Where are the goats?
Journalism is absolutely a public service, so when I had some questions about a recent sign at the Kentucky School for the Blind, I knew my neighbors likely had them, too.
KSB's sign, which sits on a relatively well-known Louisville road, has said, for weeks, "Where are the goats?"
No context. No details about a potential goat-related event. No goats. Nothing.
Finally, I reached out to the Kentucky Department of Education for help.
Apparently, KSB had a petting zoo. The petting zoo operators inexplicably did not bring goats. So the school's sign keeper took to a public form of semi-shaming: the school sign.
And now you know.
I got new laws; I count 'em
It is mid-July and y'all know what that means: new education laws going into effect, yee-haw.
Three key education laws are slated to go into effect Thursday, barring ongoing or rumored legal proceedings.
First and foremost, we have House Bill 9 — the charter school bill.
It creates a long-term funding stream to bring charters into reality, plus requires charter schools to open in Louisville and Northern Kentucky.
What's surprising is that no one has sued to stop this. Outside of it being controversial, Gov. Andy Beshear previously said he thought it was unconstitutional. At least one outside organization said it would join any challenge brought against HB 9 in court.
And yet, nothing has been filed.
(As an aside, an ethics complaint against Rep. Kim Banta tied to her votes on HB 9 is slated to be heard in a closed-door ethics hearing this morning.)
Another closely watched measure that seemed poised for legal action but hasn't gone to court? Senate Bill 83, which bars transgender girls and women from girls and women's sports teams beginning in the sixth grade.
Groups like the ACLU previously argued anti-trans bills violated the rights of trans people, pointing to litigation targeting similar bills in other states. But nothing has been filed to halt Kentucky's bill, potentially because it was overshadowed by fights around abortion.
Finally, the education legislation equivalent of a junk drawer, Senate Bill 1, is set to become law.
That's the one that hits on everything. It moves curriculum selection and principal hiring authority to district superintendents — a power shift parent voice advocates were split on.
Then it has the entirety of Kentucky's watered down "critical race theory" legislation. Yes, we are mere days away from "A Time For Choosing" formally becoming part of Kentucky statute.
It also limits how often the JCPS school board can meet and moves all day-to-day authority over Kentucky's largest district to Superintendent Marty Pollio. The board will need more than just a simple majority to reverse any of Pollio's decisions, too.
The last part I mentioned about SB 1 is the only section being challenged in court. Attorneys for the JCPS board asked a circuit court judge for a temporary injunction. It is unclear if they'll get that before Thursday.
Oh, and I can't forget House Bill 44 — the student mental health day turned keep teachers out of jail bill — also goes into effect.
How is ESSER money being spent?
Want to see how much federal COVID-19 relief money your school district has spent? The Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University now has Kentucky's ESSER details on its website.
School districts have a few years to spend their cash, so districts are a little all over the place in terms of how much they've spent so far. Important context: About two dozen districts simply did not report spending any of their money to state officials.
An average district has spent around 14% of their overall relief money. Tiny Burgin Independent has spent nearly three-quarters of their cash — about $700,000 of it.
Districts got money based on how many students they have, so JCPS obviously got the largest allocation. Please enjoy this visual aid of just how large the divide between JCPS and the rest of the state is.
ICYMI
Mark your calendars: The July Interim Joint Committee on Education meeting is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. in Frankfort. They'll be chatting about school safety and student mental health.
A taskforce recently started looking at the state of early childhood education and child care in Kentucky. They'll meet monthly until the end of the year.
Hey teachers, you might be able to have your student loans forgiven. Check this out.
Remind a recent JCPS graduate that Evolve502 scholarship applications are due Friday.
Your homework
Keep filling out this form to let me know if there are districts outside of Louisville you'd like to see more coverage of (and why).
Other than that, feel free to reach out with suggestions for this newsletter and future coverage to okrauth@gannett.com.
OK, bye.
Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com and on Twitter at @oliviakrauth.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Where are the goats?
