{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-161.030","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 161.030","heading":"Certification authority -- Assessments of beginning teachers and teachers","body":"seeking additional certification -- Conditional certificates -- Temporary\ncertificates -- Emeritus and exception certificates.\n(1) Notwithstanding the age of th e pupil, the certification of all teachers and other\nschool personnel, in public schools only, is vested in the Education Professional\nStandards Board. When so certified, teachers and other school personnel shall not\nbe required to have licensure, certific ation, or other forms of approval from any\nother state agency for the performance of their respective assignments within the\nsystem of public schools, except as provided for by law. All certificates authorized\nunder KRS 161.010 to 161.126 shall be issued i n accordance with the\nadministrative regulations of the Education Professional Standards Board. After\nJuly 15, 1994, all certificate applications and other data collection instruments of\nthe board shall include a request for voluntary information about the  applicant's\nethnic background. This information shall be available to help local school districts\nlocate minority candidates. A person who holds a certificate prior to this\nrequirement may request that ethnic information be added to his or her file. Nothing\nin this section shall preclude the right of an individual in a nonpublic school from\nseeking voluntary certification by the Education Professional Standards Board.\n(2) Certificates shall be issued upon written application and in accordance with statutes\nand regulations in effect at the time of application to persons who have completed,\nat colleges, universities, or local school district programs approved by the\nEducation Professional Standards Board for the preparation of teachers and other\nschool personnel, the curricula prescribed by the administrative regulations of the\nEducation Professional Standards Board.\n(3) (a) Certification of all new teachers and teachers seeking additional certification\nshall require the successful completion of appropriate as sessments prior to\ncertification. The assessments shall be selected by the Education Professional\nStandards Board and shall measure knowledge in the specific teaching field of\nthe applicant, including content of the field and teaching of that content. The\nEducation Professional Standards Board shall determine the minimum\nacceptable level of achievement on each assessment. The assessments shall\nmeasure those concepts, ideas, and facts which are being taught in teacher\neducation programs in Kentucky. Upon suc cessful completion of the\nassessments and the approved teacher preparation program, a professional\ncertificate valid for five (5) years shall be issued.\n(b) If an applicant for teacher certification has completed the approved teacher\npreparation program an d has taken but failed to successfully complete the\nappropriate assessments selected by the Education Professional Standards\nBoard, a conditional certificate may be issued for a period not to exceed one\n(1) year. The employing school district, in collabora tion with the teacher\neducation institution, shall provide technical assistance and mentoring support\nto the conditionally certified teacher. The teacher shall retake the assessments\nduring the validity period of the conditional certificate. The conditiona l\ncertificate shall not be reissued. Upon successful completion of the required\nassessments, a professional certificate valid for five (5) years shall be issued.\nThe Education Professional Standards Board shall promulgate administrative\nregulations to esta blish the standards and procedures for issuance of a\nconditional certificate.\n(c) If an out -of-state teacher with less than two (2) years' experience comes to\nKentucky after the deadline for taking the assessments, a temporary certificate\nmay be issued for  a period up to six (6) months. The teacher shall take the\nassessments during the period of the temporary certificate. If the teacher fails\nthe assessments, the temporary certificate shall be valid only for the current\nsemester. If the teacher passes the a ssessments, a professional certificate valid\nfor five (5) years shall be issued.\n(4) A reasonable fee to be paid by the teacher and directly related to the actual cost of\nthe administration of the assessments shall be established by the Education\nProfessional Standards Board. Provisions shall be made for persons having less than\nminimum levels of performance on any assessment to repeat that assessment, and\ncandidates shall be informed of their strengths and weaknesses in the specific\nperformance areas. The Education Professional Standards Board shall provide for\nconfidentiality of the individual assessment scores. Scores shall be available only to\nthe candidate and to the education officials who are responsible for determining\nwhether established certification standards have been met. Scores shall be used only\nin the assessment for certification of new teachers and of out -of-state teachers with\nless than two (2) years of teaching experience who are seeking initial certification\nin Kentucky.\n(5) If an applicant establishes eligibility for a five (5) year professional certificate under\nthe provisions of subsection (3)(a) of this section, the applicant shall also be eligible\nfor the issuance of a certificate for substitute teaching as provided by the\nadministrative regulations of the Education Professional Standards Board.\n(6) (a) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a ten (10) year\nemeritus certificate to an applicant who has:\n1. Retired or will retire not more than one (1) year prior to the expiration\ndate of the certificate;\n2. Met the requirements to receive an emeritus certificate as set forth in\nadministrative regulation promulgated by the Education Professional\nStandards Board; and\n3. Completed the required application unless the provisions of KRS\n161.120 apply.\n(b) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a one (1) time five (5)\nyear exception certificate to an individual:\n1. Whose certificate has expired;\n2. Whose rank upon expiration was Rank I or Rank II;\n3. Who has met the requirements to receive an exception certificate as set\nforth in administrative regulation promulgated by the Education\nProfessional Standards Board;\n4. Who completed three (3) years of cla ssroom instruction prior to the\ncertificate's expiration; and\n5. Who has completed the required application unless the provisions of\nKRS 161.120 apply.\n(c) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a five (5) year\ncertificate to an individual:\n1. Whose certificate has expired;\n2. Who has met the requirements for a certificate or statement of eligibility\nin an administrative regulation promulgated by the Education\nProfessional Standards Board; and\n3. Who submits proof of successful completion of  six (6) credit hours of\ngraduate coursework.\n(d) The Education Professional Standards Board shall issue a one (1) time five (5)\nyear certificate to an individual:\n1. Whose certificate has expired;\n2. Who has met the requirements for a certificate or state ment of eligibility\nin an administrative regulation promulgated by the Education\nProfessional Standards Board; and\n3. Who submits a waiver issued by a school district superintendent\nexempting the applicant from the requirement to submit proof of\nsuccessful completion of six (6) credit hours of graduate coursework\nunder paragraph (c)3. of this subsection.\n(7) The Education Professional Standards Board shall approve the curricula of any\ncollege or university, or of any department thereof, for the training of teachers, and\nany nontraditional or alternative teacher preparation program offered in a public or\nprivate postsecondary education institution, private contractor, or state agency, and\nshall also approve the curricula of any local district alternative cert ification\nprogram, when the curricula comply with the administrative regulations of the\nEducation Professional Standards Board for the issuance of certificates and when\nthe institution has met the terms and conditions provided in KRS 161.010 to\n161.120. Any student who has completed any of these curricula, as approved by the\nEducation Professional Standards Board, and who has completed the prescribed\nrequirements for the issuance of certificates shall be granted a certificate\ncorresponding to the curricula completed.\n(8) The issuance of any certificate, except emergency certificates issued pursuant to\nKRS 161.100, by the Education Professional Standards Board shall not be\ndependent upon an offer of employment. The certification process, except for\nemergency certificates, is independent of any job prospects and certification shall\nbe awarded on the basis of completing a teacher preparation program or an\nalternative certification pathway and passing required assessments.","path":["KRS Chapter 161"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=58158","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:09Z","sha256":"506ebf116e33e0df4aa41e1336a3ee14f023857528f9cc263008aaff4e3c0197","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-161.028","next":"us-ky/krs-161.031"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}