Would allow persistently low-achieving schools to convert to innovative charter school format

Senate Bill 211 passed its first hurdle today in the Kentucky Senate’s Education Committee. In a 7 to 4 vote, the bill now moves to the full Kentucky Senate for discussion and further action.

CN|2’s Don Weber provides a quick overview of today’s action. Webber’s article contains this short video extract of comments from the Education Committee chair Sen. Mike Wilson

I captured Sen. Wilson’s full remarks and will post that here soon.

Very briefly, SB-211 will:

“Create new sections of KRS Chapter 160 to permit a local board of education to designate a persistently low-achieving school as a charter school and solicit applications for a governing board; permit a persistently low-achieving school to petition for conversion to a charter school; establish definitions and requirements for a charter school; establish charter school application process; create a new section of KRS Chapter 156 to require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations for charter school appeals, implementation, and reporting; create a new section of KRS Chapter 161 to clarify charter school employee benefits; amend KRS 160.346 to add a "charter school option" as a school intervention for persistently low achieving schools.”

I’ll have more on this important development tomorrow.