Definitions -- Statewide framework for teaching -- District personnel evaluation system -- Summative evaluations -- Appeals -- Prohibition against disclosure of confidential information -- Limits on reporting of evaluation results
KRS 156.557
in effect156.557. Definitions -- Statewide framework for teaching -- District personnel evaluation system -- Summative evaluations -- Appeals -- Prohibition against disclosure of confidential information -- Limits on reporting of evaluation results
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Formative evaluation" means a continuous cycle of collecting evaluation information and providing feedback with suggestions regarding the certified employee's professional growth and performance; and
(b) "Summative evaluation" means the summary of, and conclusions from, the evaluation data, including formative evaluation data that: 1. Occur at the end of an evaluation cycle; and 2. Include a conference between the evaluator and the evaluated certified employee and a written evaluation report.
(2) The Kentucky Department of Education, in consultation with the Kentucky teacher and principal steering committees and other groups deemed appropriate by the commissioner of education, shall develop a statewide framework for teaching that shall promote the continuous professional growth and development of skills needed to be a highly effective teacher or a highly effective administrator in a school or district.
(3) Each district shall develop and implement a personnel evaluation system aligned with the statewide framework for teaching established in subsection (2) of this section that shall:
(a) Use multiple measures of effectiveness;
(b) Include both formative and summative evaluation components;
(c) Measure professional effectiveness;
(d) Support professional growth;
(e) Have at least four (4) performance levels;
(f) Be used to inform personnel decisions;
(g) Be considerate of the time requirements of evaluators at the local level and shall not require that all certified school personnel have a formal summative evaluation each year; and
(h) Rate teachers or administrators by multiple measures instead of a single measure.
(4) The performance criteria by which teachers and administrators shall be evaluated shall include but not be limited to:
(a) Performance of professional responsibilities related to his or her assignment, including attendance and punctuality and evaluating results;
(b) Demonstration of effective planning of curricula, classroom instruction, and classroom management, based on research-based instructional practices, or school management skills based on validated managerial practices;
(c) Demonstration of knowledge and understa nding of subject matter content or administrative functions and effective leadership techniques;
(d) Promotion and incorporation of instructional strategies or management techniques that are fair and respect diversity and individual differences;
(e) Demonstration of effective interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills among peers, students, parents, and others;
(f) Performance of duties consistent with the goals for Kentucky students and mission of the school, the local community, laws, and admi nistrative regulations;
(g) Demonstration of the effective use of resources, including technology;
(h) Demonstration of professional growth;
(i) Adherence to the professional code of ethics; and
(j) Attainment of the teacher standards or the administrator standards as established by the Education Professional Standards Board that are not referenced in paragraphs (a) to (i) of this subsection.
(5) The following provisions shall apply to each school district's personnel evaluation system:
(a) Certified school personnel, below the level of superintendent, shall be evaluated;
(b) The evaluation system shall include formative evaluation and summative evaluation components; and
(c) The Kentucky Board of Education shall adopt administrative regulations incorporating written guidelines for a local school district to follow in implementing the personnel evaluation system and shall require the following: 1. All evaluations of certified school personnel below the level of the district superintendent shall be in writing on evaluation forms and under evaluation procedures developed by a committee composed of an equal number of teachers and administrators; 2. The immediate supervisor of the certified school personnel member shall be designated as the primary evaluator. At t he request of a teacher, observations by other teachers trained in the teacher's content area or curriculum content specialists may be incorporated into the formative process for evaluating teachers; 3. All monitoring or observation of performance of a cer tified school personnel member shall be conducted openly and with full knowledge of the personnel member; 4. Evaluators shall be trained, tested, and approved in accordance with administrative regulations adopted by the Kentucky Board of Education in the proper techniques for effectively evaluating certified school personnel. Evaluators shall receive support and resources necessary to ensure consistent and reliable ratings; 5. The personnel evaluation system shall include a plan whereby the person evaluated is given assistance for professional growth as a teacher or administrator. The system shall also specify the processes to be used when corrective actions are necessary in relation to the performance of one's assignment; 6. The system shall require annual summative evaluations for each teacher or other professional who has not attained continuing service status under KRS 161.740 or continuing status under KRS 156.800(7). The system shall require summative evaluations once every five (5) years for a teacher or other professional who has attained continuing service status under KRS 161.740 or continuing status under KRS 156.800(7), principals, assistant principals, and other certified administrators. Additional summative evaluations may be performed at the discretion of the immediate supervisor of a teacher or other professional based upon a case-by-case analysis of the performance criteria set forth in subsection
(4) of this section but shall not be imposed as a uniform requirement across the system; and 7. The training requirement for evaluators contained in subparagraph 4. of this paragraph shall not apply to district board of education members.
(6) (a) Each superintendent shall be evaluated according to a policy and procedures developed by the local board of education and approved by the department.
(b) The summative evaluation of the superintendent shall be in writing, discussed and adopted in an open meeting of the board and reflected in the minutes, and made available to the public upon request.
(c) Any preliminary discussions relating to the evaluation of the superintendent by the board or between the board and the superintendent prior to the summative evaluation shall be conducted in closed session.
(7) The Kentucky Board of Education shall establish an appeals procedure for certified school personnel who believe that the local school district failed to properly implement the evaluation system. The appeals procedure shall not involve requests from individual certified school personnel members for review of the judgmental conclusions of their personnel evaluations.
(8) The local board of education shall establish an evaluation appeals panel for certified school personnel that shall consist of two (2) members elected by the certified employees of the local district and one (1) member appointed by the board of education who is a certified employee of the local board of education. Certified school personnel who think they were not fairly evaluated may submit an appeal to the panel for a timely review of their evaluation.
(9) The Kentucky Department of Education may annually provide for on-site visits by trained personnel to review and ensure appropriate implementation of the evaluation system by the local school district. The department shall provide technical assistance to local districts to eliminate deficiencies and to improve the effectiveness of the evaluation system.
(10) The disclosure, pursuant to KRS Chapter 61, of any data or information, including student growth data, that local school districts or the Kentucky Department of Education collect on individual classroom teachers under this section is prohibited.
(11) The results of evaluations conducted under this section shall not be included in the accountability system described in KRS 158.6455 and no reporting requirements related to these results shall be imposed upon the local school districts by the Kentucky Department of Education.
Effective: June 27, 2025
History: Amended 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 145, sec. 1, effective June 27, 2025. -- Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 156, sec. 1, effective April 10, 2017. -- Amended 2013 Ky. Acts ch. 55, sec. 1, effective June 25, 2013. -- Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 157, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2010. -- Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 527, sec. 4, effective July 14, 2000. Legislative Research Commission Note (6/27/2025). 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 145, sec. 14, provides that the Act, which amended this section and KRS 156.070, 156.095, 156.492, 157.360, 158.060, 158.070, 158.4416, and 161.031, and created KRS 158.039 and 158.041, may be cited as the Red Tape Reduction Act. Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2010). The internal numbering of subsection (4) of this statute has been modified by the Reviser of Statutes from the way it appeared in 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 157, sec. 1, under the authority of KRS 7.136(1).
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56506Fetched: 10/20/2026