505 KAR 1:080. Kentucky
Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children.
RELATES TO: KRS 158.135,
158.137, 605.110
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS
158.135, 605.110
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND
CONFORMITY: KRS 605.110(3) requires that children maintained in a facility or
program operated or contracted by the Cabinets for Families and Children,
Justice, or Health Services shall, so far as possible, receive a common school
education. KRS 605.110(3)(d) requires the department to promulgate
administrative regulations governing the education of state agency children.
This administrative regulation establishes requirements governing the Kentucky
Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Average daily membership" means the average number of state
agency children on the KECSAC designated child count days.
(2)
"Department" means the Department of Juvenile Justice.
(3) "Educational
administrative staff" means a principal, assistant principal, supervisor,
coordinator, director, pupil personnel worker or guidance counselor employed or
contracted by the Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children
to provide education services.
(4) "Extended school
calendar" means 230 school days, of which at least 210 shall be instructional
days and the remainder shall be determined by the local school district, as
required in KRS 158.070. It is recommended that three (3) of the
noninstructional days be used for professional development designed for state
agency children teachers.
(5) "Individual
education program" or "IEP" means the instructional program
required for state agency children identified as having educational
disabilities as governed by 707 KAR 1:210.
(6) "Individual plan
of instruction" or "IPI" means the instructional plan required
for state agency children not identified as having educational disabilities.
(7) "Individual
treatment plan" or "ITP" means a social and behavioral
intervention plan, including the plan for educational instruction, that is
developed for each state agency child being served by a treatment institution
or facility.
(8) "KDE" means
the Kentucky Department of Education.
(9) "KECSAC"
means Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children.
(10) "Local school
district" means the school district where a state agency child is provided
educational services.
(11) "On-site state
agency school program" means a school program operated on the campus of a
residential facility or day treatment program.
(12) "Private child
care agency" means a private, not state operated, program which provides
care or treatment for children on a per child contractual or financed basis.
(13) "Program
director" means the administrator at a state operated or contracted
institution or day treatment facility or administrator of a private child care
agency that is responsible for the safety and security of youth and staff and
the operation of the treatment facility.
(14) "Rated
capacity" means the capacity of the program as determined by the Cabinets
for Families and Children or Health Services or the Justice Cabinet.
(15) "School"
means the site where the educational program for state agency children is
provided.
(16) "School
administrator" means the lead teacher, principal, or lead educator
designated by the local district or by KECSAC to be responsible for the
operation of the daily education program, and may be the program director of a
facility, if the program director has appropriate educational certification.
(17) "State
agencies" means the Justice Cabinet, the Cabinet for Families and Children
(CFC), and the Cabinet for Health Services.
(18) "State agency
children" or "SAC" is defined in KRS 158.135(1)(a).
(19) "State agency
children’s fund" means appropriations to support KRS 158.135 previously
known as out-of-district funds.
(20) "Teacher
preparation" means those courses provided by a public or private college
or university which lead to teacher certification.
(21) "Therapeutic
foster care state agency child" means a youth in therapeutic foster care
as defined by KRS 158.135(1)(c).
(22)
"Treatment" means the total array of services utilized to produce a
positive change in a child served by the treatment facility.
Section 2. Governance.
(1) An interagency advisory group for KECSAC, composed of representatives of
the state agencies, KDE, the State Agency Children School Administrators’
Association and a superintendent from a school district that provides education
to SAC, shall provide recommendations for policy and procedure development. The
interagency advisory group shall meet, at a minimum, biannually.
(2) Contracting
procedures.
(a) The department shall
contract with a university training resource center for the establishment of
KECSAC. KECSAC shall be responsible for the oversight or administration of
state and federal education funding and the provision of educational services
to state agency children. KECSAC shall be financed by the state agency
children’s fund. KECSAC shall have knowledge and experience in the following:
1. Appropriate statutes
and administrative regulations related to Kentucky’s system of schools;
2. State and federal
statutes pertaining to youth with educational disabilities, e.g. Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 to 1491o, and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act, 29 USC 794;
3. Kentucky Unified
Juvenile Code, enacted as KRS Chapters 600 through 645, and the operation of
agency programs for juvenile offenders, status offenders and dependent
children; and
4. Research regarding the
education of at-risk, incarcerated and difficult to motivate youth.
