A return to normal?
And we’re back.
After a two-week bout of nontraditional instruction, Jefferson County Public Schools reopened to in-person classes yesterday.
Not like they had much choice. JCPS is down to two NTI days left for the school year, and doling out targeted remote learning days in a district with 155 schools is a logistical nightmare.
Superintendent Marty Pollio signaled he would prefer moving, say, all middle and high schools to remote learning rather than picking individual schools to close, if it came to that.
JCPS opted to keep all schools open again today. Families can’t relax quite yet: Pollio said closures will be determined on a day-to-day basis for the near future.
What happens if the NTI days and the remote learning days — different concepts, folks — run out? JCPS would have to close like a traditional snow day, and make the days up either at the end of the school year or by adding time to the school day.
Something to watch for: Students. After JCPS stressed schools were closing due to *staff* shortages, and that they were reopening because *staff* numbers looked better, some students questioned if their health was considered. (The replies to the district’s tweet announcing the reopening are quite something.)
Students elsewhere have protested in-person learning, asking for stronger safety measures to be put in place. I haven’t seen anything similar forming in Louisville yet.
Also in JCPS news
Bucking state health guidance, the JCPS school board rejected a set of relaxed quarantine policies last week. Pollio said Monday he would consider bringing the proposal back for a second vote once omicron chills out.
After a denied records request and a bit of public shaming, we have an idea of how staff attendance looked in JCPS for the first few days of the month. In 2020, about 95% of employees showed up on the first day after winter break. This year, that figure was 89%.
The finer details of JCPS’ looming security proposal are being worked out in the district’s policy committee, which has met twice in the last week. I haven’t seen a firm date for a final board vote.
Third time is a charm?
I’m starting to sense the decision to drop this newsletter on the morning of House Education Committee meetings may have been an error.
For the third time this session, the House Education Committee is slated to meet this morning to discuss a bill that would require all schools to have a police officer by August.
House Bill 63, sponsored by a few Louisville Republicans, was once cut from a committee agenda before finding its home on the next week’s agenda, which was then ultimately not used because that meeting was canceled.
Also on today’s agenda:
House Bill 121: Requires school boards to have at least 15 minutes of public comment at each meeting
House Bill 234: Allow for KEES money to be used at proprietary schools
House Bill 85: A few changes to dual credit scholarships
Also in Frankfort
The famous yellow scarves returned for National School Choice Week. Like they have for several years now, school choice advocates are hoping this will be the year education opportunity accounts actually become a thing.
House Bill 44, the student mental health day bill, achieved a rare feat last week when it unanimously passed out of the House. Now to get through the Senate.
To help districts impacted by December's deadly tornadoes, the Kentucky Department of Education said it proposed legislation that would let districts hold their funding numbers harmless for at least the next two years, if not longer. (Dawson Springs' superintendent told me he wants the figure held harmless for five years.)
They also requested measures that would forgive 10 days of missed instructional time and staff contract days. We'll see if those ideas make it into a bill.
Weekly reminder! I track the top education bills here.
ICYMI
Just because Gov. Andy Beshear is hesitant to let the National Guard substitute teach doesn't mean you aren't completely qualified. Here's how to sign up to sub in JCPS.
Classrooms in Dawson Springs, which was devastated by last month's tornadoes, reopened for the first time last week. Here's my dispatch from the first day.
Your homework
I'm again asking folks to fill out this form. If you have filled it out before, you don't need to do it again (unless you really want to).
Class dismissed. OK, bye.
Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com and on Twitter at @oliviakrauth.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: A return to normal?
