{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-160.345","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 160.345","heading":"Definitions -- Required adoption of school councils for school -based","body":"decision making -- Composition -- Responsibilities -- Personnel decisions --\nProcedures to fill vacancy in principal position -- Professional development --\nExemption -- Formula for allocation of school district funds -- Intentionally\nengaging in conduct detrimental to school -based decision making by board\nmember, superintendent, district employee, or school council member --\nComplaint procedure -- Disciplinary action -- Rescission of right to establish\nand powers of council -- Wellness policy.\n(1) For the purpose of this section:\n(a) \"Minority\" means American Indian; Alaskan native; African -American;\nHispanic, including persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central  or\nSouth American origin; Pacific islander; or other ethnic group\nunderrepresented in the school;\n(b) \"School\" means an elementary or secondary educational institution that is\nunder the administrative control of a principal and is not a program or part of\nanother school. The term \"school\" does not include district -operated schools\nthat are:\n1. Exclusively vocational -technical, special education, or preschool\nprograms;\n2. Instructional programs operated in institutions or schools outside of the\ndistrict; or\n3. Alternative schools designed to provide services to at -risk populations\nwith unique needs;\n(c) \"Teacher\" means any person for whom certification is required as a basis of\nemployment in the public schools of the state, with the exception of principals\nand assistant principals; and\n(d) \"Parent\" means:\n1. A parent, stepparent, or foster parent of a student; or\n2. A person who has legal custody of a student pursuant to a court order\nand with whom the student resides.\n(2) Each local board of education shall adopt a policy for implementing school -based\ndecision making in the district which shall include but not be lim ited to a\ndescription of how the district's policies, including those developed pursuant to\nKRS 160.340, have been amended to allow the professional staff members of a\nschool to be involved in the decision -making process as they work to meet\neducational go als established in KRS 158.645 and 158.6451. The policy may\ninclude a requirement that each school council make an annual report at a public\nmeeting of the board describing the school's progress in meeting the educational\ngoals set forth in KRS 158.6451 an d district goals established by the board. The\npolicy shall also address and comply with the following:\n(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b)2. of this subsection, each participating\nschool shall form a school council composed of two (2) parents, three ( 3)\nteachers, and the principal or administrator. The membership of the council\nmay be increased, but it may only be increased proportionately. A parent\nrepresentative on the council shall not be an employee or a relative of an\nemployee of the school in whi ch that parent serves, nor shall the parent\nrepresentative be an employee or a relative of an employee in the district\nadministrative offices. A parent representative shall not be a local board\nmember or a board member's spouse. None of the members shall h ave a\nconflict of interest pursuant to KRS Chapter 45A, except the salary paid to\ndistrict employees;\n(b) 1. The teacher representatives shall be elected for one (1) year terms by a\nmajority of the teachers. A teacher elected to a school council shall not\nbe involuntarily transferred during the teacher representative's term of\noffice. The parent representatives shall be elected for one (1) year terms.\nThe parent members shall be elected by the parents of students\npreregistered to attend the school during the term of office in an election\nconducted by the parent and teacher organization of the school or, if\nnone exists, the largest organization of parents formed for this purpose.\nCouncil elections may allow voting to occur over multiple days and via\nelectronic means. A school council, once elected, may adopt a policy\nsetting different terms of office for parent and teacher members\nsubsequently elected. The principal shall be the chair of the school\ncouncil.\n2. School councils in schools having eight percent (8 %) or more minority\nstudents enrolled, as determined by the enrollment on the preceding\nOctober 1, shall have at least one (1) minority member. If the council\nformed under paragraph (a) of this subsection does not have a minority\nmember, the principal, in a timely manner, shall be responsible for\ncarrying out the following:\na. Organizing a special election to elect an additional member. The\nprincipal shall call for nominations and shall notify the parents of\nthe students of the date, time, and location of the election to elect a\nminority parent to the council by ballot; and\nb. Allowing the teachers in the building to select one (1) minority\nteacher to serve as a teacher member on the council. If there are no\nminority teachers who are members of the faculty, an additional\nteacher member shall be elected by a majority of all teachers.\nTerm limitations shall not apply for a minority teacher member\nwho is the only minority on faculty;\n(c) 1. The school council shall have the responsibility to set school policy th at\nshall be consistent with district board policy and which shall provide an\nenvironment to enhance the students' achievement and help the school\nmeet the goals established by KRS 158.645 and 158.6451 and goals for\nthe district established by the board. Th e principal shall be the primary\nadministrator and the instructional leader of the school, and with the\nassistance of the total school staff shall administer the policies\nestablished by the school council and the local board.