(b) KECSAC shall plan
programs and state agency children’s fund budgets cooperatively with the state
agencies, KDE and local school districts providing programs to state agency
children. Local school districts shall be notified of projected funding levels
by KECSAC by December 1, for the following school year.
(c) The KECSAC annual
applications to the department shall constitute the biennial plan. The
applications shall contain educational goals and objectives for the biennium
for which funding is requested. The goals and objectives shall be consistent
with appropriate statutes and administrative regulations related to the system
of common schools and the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act. The educational goals and objectives shall be compatible with and
complementary to the treatment goals for state agency children. The application
shall also include strategies for enhancing teacher preparation and
professional development for teachers in local districts serving SAC.
(d) KECSAC, with the
cooperation of the state agencies and KDE, shall develop written procedures for
the operation of the state-wide education system for state agency children.
(3) Staffing.
(a) Teachers and other
educational staff shall be employed or contracted by a local school district.
1. If the local school
district is not able or willing to provide the educational personnel for the
state agency children’s treatment facility for the extended school calendar of
this administrative regulation, KECSAC shall:
a. Be notified in writing
no later than January 1 prior to the start of the next school year of the
school district’s intent not to provide an extended school calendar; and
b.(i) Contract with
another school district for educational staff; or
(ii) Contract or employ
teachers or educational administrative staff.
2. When filling a teacher
or an educational administrative staff vacancy in a state-operated or
contracted facility, the local school district or KECSAC shall provide the
state agency program director an opportunity to interview prospective new
teachers or educational administrative staff for the on-site state agency
school program. The state agency program director shall provide the local
school district with interview results regarding the applicant’s suitability
for teaching in the on-site state agency school program.
(b) Educational
administrative staff and teachers employed or contracted by KECSAC to provide
educational services for the extended school calendar shall meet Kentucky
education certification requirements and shall be evaluated. KECSAC shall
evaluate all KECSAC staff employed by the contracted university.
(c) Educational staff
employed by a school district shall be evaluated in accordance with local
school district policy.
(d) Each on-site state
agency school program shall designate a school administrator.
(e) Education staff
employed or contracted by KECSAC to provide educational services for the
extended school calendar shall be compensated at rates at least commensurate
with public school employees with comparable qualifications, experience and
assignments in the school district where the treatment facility is located.
(f) On-site state agency
school programs shall have sufficient teachers available with appropriate
certification to serve youth identified with educational disabilities as
specified in 707 KAR 1:230.
(g) Other specific
services identified in an IEP by the admission and release committee as needed
for a youth with educational disabilities may be accessed by KECSAC contracting
for appropriate extended school calendar services. KECSAC shall comply with the
administrative regulations relating to youth with disabilities as provided in
707 KAR Chapter 1. The extended school calendar may be modified if the SAC in
therapeutic foster care are included in the school district’s extended school
program as approved by KECSAC.
(4) Policy application.
Interagency agreements, including program goals and objectives, shall be
developed between each local school district and treatment provider regarding
their mutual responsibility for education and care of state agency children.
This agreement shall be reviewed annually. If a conflict arises between the
local agencies regarding the development or fulfillment of the interagency agreement
by either party, it shall be resolved by KECSAC.
(5) Student eligibility.
If a specific activity (e.g., football or debate) is not provided to youth in a
state or private contracted agency program, the youth shall not lose
eligibility to participate based on the requirements in 702 KAR 7:070.
Eligibility shall be figured on a month-to-month basis (e.g., nine (9) months
in a state agency facility without a formal football program shall leave nine
(9) months of eligibility in a local school district). The eligibility period
shall not exceed one (1) additional year. Other eligibility criteria shall be
met by the youth.
Section 3. Finance. (1)
The amount of funds generated by state agency children under the Support
Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) Program as specified in KRS 157.360 for
the guaranteed SEEK base and adjustments shall be sent to the school district
providing education for state agency children to be used pursuant to Memoranda
of Agreement (MOA) negotiated with KECSAC.
(2) Distribution of state
agency children’s funds shall be as follows:
(a) State agency
children’s funds shall be used to fund the Memorandum of Agreement with KECSAC.
(b) State agency
children’s funds may be used for educational services which benefit state
agency programs in a collective manner.
(c) State agency
children’s funds may be used as matching funds if the match shall increase the
amount of funds available to educate state agency children.
