Summary of Major Provisions

• Establishes Center for School Safety
• Requires districts to report school violence/discipline data
• Disseminates grants for alternative education and other safety strategies
• Mandates needs assessments (‘98-’99) and district plans (‘99-2000)
• Clarifies district discipline codes
• Requires districts to continue education services to expelled students inappropriate settings (except in specific cases)
• Allows administrators, teachers, and staff to immediately remove threatening or violent students from classrooms or district transportation
• Obligates courts to notify principals within five (5) days when students are convicted of specific offenses (assault, sexual offenses, firearms/ weapons, and drugs)
• Requires principals to share court information with student’s classroom teachers and bus driver(s)
• Allows local boards to use at risk student funds to pay a hazardous duty pay supplement to teachers who work in alternative programs serving violent or assaultive students.

Kentucky Center for School Safety
(Governed by 12-member board and located at a public university)
Mission is to serve as central point for data analysis, research, dissemination of information on successful safety strategies, and technical assistance for safe schools.
Specific duties:

• Establish clearinghouse of information/materials on violence prevention
• Provide/Coordinate training, technical assistance, and program development to schools, law enforcement agencies, and communities
• Analyze school safety and discipline data reported by local districts
• Evaluate existing school safety programs
• Administer grants to local districts (‘99-2000)
• Promote interagency efforts to address school discipline and safety issues in collaboration with other post-secondary institutions and juvenile delinquency prevention councils
• Provide annual report to Governor, Kentucky Board of Education, and Interim Joint Committee on Education on status of school safety in Kentucky
• Advise Kentucky Board of Education on administrative policies/regulations

Twelve Board of Directors Appointed by the Governor (7/15/98)
Five (5) State
Level Commissioner/Designee of Department of Education
Commissioner/Designee of Department of Juvenile Justice
Commissioner/Designee of Department for Mental Health/Mental
Retardation Services
Commissioner/Designee of Department for Social Services
Secretary/Designee of Cabinet for Education, Arts, and Humanities

Seven (7) Local
Level Juvenile court judge
Member of local board of education (KY School Boards Assn)
Local school administrator (KY Assn of School Administrators)
Parent representative of school council (KY Assn of School Councils)
Teacher (KY Education Assn)
Classified school employee (KY Education Support Personnel Assn)
School superintendent

• Board shall meet a minimum of four (4) times per year
• Attached to Office of the Secretary, Education, Arts, and Humanities Cabinet
• By 9/15/98, Board shall issue a request for proposals to select a public university to administer Center
• By 1/1/99, Board shall select a site for Center

KDE Shall Establish and Maintain Statewide Data Collection System

Districts required to report following discipline/safety data by sex, age, and grade:

• Incidents of violence/assault against employees and students
• Possession of guns/deadly weapons on school property/functions
• Use/Possession of alcohol, prescription drugs, or controlled substances on school property/functions
• The number of arrests, the charges and pursuit of civil damages by injured parties
• The number of suspensions, expulsions, and corporal punishments
• Required elements of school and district assessment process (Section 6)
• Department shall provide above-referenced data to Center for School
• Safety according to timelines prescribed

Required Elements of School Safety Assessments (Beginning in '98 - '99)

• Reports of school incidents relating to disruptive behaviors
• Review of behavior/discipline codes for clarity and appropriate notice to students/parents
• School’s hierarchy of responses to discipline problems and actual outcomes of discipline incidents
• Staff training needs related to classroom management, student learning styles, and other strategies to engage students and minimize disruptive behavior
• Array of school services available to students at risk of academic failure, dropping out, or truancy
• Early engagement of parents in student discipline problems
• Students' training needs in anger reduction, conflict resolution, peer mediation, and other necessary skills
• Training needs of parents
• Existing SBDM policies on student discipline and student information
• School's physical environment
• School's student supervision plan
• Existing components of school improvement/consolidated plan focusing on school safety and at-risk students as well as the effectiveness of these components
• Other data as determined by council or school administration
• Schools that do not complete assessment are ineligible for funds under school safety grant program in 1999-2000 and subsequent years.

District Assessments
Local districts required to complete assessment (by 5/15/99) based on:

• Individual school assessments
• District-level data, resources, and policies/procedures and district-wide needs
• Community agencies (such as law enforcement and courts) shall be involved in district assessment process

Local Boards Required to Adopt Plan Based on Results of District Assessment

• Actual planning process determined at local level based on size/characteristics of district
• Planning team must include at least one representative from each school and representatives from larger community including local Juvenile
• Delinquency Prevention Council
• District plans shall include:
• Immediate and long-term strategies to address safety and discipline
• District discipline codes
• Description of instructional placement options for threatening or violent students
• District Safety Plans form basis for any grant funds received in 1999- 2000 and subsequent years.