\n2. If a school council establi shes committees, it shall adopt a policy to\nfacilitate the participation of interested persons, including, but not\nlimited to, classified employees and parents. The policy shall include the\nnumber of committees, their jurisdiction, composition, and the pro cess\nfor membership selection;\n(d) The school council and each of its committees shall determine the frequency\nof and agenda for their meetings. Matters relating to formation of school\ncouncils that are not provided for by this section shall be addressed b y local\nboard policy;\n(e) The meetings of the school council shall be open to the public and all\ninterested persons may attend. However, the exceptions to open meetings\nprovided in KRS 61.810 shall apply;\n(f) After receiving notification of the funds available for the school from the local\nboard, the school council shall determine, within the parameters of the total\navailable funds, the number of persons to be employed in each job\nclassification at the school. The council may make personnel decisions on\nvacancies occurring after the school council is formed but shall not have the\nauthority to recommend transfers or dismissals;\n(g) The local superintendent shall determine which curriculum, textbooks,\ninstructional materials, and student support services shall  be provided in the\nschool after consulting with the local board of education, the school principal,\nand the school council and after a reasonable review and response period for\nstakeholders in accordance with local board of education policy. Subject to\navailable resources, the local board shall allocate an appropriation to each\nschool that is adequate to meet the school's needs related to instructional\nmaterials and school -based student support services, as determined by the\nschool principal after consultation with the school council. The school council\nshall consult with the school media librarian on the maintenance of the school\nlibrary media center, including the purchase of instructional materials,\ninformation technology, and equipment;\n(h) Personnel decisions at the school level shall be as follows:\n1. From a list of qualified applicants submitted by the local superintendent,\nthe principal at the participating school shall select personnel to fill\nvacancies, after consultation with the school council, c onsistent with\nparagraph (i)11. of this subsection. The superintendent shall provide\nadditional applicants to the principal upon request when qualified\napplicants are available. The superintendent may forward to the school\nprincipal the names of qualified applicants who have pending\ncertification from the Education Professional Standards Board based on\nrecent completion of preparation requirements, out -of-state preparation,\nor alternative routes to certification pursuant to KRS 161.028 and\n161.048. Requests for transfer shall conform to any employer -employee\nbargained contract which is in effect;\n2. If the vacancy to be filled is the position of principal:\na. The superintendent shall fill the vacancy after consultation with\nthe school council consistent with  paragraph (i)11. of this\nsubsection;\nb. Prior to consultation with the school council, each member shall\nsign a nondisclosure agreement forbidding the disclosure of\ninformation shared and discussions held during consultation;\nc. A person who believes a vi olation of the nondisclosure agreement\nreferred to in subdivision b. of this subparagraph has occurred may\nfile a written complaint with the Kentucky Board of Education;\nand\nd. A school council member found to have violated the nondisclosure\nagreement referred to in subdivision b. of this subparagraph may\nbe subject to removal from the school council by the Kentucky\nBoard of Education under subsection (9)(e) of this section;\n3. Notwithstanding subparagraph 2. of this paragraph, if the vacancy to be\nfilled is the position of principal in a county school district in a county\nwith a consolidated local government adopted under KRS Chapter 67C,\nthen:\na. The outgoing principal shall not serve on the council during the\nprincipal selection process. The superintenden t or the\nsuperintendent's designee shall serve as the chair of the council for\nthe purpose of the hiring process and shall have voting rights\nduring the selection process;\nb. The council shall have access to the applications of all persons\ncertified for th e position. The principal shall be elected on a\nmajority vote of the membership of the council. The school\ncouncil shall receive training in recruitment and interviewing\ntechniques prior to carrying out the process of selecting a\nprincipal. The council sha ll select the trainer to deliver the\ntraining; and\nc. Notwithstanding the requirement that a principal be elected by a\nmajority vote of the council, the selection of a principal shall be\nsubject to approval by the superintendent. If the superintendent\ndoes not approve the principal selected by the council, then the\nsuperintendent may select the principal;\n4. No principal who has been previously removed from a position in the\ndistrict for cause may be considered for appointment as principal in that\ndistrict;\n5. Personnel decisions made at the school level under the authority of\nsubparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall be binding on the superintendent\nwho completes the hiring process;\n6. Applicants subsequently employed shall provide evidence that they are\ncertified prior to assuming the duties of a position in accordance with\nKRS 161.020; and\n7. Notwithstanding o ther provisions of this paragraph, if the applicant is\nthe spouse of the superintendent and the applicant meets the service\nrequirements of KRS 160.380(3)(a), the applicant shall only be\nemployed upon the recommendation of the principal and the approval of\na majority vote of the school council;\n(i) The school council shall adopt a policy that shall be consistent with local\nboard policy and shall be implemented by the principal in the following\nadditional areas:\n1. Curriculum responsibilities