of the operational improvement of the\nschool or program that is subject to the waiver, the academic achievement of the\nstudents enrolle d in the schools or program, comparisons of those students with\nsimilar students across the state, and any other evidence of the waiver's benefit to\nstudent academic achievement. If the state board finds that the waiver has had a\npositive impact on the school's or program's operation or the academic achievement\nof students, then the renewal request shall be approved. An approved renewal\nrequest shall extend the waiver for an additional three (3) school years. However, a\nwaiver related to school district fac ility projects, as identified in subsection (1) of\nthis section, shall not expire unless the state board specifically provides for\nexpiration when granting the waiver.\n(10) Any school that is subject to a waiver shall admit any and all children eligible to\nattend the school subject to the local board's policies.\n(11) If the state board at any time finds by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote that a specific\nwaiver previously granted has hindered school or program operations, endangered\nstudents, impeded studen t academic achievement, or supported financial\nmalfeasance or criminal activity, then the waiver shall be rescinded. The existence\nof a waiver shall not negate the legal duties or professional responsibilities of a\ndistrict employee.\n(12) The Kentucky Boar d of Education, the commissioner of education, and the\nKentucky Department of Education shall not penalize a school district for an action\nthat violates a statute or administrative regulation if:\n(a) The action was described in a request for assistance un der subsection (3) of\nthis section; and\n(b) The analysis of the request for assistance submitted to the district by the\ndepartment:\n1. Indicated that the action would not violate any statute or administrative\nregulation in existence at the time of the analysis; or\n2. Did not include the statute or administrative regulation in existence at\nthe time of the analysis and the exact request for assistance was\napproved as a waiver request by the Kentucky Board of Education.\n(13) The state board shall promulgate ad ministrative regulations in accordance with\nKRS Chapter 13A to adopt a standardized waiver request form and establish any\nprocedures for processing waiver requests in compliance with this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 156"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=58084","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:59Z","sha256":"69a6ee4296ee01e929b9d90df10b862f87ae4c4d860c7ed4e8bca2fb4d41da3d","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-156.160","next":"us-ky/krs-156.1611"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}