Allocation of Safe School Funds
[As Referenced in H.B. 321 -- Budget Bill]

• Not more than twenty percent (20%) of FY99 funds and not more than ten percent(10%) of FY2000 funds appropriated for safe schools initiatives shall be used to support operations of Center for School Safety.
• Remaining funds for FY99 shall be distributed by KDE as grants to local school districts for appropriate Alternative Education Programs (grant awards based on criteria/guidelines established by KDE). Remaining funds in 1999-2000 shall be distributed by Center for School Safety based on application process established by Center (in collaboration with KDE) and approved by Board of Directors.
• Application process shall include:
• Eligibility guidelines and funding levels for grants
• First priority to those applying for alternative programs

Other eligible programs in 1999-2000 include:

• Community-based programs
• Intensive academic intervention programs
• Programs utilizing school resource officers
• Training for certified and classified staff, students, parents, and community members
• Other violence prevention programs

* Although HB330 provides for funds to be distributed to school districts on a ‘per pupil basis,’ this section was overridden by above section of Budget Bill.

Provisions Additional Day Treatments
By 8/1/2000, Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide (based on available funds) a day treatment program (combining therapeutic and academic services) accessible to every school district in each judicial region of state.

District Code of Acceptable Behavior & Discipline
Local boards responsible for formulating a code of acceptable behavior and discipline to apply to ALL students in each school operated by Board Superintendents (or designee) responsible for overall implementation/supervision of District Discipline Code

• Each school principal responsible for administration/implementation of code within their school
• Boards shall establish process for two-way communication between teachers/staff and principals/supervisors in case of emergencies
• School councils responsible for selecting and implementing appropriate discipline and classroom management techniques necessary for carrying out district code
• (District Code of Acceptable Behavior & Discipline continued)
• Codes contain expectations for student behavior and consequences for failure to meet expectations
• Principals shall apply code uniformly and fairly to each student without partiality or discrimination Code is adopted by Board of Education and posted at each school
• Guidance Counselors provided copies of code for discussion with students
• Code shall be referenced in all school handbooks. All school employees and parents shall be provided copies of code.

Discipline of Violent and Disruptive Students
Local boards required to adopt policies requiring disciplinary actions “up to and including expulsion” for students who:

• Possess prescription drugs or controlled substances for purpose of sale/distribution at school under board’s jurisdiction
• Physically assault, batter, or abuse educational personnel or other students at school/school function

Education Services to Expelled Students

• Local boards required to provide (or assure the provision of) educational services to expelled students in appropriate alternative settings unless the board has made a determination on the record, supported by clear and convincing evidence, that the expelled student poses a threat to safety of other students or school staff and cannot be placed in a state-funded agency program
• Other “intervention services” as indicated for each student, may be provided by the board or through agreement with state or community agencies
• Cost of “intervention services” will be the responsibility of the providing agency

Removal of Threatening Students from Classroom
School administrators, teachers, and other school personnel may immediately remove or cause to be removed threatening or violent students from classroom or district transportation system pending any further disciplinary action that may occur.

Each board of education shall adopt a policy to assure the implementation of this section and to assure safety of students/staff.

Primary School Students
Limits suspension of primary school students to exceptional cases where safety issues for child or others exist.

Special Ed Students
When determined that exceptional child's behavior is related to disability, child cannot be suspended or expelled unless current placement could result in injury to child, other children, or education personnel in which case appropriate alternative placement shall be provided that will provide for child's educational needs and will provide a safe learning and teaching environment for all.

Required Principal Reporting
When principal has reasonable belief that an act has occurred on school property* or at school-sponsored function involving assault resulting in serious physical injury, a sexual offense, kidnapping, assault involving use of weapon, possession of firearms in violation of a law or possession of controlled substance in violation of law, or damage to property principal shall immediately report act to appropriate law enforcement agency.

* Any public school building, bus, public school campus, grounds, recreational area or athletic field in the charge of principal.

Sharing Information

• When students are convicted of charges related to violence, sexual offenses, firearms/weapons, and drugs courts required to notify principal within five (5) days of the order
• Principal required to share information with student's classroom teachers and district transportation (if appropriate)
• Otherwise information shall not be shared by school personnel with any other person or agency except as otherwise required by law
• No written description of charges or probation requirements shall be included in child’s student record