Achievement gaps -- Data on student performance -- Policy for reviewing academic performance -- Student achievement targets -- Reporting requirements -- Review and revision of improvement plan
KRS 158.649
in effect158.649. Achievement gaps -- Data on student performance -- Policy for reviewing academic performance -- Student achievement targets -- Reporting requirements -- Review and revision of improvement plan
(1) "Achievement gap" means the difference between performance goals and actual performance on each of the tested areas by grade level of the state assessment program for each of the various subgroups of students as described in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95, or its successor, including male and female students, students with and without disabilities, students with and without English proficiency, minority and nonminority students, and students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch and those who are not eligible for free and reduced lunch.
(2) By October 1 of each year, the Department of Education shall provide each school council, or the principal if a school council does not exist, data on its students' performance as shown by the state assessment program described in KRS 158.6453. The data shall include but not be limited to information on performance levels of all students tested, and information on the performance of students disaggregated by race, gender, disability, English proficiency, and participation in the federal free and reduced price lunch program, and any other subgroups as described in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95, or its successor. The information from the department shall include an equity analysis that shall identify the substantive differences among the various groups of students identified in subsection (1) of this section. Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the reporting requirement in this subsection shall be no later than seventy-five (75) days following the first day the assessment can be administered.
(3) Each local board of education upon the recommendation of the local district superintendent shall adopt a policy for reviewing the academic performance on the state assessments required under KRS 158.6453 for various groups of students, including major racial groups, gender, disability, free and reduced price school lunch eligibility, and limited English proficiency. The local board policy shall be consistent with Kentucky Board of Education administrative regulations. Upon agreement of the school-based decision making council, or the principal if there is not a council, and the superintendent, the local board shall establish an annual target for each school for reducing identified gaps in achievement as set out in subsection (4) of this section.
(4) By February 1 of each year, the school-based decision making council, or the principal if there is not a council, with the involvement of parents, faculty, and staff shall set the school's targets for eliminating any achievement gap and submit them to the superintendent for consideration. The superintendent and the school-based decision making council, or the principal if there is not a council, shall agree on the targets before they are submitted to the local board of education for adoption.
(5) By January 1 of each year, the school council, or the principal if a school council does not exist, with the involvement of parents, faculty, and staff, shall review the data and revise the school improvement plan to include the targets, strategies, activities, and a time schedule calculated to eliminate the achievement gap among various groups of students to the extent it may exist. The plan shall include but not be limited to activities designed to address the following areas:
(a) Curriculum alignment within the school and with schools that send or receive the school's students;
(b) Evaluation and assessment strategies to continuously monitor and modify instruction to meet student needs and support proficient student work;
(c) Professional development to address the goals of the plan;
(d) Parental communication and involvement;
(e) Attendance improvement and dropout prevention; and
(f) Technical assistance that will be accessed.
(6) The principal shall convene a public meeting at the school to present and discuss the plan prior to submitting it to the superintendent and the local board of education for review, in the public meeting required under KRS 160.340.
(7) Based on the disaggregated assessment results, the local board shall determine if each school achieved its targets for each group of students. Only data for a group of students including ten (10) or more students shall be considered.
(8) Notwithstanding KRS 160.345(8) and 158.070(7), if a local board determines that a school has not met its target to reduce the identified gap in student achievement for a group of students, the local board shall require the council, or the principal if no council exists, to submit its revisions to the school improvement plan describing the use of professional development funds and funds allocated for continuing education to reduce the school's achievement gap for review and approval by the superintendent. The plan shall address how the school will meet the academic needs of the students in the various groups identified in subsection (1) of this section.
(9) The superintendent shall report to the local school board and the commissioner of education if a school fails to meet its targets in any academic content area to reduce the gap in student achievement for any student group for two (2) consecutive years. The school's improvement plan shall be subject to review and approval by the Kentucky Department of Education and the school shall submit an annual status report. The Department of Education may provide assistance as defined in KRS 160.346 to schools as it deems necessary to assist the school in meeting its goals.
(10) The school-based decision making council, or the principal if there is not a council, shall no longer be required to seek approval of the plan under subsections (8) and (9) of this section when it meets its target for reducing the gap in student achievement for the various groups of students identified in subsection (1) of this section.
Effective:April 8, 2022
History: Amended 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 168, sec. 3, effective April 8, 2022. -- Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 112, sec. 7, effective July 15, 2020. -- Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 156, sec. 7, effective April 10, 2017. -- Amended 2014 Ky. Acts ch. 14, sec. 5, effective July 15, 2014. -- Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 146, sec. 3, effective April 13, 2010. -- Amended 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 101, sec. 7, effective March 25, 2009. -- Created 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 302, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2002.
Legislative Research Commission Note (4/8/2022). 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 168, sec. 4, provides that the Act, which amended this statute, may be cited as Wyatt s Act.
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52163Fetched: 10/20/2026