Kentucky lawmakers are trying to make school closures easier as coronavirus fears mount
As concerns over the coronavirus in Kentucky mount, state lawmakers are weighing legislation that may help make lengthy school closures easier.
A reworked House Bill 461 would allow districts to use up to 20 non-traditional instructional days for a public health emergency, according to a copy obtained by The Courier Journal.
Any days already used by districts for weather events such as snow or floods would not count toward the limit.
The measure is expected to be voted on Wednesday afternoon in an emergency House Education Committee meeting. It would go into effect as soon as it clears both chambers and is signed by Gov. Andy Beshear.
The measure would apply only to districts that have state approved non-traditional plans, which let lessons continue from afar if classes are canceled.
Nearly half of Kentucky districts have approved plans, but two of the three county districts with confirmed coronavirus cases — Jefferson and Fayette counties — do not.
Harrison County, where most of Kentucky’s eight cases are, is the third. It has been using non-traditional days as schools remain closed.
About a dozen districts are looking into starting a non-traditional plan as districts weigh their options ahead of potential closures.
The plans typically must be approved months before a new school year, but interim Education Commissioner Kevin Brown is expected to ask the state education board next week to allow districts to start plans sooner.
After initially not considering the option because of equity issues, Kentucky’s largest district is crafting a proposal should it need to close.
At this point, JCPS has no plans for closure, spokeswoman Renee Murphy said Wednesday morning.
But state officials are expected to warn superintendents the decision may not be up to them, instead falling on state and local health officials.
Beshear will lead a Wednesday afternoon conference call with Kentucky school superintendents, according to Toni Konz Tatman, spokeswoman from the state education department.
Konz Tatman said Beshear asked the Kentucky Department of Education to arrange the call but that the department has not been told what message Beshear intends to deliver.
The department has instructed all schools to have contingency plans for possible closures, Konz Tatman said. While districts could decide on a local basis to close schools, the state could also intercede, she said.
“At any point, the Kentucky Department of Public Health could close schools because of the coronavirus,” Konz Tatman said said.
As of Wednesday, the education department has instructed all districts to apply for the nontraditional instruction program, she added.
“This should be something they should already be prepared for,” she said.
By Olivia Krauth and Mandy McLaren
Louisville Courier Journal