(d) After the items in
paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this subsection have been funded, the remainder
of the state agency children’s fund appropriation shall be divided by the total
number of state agency children to be educated. The resulting per pupil amount
shall be allocated for each state agency child.
(3) KECSAC shall be
considered the same as a school district for the generation, application,
distribution and accountability of state and federal funds, other than SEEK,
available to educate on-site state agency school children.
(4) An annual memorandum
of agreement shall be negotiated between KECSAC and each school district
providing education to state agency children. The MOA shall be signed and
returned to KECSAC within ninety (90) days of issuance. KECSAC may decrease funding
by quarterly increments for noncompliance with the submission deadline.
Attachments shall include the state approved budget format. All funds expended
for SAC shall be included in the annual school audit. An itemized budget shall
be part of the MOA. State agency children’s fund distribution shall be based
upon SAC average daily membership (ADM) or rated capacity.
(a) Noncompliance with
the MOA provisions may result in decreasing SACF allocation as determined by
KECSAC. The withholding of funds shall be temporary provided that the school
district becomes compliant by the end of the fiscal year.
(b) For a new or expanded
program, the state agency children's fund shall be allocated based on the rated
or licensed capacity if opened during the first three (3) quarters of the
fiscal year. A program opened or expanded during the last quarter of the fiscal
year shall receive funding based on the rated or licensed capacity for the
initial fifteen (15) months of operation. A new or expanded program may be funded
at a lower per-pupil amount based on availability of state agency children’s
funds.
(5)(a) Each biennium,
KECSAC, in consultation with the state agencies and KDE, shall submit a
biennial budget plan benchmarked to the projected SEEK increase and projected
set-aside to reimburse district’s for excess cost.
(b) The state agency
children’s fund, as specified in KRS 158.135, shall be cost reimbursed to
school districts biannually from KDE upon approval by KECSAC and the
appropriate state agency.
(c) KECSAC shall develop
a procedure by October 1, 1999, for school district’s reimbursement of expenses
exceeding twenty (20) percent of total amount received from state and federal
sources to serve a state agency child.
(6) As part of the MOA
with each local school district, KECSAC shall ensure the development of a plan
for professional development of certified staff. A teacher or administrator new
to a SAC on-site program shall attend Professional Development for New
Educators. It is recommended that a SAC school program commit three (3) days of
the extended school calendar for teacher participation in the KECSAC approved
professional development events designed for SAC teachers. These three (3) days
shall be in addition to the Professional Development for New Educators. The
school district shall maintain an annual record of professional development for
all school district employees in SAC on-site programs.
(7) A school district
shall ensure that the SAC access all eligible federal and state funding (such
as KETS Funding and Title I).
(8) An on-site SAC
program shall have access to textbooks, instructional materials, technology,
and equipment comparable to that available in the local school district.
(9) KECSAC shall obtain
information from the Kentucky Department of Education and the Workforce
Development Cabinet regarding all discretionary and entitlement state, federal
and miscellaneous funding opportunities available to local school districts and
file applications or reports necessary to procure and use funds for the
education of state agency children.
(10) If a state agency
plans to open or contract for a new program or to expand an existing SAC
program during a biennium, the state agency shall notify KDE and KECSAC by
April 1 of the first year of the biennium regarding the projected number of
youth to be educated in the new or expanded program.
(11) If youth age sixteen
(16) through twenty (20) years enter with or receive a GED while attending a
state agency program, that youth shall continue in the state agency program for
further academic and vocational training and continue to generate SEEK funds.
State agency children funds may be used to:
(a) Support a GED
preparation program; or
(b) Educate GED and high
school graduates.
(12) The state agencies,
the Kentucky Department of Education, the Cabinet for Workforce Development and
other appropriate agencies shall develop and review annually an interagency
agreement defining services and financial responsibilities of each state and
local agency providing educational services for state agency children. The
agreement shall include procedures for resolving interagency disputes.
(13) If a dispute
arises between KECSAC and a local school district that cannot be resolved by
the parties, the dispute shall be submitted, for resolution, to the interagency
advisory group by written request of either party. The request shall identify
in detail the issue in dispute. The interagency advisory group shall schedule a
meeting with the parties, during which each party shall explain its position.
