704 Ky. Admin. Regs. 3:035

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 6, December 1, 2024

Section 704 KAR 3:035 - Annual professional development plan

RELATES TO: KRS 156.095, 158.070

NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 156.095 requires the Kentucky Board of Education to establish, direct, and maintain a statewide program of professional development to improve instruction in the public schools. KRS 158.070(5) requires the state board to promulgate administrative regulations establishing guidelines and procedures to be followed for the approval of the days utilized for four (4) days of the minimum school term required to be utilized by each local school district for professional development activities for the professional staff. This administrative regulation establishes the requirements for the annual professional development plan.

Section 1. Definitions.

(1) "Comprehensive District Improvement Plan" is defined by 703 KAR 5:225, Section 1(3).

(2) "Comprehensive School Improvement Plan" is defined by 703 KAR 5:225, Section 1(4).

(3) "Needs assessment" means the gathering, sorting, and analysis of student, educator, and system data that lead to conclusions regarding the need for content and learning designs for professional development in identified areas related to educator performance and student achievement.

(4) "Professional development" means professional learning that is an individual and collective responsibility, which fosters shared accountability among the entire education workforce for student achievement that:

(a) Aligns with the Kentucky Academic Standards in 704 KAR 3:303 and 704 KAR Chapter 8, educator effectiveness standards, individual professional growth goals, and school, school district, and state goals for student achievement;

(b) Focuses on content and pedagogy, as specified in certification requirements, and other related job-specific performance standards and expectations;

(c) Occurs among educators who share responsibility for student growth;

(d) Is facilitated by school and district leaders, including curriculum specialists, principals, instructional coaches, competent and qualified third-party facilitators, mentors, teachers or teacher leaders;

(e) Focuses on individual improvement, school improvement, and program implementation; and

(f) Is on-going.

(5) "Professional development program" means a sustained, coherent, relevant, and useful professional learning process that is measurable by indicators and provides professional learning and ongoing support to transfer that learning to practice.

Section 2. Each local school and district shall develop a process to design a professional development plan that meets the goals established in KRS 158.6451 and in the local needs assessment. A school professional development plan shall be incorporated into the school improvement plan and shall be made public prior to the implementation of the plan. The local district professional development plan shall be incorporated into the district improvement plan and posted to the local district Web site prior to the implementation of the plan.

Section 3. Each school and local district professional development plan shall contain the following five (5) elements:

(1) A clear statement of the school or district mission;

(2) Evidence of representation of all persons affected by the professional development plan;

(3) A needs assessment analysis;

(4) Professional development objectives that are focused on the school or district mission, derived from needs assessment, and that specify changes in educator practice needed to improve student achievement; and

(5) A process for evaluating impact on student learning and improving professional learning, using evaluation results.

Section 4.

(1) The school or district improvement plan shall, in compliance with 703 KAR 5:225 and aligned to the goals established in KRS 158.6451, address professional learning required to improve instruction.

(2) Professional development shall:

(a) Be related to the teachers' instructional assignments and the administrators' professional responsibilities;

(b) Be aligned with the school or district improvement plan or the individual professional growth plans of teachers;

(c) Occur within learning communities committed to continuous improvement, collective responsibility, and goal alignment;

(d) Be facilitated by skillful leaders who develop capacity and advocate and create support systems for professional learning;

(e) Be prioritized and monitored by the district;

(f) Use a variety of sources and types of student, educator, and system data to plan, assess, and evaluate professional learning;

(g) Integrate theories, research, and models of human learning to achieve its intended outcomes;

(h) Apply current research on systems change and sustain support for implementation of professional learning for long-term instructional improvement as evidenced by student growth;

(i) Align its outcomes with educator performance and student curriculum standards; and

(j) Focus resources on areas of identified need.

(3) Professional development shall not supplant any of the six (6) hour instructional day.

(4) A district may report flexible professional development on unpaid noncontact days. This shall require a district calendar change and the change shall be reported to the Department of Education.

