{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-7.410","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 7.410","heading":"Office of Education Accountability -- Deputy director of LRC to administer -","body":"- Duties of office -- Relations with other entities -- Annual research agenda --\nConfidentiality of testimony, work products, and records.\n(1) It is the intent of the General As sembly to provide an efficient system of common\nschools which shall be operated without waste, duplication, mismanagement, and\npolitical influence. The system of schools shall have the goal of providing all\nstudents with at least the seven (7) capacities referred to in KRS 158.645.\n(2) (a) An Office of Education Accountability is hereby created and shall be under\nthe direction of the Legislative Research Commission and shall be advised\nand monitored by the Education Assessment and Accountability Review\nSubcommittee.\n(b) The Office of Education Accountability shall be administered by a deputy\ndirector appointed by the Legislative Research Commission upon\nrecommendation of the director of the Legislative Research Commission. The\ndeputy director shall have the qualifications set by the Commission. The\nsalary of the deputy director shall be set by the Commission. The Commission\nshall have exclusive jurisdiction over the employment of personnel necessary\nto carry out the provisions of this section. The deputy dire ctor shall be subject\nto the direction of and report to the director of the Legislative Research\nCommission.\n(c) The Office of Education Accountability shall have the following duties and\nresponsibilities:\n1. Monitor the elementary and secondary public edu cation system,\nincluding actions taken and reports issued by the Kentucky Board of\nEducation, the Education Professional Standards Board, the\ncommissioner of education, the Department of Education, and local\nschool districts. Upon and under the direction o f the Education\nAssessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee, the monitoring\nof the elementary and secondary public education system shall also\ninclude periodic reviews of local district and school -based decision\nmaking policies relating to the recrui tment, interviewing, selection,\nevaluation, termination, or promotion of personnel. The office shall\nreport any district or school when evidence demonstrates a pattern of\nexclusionary personnel practices relating to race or sex to the Kentucky\nDepartment o f Education, which shall then independently investigate\nfacts raised in or associated with the report. The results of the\ninvestigation conducted by the department shall be forwarded to the\nKentucky Board of Education which shall conduct an investigative\nhearing on the matter.\n2. Upon and under the direction of the Education Assessment and\nAccountability Review Subcommittee, review the elementary and\nsecondary public education finance system. The review shall include an\nanalysis of the level of equity achie ved by the funding system and\nwhether adequate funds are available to all school districts and an\nanalysis of the weights of various education program components\ndeveloped by the Department of Education. The review may also include\nrecommendations for the base per pupil funding for the Support\nEducation Excellence in Kentucky Program and a statewide salary\nschedule, and studies of other finance issues identified by the Education\nAssessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee.\n3. Upon and under the direct ion of the Education Assessment and\nAccountability Review Subcommittee, verify the accuracy of reports of\nschool, district, and state performance by conducting, requesting, or\nupon approval of the Legislative Research Commission, contracting for\nperiodic program and fiscal audits. Upon and under the direction of the\nEducation Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee, the\nOffice of Education Accountability shall monitor and verify the accuracy\nof reports of the Department of Education and the Kentuc ky Board of\nEducation, including but not limited to the annual fiscal conditions of\ngrants, categorical programs, and other educational initiatives set forth\nby the General Assembly.\n4. Investigate allegations of wrongdoing of any person or agency, including\nbut not limited to waste, duplication, mismanagement, political\ninfluence, and illegal activity at the state, regional, or school district\nlevel; make appropriate referrals to other agencies with jurisdiction over\nthose allegations; and make recommendat ions for legislative action to\nthe Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee.\nUpon acceptance by the subcommittee, recommendations for legislative\naction shall be forwarded to the Legislative Research Commission. The\nOffice of Education A ccountability shall submit to the subcommittee,\nfor each of its regular meetings, a report that summarizes investigative\nactivity initiated pursuant to this subparagraph. The subcommittee may\nconsider each report as it determines and in its discretion. Eac h report,\nand the consideration thereof by the subcommittee, shall be exempt from\nthe open records and open meetings requirements contained in KRS\nChapter 61.