under KRS 158.6453(19);\n2. Assignment of all instructional and noninstructional staff time;\n3. Assignment of students to classes and programs within the school;\n4. Determination of the schedule of the school day and week, subject to the\nbeginning and ending times of the school day and school calendar year\nas established by the local board;\n5. Determination of use of school space during the school day related to\nimproving classroom teaching and learning;\n6. Planning and resolution of issues regarding instructional practices;\n7. Selection and implementation of discipline and classroom management\ntechniques as a part of a comprehensive school safety plan, including\nresponsibilities of the student, parent, teacher, counselor, and principal;\n8. Selection of extracurricular prog rams and determination of policies\nrelating to student participation based on academic qualifications and\nattendance requirements, program evaluation, and supervision;\n9. Adoption of an emergency plan as required in KRS 158.162;\n10. Procedures, consistent with local school board policy, for determining\nalignment with state standards, technology utilization, and program\nappraisal; and\n11. Procedures to assist the council with consultation in the selection of the\nprincipal by the superintendent, and the selec tion of personnel by the\nprincipal, including but not limited to meetings, timelines, interviews,\nreview of written applications, and review of references. Procedures\nshall address situations in which members of the council are not\navailable for consultation; and\n(j) Each school council shall annually review data as shown on state and local\nstudent assessments required under KRS 158.6453. The data shall include but\nnot be limited to information on performance levels of all students tested, and\ninformation o n the performance of students disaggregated by race, gender,\ndisability, and participation in the federal free and reduced price lunch\nprogram. After completing the review of data, each school council, with the\ninvolvement of parents, faculty, and staff, s hall develop and adopt a plan to\nensure that each student makes progress toward meeting the goals set forth in\nKRS 158.645 and 158.6451(1)(b) by April 1 of each year and submit the plan\nto the superintendent and local board of education for review as descr ibed in\nKRS 160.340. The Kentucky Department of Education shall provide each\nschool council the data needed to complete the review required by this\nparagraph no later than October 1 of each year. If a school does not have a\ncouncil, the review shall be com pleted by the principal with the involvement\nof parents, faculty, and staff.\n(3) The policies adopted by the local board to implement school-based decision making\nshall also address the following:\n(a) School budget and administration, including: discretion ary funds; activity and\nother school funds; funds for maintenance, supplies, and equipment; and\nprocedures for authorizing reimbursement for training and other expenses;\n(b) Assessment of individual student progress, including testing and reporting of\nstudent progress to students, parents, the school district, the community, and\nthe state;\n(c) School improvement plans, including the form and function of strategic\nplanning and its relationship to district planning, as well as the school safety\nplan and reque sts for funding from the Center for School Safety under KRS\n158.446;\n(d) Professional development plans developed pursuant to KRS 156.095;\n(e) Parent, citizen, and community participation including the relationship of the\ncouncil with other groups;\n(f) Cooperation and collaboration within the district, with other districts, and with\nother public and private agencies;\n(g) Requirements for waiver of district policies;\n(h) Requirements for record keeping by the school council; and\n(i) A process for appealing a decision made by a school council.\n(4) In addition to the authority granted to the school council in this section, the local\nboard may grant to the school council any other authority permitted by law. The\nboard shall make availabl e liability insurance coverage for the protection of all\nmembers of the school council from liability arising in the course of pursuing their\nduties as members of the council.\n(5) All schools shall implement school -based decision making in accordance with this\nsection and with the policy adopted by the local board pursuant to this section.\nUpon favorable vote of a majority of the faculty at the school and a majority of at\nleast twenty -five (25) voting parents of students enrolled in the school, a school\nmeeting its goal as determined by the Department of Education pursuant to KRS\n158.6455 may apply to the Kentucky Board of Education for exemption from the\nrequirement to implement school -based decision making, and the state board shall\ngrant the exemption. Th e voting by the parents on the matter of exemption from\nimplementing school -based decision making shall be in an election conducted by\nthe parent and teacher organization of the school or, if none exists, the largest\norganization of parents formed for this  purpose. Notwithstanding the provisions of\nthis section, a local school district shall not be required to implement school -based\ndecision making if the local school district contains only one (1) school.\n(6) The Department of Education shall provide profe ssional development activities to\nassist schools in implementing school -based decision making. School council\nmembers elected for the first time shall complete a minimum of six (6) clock hours\nof training in the process of school -based decision making, no later than thirty (30)\ndays after the beginning of the service year for which they are elected to serve.