(5) Professional development that relates to an individual professional growth plan may be used to satisfy the requirements for certification or renewal options as established by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board in Title 16 KAR.

(6)

(a) Professional development grant dollars may reimburse college or graduate course tuition expended for a teacher to deepen content knowledge and content-specific pedagogy in math, science, English/language arts, social studies, arts and humanities, and practical living and career studies, if the teacher is assigned to teach in those areas.

(b) The use of professional development funds for tuition reimbursement shall be specified in the district improvement plan approved by the school board or the school plan approved by the school council as to funds under its control.

(c) Particular content areas and grade levels, which qualify for reimbursement, may be specified based upon information about the level of academic preparation of the teacher employed, local student performance data, and student learning needs.

(7) Professional development credit shall not be awarded for those experiences that provide remuneration beyond travel, food, lodging, or tuition.

(8) A school district implementing a flexible professional development schedule shall award professional development credit for any experience that addresses the goals of the school, the goals of the district improvement plan, or the individual professional growth plans of teachers.

(9) Parent-teacher conferencing skill development shall be permissible as a professional development experience.

Section 5. The Qualifications and Duties of the District Professional Development Coordinator.

(1) Qualifications for the position of district professional development coordinator shall include:

(a) A staff member meeting the certification requirement for a professional development coordinator as established by the Education Professional Standards Board in 16 KAR 4:010;

(b) A demonstrated ability to work with schools to plan, design, implement, and evaluate professional development that aligns with the requirements of this administrative regulation; and

(c) A demonstrated ability to work with schools to connect professional development with effective instructional practices and student achievement data.

(2) Duties of the district professional development coordinator shall include:

(a) Facilitating analysis of student, educator, and system data to conduct the district professional development needs assessment;

(b) Coordinating the intradistrict alignment of professional learning to achieve identified goals and objectives for professional development;

(c) Building capacity of school leaders, school council members, and other school and district leaders to plan, access resources, implement, and evaluate professional learning;

(d) Disseminating professional development information to school councils, staff members, and professional development committees;

(e) Providing technical assistance to school councils on scheduling to allow for job embedded professional learning opportunities;

(f) Coordinating the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the district professional development plan that is aligned, supportive of, and developed in conjunction with school improvement plans;

(g) Coordinating the establishment of local policies, procedures, timetables, necessary forms and letters, assignment of workshop sites, and all other practical elements of professional development, including fiscal management;

(h) Maintaining, verifying, and, if appropriate, submitting district and school professional development records, documentation, and other pertinent information to the Department of Education;

(i) Explaining the district's professional development plan's objectives, results, and needs to school professionals, district staff, board members, civic and parent groups, teacher training institutions, and others, as requested;

(j) Maintaining contact with the Department of Education and other agencies involved in providing professional development; and

(k) Identifying, selecting, coordinating, and evaluating the services of third-party professional development providers.

Section 6. A maximum of fifteen (15) percent of the district's professional development grant may be used for administrative purposes.

Section 7. When implementing professional development plans under KRS 158.070, a local school or district shall adhere to its school or district improvement plan.

704 KAR 3:035

7 Ky.R. 697; Am. 902; eff. 4-23-81; 11 Ky.R. 251; eff. 9-11-84; 1472; eff. 5-14-85; 12 Ky.R. 1165; eff. 2-4-86; 1635; eff. 5-6-86; 17 Ky.R. 455; 1485; eff. 12-7-90; 3254; 18 Ky.R. 45; eff. 7-5-91; 3523; 19 Ky.R. 394; eff. 8-1-92; 394; 1885; eff. 4-19-93; 20 Ky.R. 843; eff. 12-6-93; 3311; eff. 8-4-94; 21 Ky.R. 2531; eff. 6-1-95; 25 Ky.R. 1141; eff. 1-19-99; 31 Ky.R. 1585; 1814; eff. 5-26-05; 40 Ky.R. 439; 1102; 1261; eff. 1-3-2014; 47 Ky.R. 1065, 1558; eff. 5-4-2021.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 156.070, 156.095, 158.070(5)