The interagency advisory group shall render a written report and recommendation
to the commissioner of the department responsible for the program in dispute
within fifteen (15) days of the meeting. The commissioner shall render a written
decision resolving the dispute within fifteen (15) days of receiving the
recommendation from the interagency advisory group.
Section 4. Operations.
(1) School options for state agency children with an IEP shall be planned, if
not restricted by treatment needs, using the least restrictive environment
based on specific child needs. Additional days beyond the school year shall
take place either at the local public school or on the state agency program
site. If the state agency child is not restricted to the treatment site for
security purposes, the continuum from least restrictive to most restrictive
alternatives shall be as follows:
(a) A program for state
agency children may send all of its children to be educated in the local public
school where children in the local public school district are assigned or where
their IEP indicates placement.
(b) A program for state
agency children may send some of its children to be educated in the local
public school as in paragraph (a) of this subsection and have on-site state
agency school option for other children.
(c) A program for state
agency children may have an on-site state agency school for all children due to
reasons necessary for the conditions of placement in the state agency program.
(2) Assessments.
(a) The local school
district shall complete an informal academic assessment of the educational
needs of all SAC, and vocational needs of SAC aged fourteen (14) and up or in
eighth grade and above, within the first thirty (30) days after admission to
on-site programs. Educational goals and objectives shall be consistent with
goals specified in each youth’s individual treatment plan.
(b) If the youth is
suspected to have an educational disability as governed by 707 KAR 1:180 and
707 KAR 1:190, assessments shall be administered, following required due
process procedures.
(3) In a school district
providing educational services, local school district staff shall coordinate
the completion of the required individual education program pursuant to 707 KAR
1:180 and 707 KAR 1:190.
(4) Instructional
services.
(a) The teacher pupil
ratio for on-site state agency school programs serving state agency children
shall average, based on annual average daily attendance, no more than ten (10)
students to one (1) teacher without a classroom aide and fifteen (15) students
to one (1) teacher with a classroom aide. A classroom that exclusively serves
students with the educational disabilities shall comply with teacher pupil
ratios as specified in 707 KAR 1:230, Section 5.
(b) By the 30th school
day after admission to a school program, an individual plan of instruction
shall be developed by the school district for state agency children not
identified with a disability. The individual plan of instruction shall be
developed in coordination with the ITP. If a youth is determined to have an
educational disability, the IEP requirements as governed by 707 KAR Chapter 1
shall suffice. The IPI shall be in a standardized format, as determined by the
KECSAC Interagency Advisory Group.
(c) An educational
passport shall be prepared as required by KRS 158.137 and 605.110(3)(e).
(d) A state agency child
reading at two (2) or more years below the appropriate grade level, as measured
by an educational assessment tool, shall be provided developmental reading,
listening and writing instruction.
(5) Accountability.
(a) The assessments and
portfolios of state agency children shall be governed by 703 KAR 5:070.
(b) An accountability
system shall be designed by KECSAC for state agency children school programs.
The memorandum of agreement which shall include quality of educational services
shall be monitored, at a minimum, in conjunction with KDE’s IDEA monitoring
cycle. Noncompliance with the MOA may result in reduction, elimination, or
recoupment of the district’s reimbursement from the state agency children's
fund as determined by KECSAC.
(c) If required by the
state agency, the SAC school programs shall be in compliance with accreditation
standards of the respective professional accrediting association of that state
agency.
(6) Transition.
(a) KECSAC shall ensure
that transition procedures for SAC moving from the state agency education
program to the next instructional or vocational setting are being implemented.
Educational staff at an on-site program shall participate in the transition
process.
(b) The transition
planning to a postschool setting shall comply with the transition plan and
service requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
enacted as 20 USC 1400 to 1491o, and 707 KAR 1:220 for students with
educational disabilities.
(c) KECSAC shall design
and implement a system of educational data collection and information
dissemination in order to improve the quality of educational delivery for SAC.
(d) The last school or
school district a state agency youth attends prior to placement in a state
agency program shall be responsible for forwarding the educational records to
the state agency program within five (5) school days of receipt of the request.
(e) The school administrator
shall ensure that the educational records of state agency children are
forwarded to the receiving school within five (5) school days following the
release of the youth from the treatment facility. (25 Ky.R. 2985; Am. 26 Ky.R.
604; eff. 10-11-99.)
