While teachers and students across the Commonwealth are holding on tight to their final days of summer, the action in Frankfort and beyond just keeps coming. The Kentucky Board of Education has a new chairman, but he’s no first-timer in Frankfort. Interim Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis has a deal for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), one of the largest districts in the…
Tag: Education Policy
The Good, The Bad, and The Not-So-Terrible: What’s Happening to Kentucky Teacher Pensions
This article originally appeared in teacherpensions.org. This week, thousands of Kentucky teachers marched in the state capitol in response to a prospective change in retirement benefits and general concern with the state budget. While their budget and salary concerns are real, the retirement plan reform is necessary, and will in the long run be good for Kentucky and the state’s next generation of…
Illusion of ESSA Flexibility Fades as Federal Reviews Clarify Prescriptive Nature of New Education Law
In a recent speech she titled “Tough Love,” U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said states’ plans for holding schools accountable for progress in student achievement under the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) are not ambitious enough, lacking innovation, and not taking full advantage of the law’s flexibilities. While I am certain no state plan is perfect in…
The Pension Bill Dropped This Week. Here Are The Quick Facts.
After months of speculation, we’ve finally got a pension bill. And it’s a doozy. Senate Bill 1 was introduced this past Wednesday by Sen. Joe Bowen (R-Owensboro), who says the 30-year plan will effectively save the state’s public pension system. It differs wildly from Gov. Bevin’s proposal back in October, which would have raised the retirement age and switched teachers’…