\n5. Upon and under the direction of the Education Assessment and\nAccountability Review Subcommitte e, conduct studies, analyze, verify,\nand validate the state assessment program through other external\nindicators of academic progress including but not limited to American\nCollege Test scores, Scholastic Assessment Test scores, National\nAssessment of Educa tional Progress scores, Preliminary Scholastic\nAssessment Test scores, Advanced Placement Program participation,\nstandardized test scores, college remediation rates, retention and\nattendance rates, dropout rates, and additional available data on the\nefficiency of the system of schools and whether progress is being made\ntoward attaining the goal of providing students with the seven (7)\ncapacities as required by KRS 158.645.\n6. Make periodic reports to the Education Assessment and Accountability\nReview Subcom mittee as directed by the subcommittee. Upon\nacceptance by the subcommittee, the reports shall be forwarded to the\nLegislative Research Commission.\n7. Make periodic reports to the Legislative Research Commission as may\nbe directed by the Commission.\n8. Prepare an annual report, which shall consist of a summary of the status\nand results of the current year annual research agenda provided in\nparagraph (d) of this subsection, a summary of completed investigative\nactivity conducted pursuant to subparagraph 4 . of this paragraph, and\nother items of significance as determined by the Education Assessment\nand Accountability Review Subcommittee. The annual report shall be\nsubmitted to the Education Assessment and Accountability Review\nSubcommittee. Upon acceptance by the subcommittee, the annual report\nshall be submitted to the Governor, the Legislative Research\nCommission, and the Kentucky Board of Education.\n(d) On or before December 1 of each calendar year, the Education Assessment\nand Accountability Review Subco mmittee shall adopt the annual research\nagenda for the Office of Education Accountability. The annual research\nagenda may include studies, research, and investigations considered to be\nsignificant by the Education Assessment and Accountability Review\nSubcommittee. Staff of the Office of Education Accountability shall prepare a\nsuggested list of study and research topics related to elementary and secondary\npublic education for consideration by the Education Assessment and\nAccountability Review Subcommittee i n the development of the annual\nresearch agenda. An adopted annual research agenda shall be amended to\ninclude any studies mandated by the next succeeding General Assembly for\ncompletion by the Office of Education Accountability.\n(e) The Office of Education Accountability shall have access to all public records\nand information on oath as provided in KRS 7.110. The office shall also have\naccess to otherwise confidential records, meetings, and hearings regarding\nlocal school district personnel matters. Howeve r, the office shall not disclose\nany information contained in or derived from the records, meetings, and\nhearings that would enable the discovery of the specific identification of any\nindividual who is the focus or subject of the personnel matter.\n(f) In c ompliance with KRS 48.800, 48.950, and 48.955, the Finance and\nAdministration Cabinet and the Governor's Office for Policy and Management\nshall provide to the Office of Education Accountability access to all\ninformation and records, other than preliminary work papers, relating to\nallotment of funds, whether by usual allotment or by other means, to the\nDepartment of Education, local school districts, and to other recipients of\nfunds for educational purposes.\n(g) Any state agency receiving a complaint or information which, if accurate, may\nidentify a violation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, 1990 Ky.\nActs ch. 476, shall notify the office of the complaint or information.\n(h) The Office of Education Accountability may contract for services as appro ved\nby the Legislative Research Commission pursuant to KRS 7.090(8).\n(3) The provisions of KRS 61.878 or any other statute, including Acts of the 1992\nRegular Session of the General Assembly to the contrary notwithstanding, the\ntestimony of investigators, work products, and records of the Office of Education\nAccountability relating to duties and responsibilities under subsection (2) of this\nsection shall be privileged and confidential during the course of an ongoing\ninvestigation or until authorized, releas ed, or otherwise made public by the Office\nof Education Accountability and shall not be subject to discovery, disclosure, or\nproduction upon the order or subpoena of a court or other agency with subpoena\npower.","path":["KRS Chapter 7"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=43310","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:26Z","sha256":"ef1ea38b5aa7e36bafe67b1801da8dfa3bade265e5b93886afdb2189766e1a5f","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-7.380","next":"us-ky/krs-7.420"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}