Section 156.553 - Teachers' professional growth fund - Purposes - Courses - Duties of Department of Education - Professional development programs - Administrative regulations - Advancement by local boards of funds to teachers for professional development education - Reimbursement - Priority for use of funds from 2010 to 2016(1) The teachers' professional growth fund is hereby created to provide teachers with high quality professional development in content knowledge in mathematics, reading, science, language arts, social studies, arts and humanities, practical living, vocational studies, and foreign languages; classroom-based screening, diagnostic, assessment, and intervention strategies; and teaching methodologies, including professional development that may lead to additional certification endorsements or renewal of certification. Based on available funds, student achievement data, and teacher data, the Kentucky Board of Education shall annually determine the priority for content emphasis based on the greatest needs.(2)(a) The fund may provide moneys to teachers for:1. Tuition reimbursement for successful completion of college or university level courses, including online courses and seminars, approved for this purpose by the Education Professional Standards Board;2. Stipends for participation in and successful completion of: a. College or university courses, including online courses and seminars, approved for this purpose by the Education Professional Standards Board;b. Teacher institutes developed for core content instructors by the Department of Education in compliance with KRS 156.095; andc. Other professional development programs approved by the Kentucky Department of Education, including professional development for teachers participating in grants awarded by the Middle School Mathematics and Science Scholars Program established under KRS 158.848;3. Reimbursement for the purchase of materials required for professional development programs; and4. Reimbursement for other approved professional development activities throughout the school year, including reimbursement for: a. Travel to and from professional development workshops; andb. Travel to and from other schools for the observation of, and consultation with, peer mentors.(b) The fund may be used to provide grants to local school districts to support staff participation in specific, statewide initiatives for the professional development of teachers and administrators in specific content areas as established by the Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky Board of Education under the provisions of subsections (4), (5), and (6) of this section and referenced in KRS 158.842.(c) The fund may be used to provide grants to colleges and universities to plan and develop statewide professional development institutes and other professional development services.(d) The fund may be used to provide grants to local school districts, to colleges and universities, or other entities to assist the Kentucky Department of Education in evaluating costs and the effectiveness of activities and initiatives established under this section.(3) The Education Professional Standards Board shall determine the college and university courses, including online courses and seminars, for which teachers may receive reimbursement from the fund.(4) The Department of Education shall: (a) Administer the fund. In order to process reimbursements to teachers promptly, the reimbursements shall not be subject to KRS 45A.690 to 45A.725;(b) Determine the professional development programs for which teachers may receive reimbursement, or districts or colleges and universities may receive grants, from the fund;(c) Determine the level of stipend or reimbursement, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, for particular courses and programs, under subsection (2) of this section; and(d) Provide an accounting of fund expenditures and results of the use of the funds for each biennium to the Interim Joint Committee on Education by November 1 of each odd-numbered year.(5) The professional development programs approved by the Department of Education for which teachers may receive support from the fund shall: (a) Focus on improving the content knowledge of teachers;(b) Provide training in the use of research-based and developmentally appropriate classroom-based screening, diagnostic, assessment, and intervention strategies;(c) Provide instruction on teaching methods to effectively impart content knowledge to all students;(d) Include intensive training institutes and workshops during the summer;(e) Provide programs for the ongoing support of teacher participants throughout the year, which may include:1. A peer coaching or mentoring, and assessment program; and2. Planned activities, including: a. Follow-up workshops; andb. Support networks of teachers of the core disciplines using technologies, including but not limited to telephone, video, and online computer networks;(f) Provide teacher participants with professional development credit toward renewal of certification under the provisions of KRS 161.095, relating to continuing education for teachers; and(g) Provide teacher participants with the opportunity to obtain certificate endorsements or extensions in critical shortage areas, with priority given to mathematics and science through 2016, and in core content areas to their existing certifications through the TC-HQ process, established by the Education Professional Standards Board to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq.(6) The Kentucky Board of Education shall specify through promulgation of administrative regulations: (a) The application and approval process for receipt of funds;(b) The requirements and process for the disbursal of funds; and(c) The number of each kind of approved course for which applicants may receive funds.(7) Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary, a local school board may advance the funds necessary for its teachers to participate in a college course or professional development seminar or activity approved by the Kentucky Department of Education and the Education Professional Standards Board under provisions of this section and receive reimbursement from the department at the conclusion of the activity or course by the teacher. If funds are advanced for the benefit of a teacher under this subsection, but the teacher does not fulfill his or her obligation, the teacher shall reimburse the school district for the funds expended by the district on the teacher's behalf.(8) Notwithstanding the provisions of KRS 45.229, unexpended funds in the teachers' professional growth fund in the 2000-2001 fiscal year or in any subsequent fiscal year shall not lapse but shall carry forward to the next fiscal year and shall be used for the purposes established in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.(9) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary, beginning June 1, 2006, through the 2009-2010 school year, priority for the use of funds from the teachers' professional growth fund shall be used to train and support teams of teachers from all school levels to be trained as reading coaches and mentors or as mathematics coaches and mentors in statewide institutes referenced in KRS 158.840 and 158.842, and for selected teachers to be highly trained in providing diagnostic assessment and intervention services for students in the primary program struggling with mathematics. (a) The design of the statewide mathematics institutes to train mathematics coaches and mentors shall be developed by the Committee for Mathematics Achievement established in KRS 158.842. The committee shall provide recommendations to the Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky Board of Education in the preparation of administrative regulations that may be promulgated by the board to implement the provisions of this subsection relating to mathematics.(b) The design of the professional development program to provide highly trained mathematics intervention teachers in the primary program shall be developed by the Center for Mathematics in collaboration with public and private institutions of postsecondary education.(c) The development of the statewide program to train reading coaches and mentors shall be coordinated by the Kentucky Department of Education with recommendations from the statewide reading research center established under KRS 164.0207 and the reading steering committee established in KRS 158.794. The design of the program shall reflect a consensus of the agencies involved in the development of the program. The training program for reading coaches and mentors shall complement other statewide reading initiatives, funded with state and federal funds, and shall give priority to teachers in grades four (4) through twelve (12). The program shall be implemented no later than June 1, 2006. The board shall promulgate administrative regulations required to implement the provisions of this subsection relating to reading.(10) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, beginning June 1, 2010, through the 2015-2016 school year, priority for the use of funds from the teachers' professional growth fund shall be for the purpose of increasing the number of certified teachers with extensions or endorsements in mathematics and science as described in subsection (5)(g) of this section.Amended by 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 55,§ 5, eff. 7/1/2024.Effective:7/15/2008
Amended 2008, Ky. Acts ch. 134, sec. 13, effective7/15/2008; and ch. 185, sec. 2, effective 4/24/2008. -- Amended 2005, Ky. Acts ch. 164, sec. 5, effective 3/18/2005. -- Amended 2002, Ky. Acts ch. 135, sec. 4, effective 4/2/2002. -- Amended 2001, Ky. Acts ch. 135, sec. 1, effective 6/21/2001. -- Created 2000, Ky. Acts ch. 527, sec. 2, effective 7/14/2000.