\nSchool council members who have served on a school council at least one (1) year\nshall complete a minimum of three (3) clock hours of training in the p rocess of\nschool-based decision making no later than one hundred twenty (120) days after the\nbeginning of the service year for which they are elected to serve. Experienced\nmembers may participate in the training for new members to fulfill their training\nrequirement. School council training required under this subsection shall be\nconducted by trainers endorsed by the Department of Education. By November 1 of\neach year, the principal through the local superintendent shall forward to the\nDepartment of Educatio n the names and addresses of each council member and\nverify that the required training has been completed. School council members\nelected to fill a vacancy shall complete the applicable training within thirty (30)\ndays of their election.\n(7) A school that chooses to have school -based decision making but would like to be\nexempt from the administrative structure set forth by this section may develop a\nmodel for implementing school-based decision making, including but not limited to\na description of the member ship, organization, duties, and responsibilities of a\nschool council. The school shall submit the model through the local board of\neducation to the commissioner of education and the Kentucky Board of Education,\nwhich shall have final authority for approval . The application for approval of the\nmodel shall show evidence that it has been developed by representatives of the\nparents, students, certified personnel, and the administrators of the school and that\ntwo-thirds (2/3) of the faculty have agreed to the model.\n(8) The Kentucky Board of Education, upon recommendation of the commissioner of\neducation, shall adopt by administrative regulation a formula by which school\ndistrict funds shall be allocated to each school council. Included in the school\ncouncil formula shall be an allocation for professional development that is at least\nsixty-five percent (65%) of the district's per pupil state allocation for professional\ndevelopment for each student in average daily attendance in the school. The school\ncouncil shall  plan professional development in compliance with requirements\nspecified in KRS 156.095, except as provided in KRS 158.649. School councils of\nsmall schools shall be encouraged to work with other school councils to maximize\nprofessional development opportunities.\n(9) (a) No board member, superintendent of schools, district employee, or member of\na school council shall intentionally engage in a pattern of practice which is\ndetrimental to the successful implementation of or circumvents the intent of\nschool-based decision making to allow the professional staff members of a\nschool and parents to be involved in the decision making process in working\ntoward meeting the educational goals established in KRS 158.645 and\n158.6451 or to make decisions in areas of polic y assigned to a school council\npursuant to paragraph (i) of subsection (2) of this section.\n(b) An affected party who believes a violation of this subsection has occurred\nmay file a written complaint with the Office of Education Accountability. The\noffice shall investigate the complaint and resolve the conflict, if possible, or\nforward the matter to the Kentucky Board of Education.\n(c) The Kentucky Board of Education shall conduct a hearing in accordance with\nKRS Chapter 13B for complaints referred by the O ffice of Education\nAccountability.\n(d) If the state board determines a violation has occurred, the party shall be\nsubject to reprimand. A second violation of this subsection may be grounds\nfor removing a superintendent or a member of a school council from office or\ngrounds for dismissal of an employee for misconduct in office or willful\nneglect of duty.\n(e) Notwithstanding paragraph (d) of this subsection and KRS 7.410(2)(c), if the\nstate board determines a violation of the nondisclosure agreement required by\nsubsection (2)(h)2.b. of this section by a school council member has occurred,\nthe state board shall remove the member from the school council, and the\nmember shall be permanently prohibited from serving on any school council\nin the district.\n(10) Notwithstanding subsections (1) to (9) of this section, a school's right to establish or\nmaintain a school -based decision making council and the powers, duties, and\nauthority granted to a school council may be rescinded or the school council's role\nmay be advis ory if the commissioner of education or the Kentucky Board of\nEducation takes action under KRS 160.346.\n(11) Each school council of a school containing grades K -5 or any combination thereof,\nor if there is no school council, the principal, shall develop an d implement a\nwellness policy that includes moderate to vigorous physical activity each day and\nencourages healthy choices among students. The policy may permit physical\nactivity to be considered part of the instructional day, not to exceed thirty (30)\nminutes per day, or one hundred and fifty (150) minutes per week. Each school\ncouncil, or if there is no school council, the principal, shall adopt an assessment tool\nto determine each child's level of physical activity on an annual basis. The council\nor principal may utilize an existing assessment program. The Kentucky Department\nof Education shall make available a list of available resources to carry out the\nprovisions of this subsection. The department shall report to the Legislative\nResearch Commission no later than November 1 of each year on how the schools\nare providing physical activity under this subsection and on the types of physical\nactivity being provided. The policy developed by the school council or principal\nshall comply with provisions required by federal law, state law, or local board\npolicy.","path":["KRS Chapter 160"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56270","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:08Z","sha256":"960871773a0b181695199811dd53f2a8417b989c21eed77e9d9c660971e4d467","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-160.340","next":"us-ky/krs-160.346"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}