(WKYT) – Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill regarding student performance measures and school accountability.
House Bill 257 says school districts may implement locally developed indicators of quality, and changes how student growth is measured.
The bill requires districts to use individual student reading and math growth metrics and student engagement, measured by examining chronic absenteeism, as state indicators for the accountability system.
In accordance with the bill, the Kentucky Department of Education is also required to develop professional learning guidelines for a writing program.
Superintendents must adopt policies that determine the program for their districts, and have those policies published on the district website.
“The writing program shall include disciplinary-specific writing across the curriculum and incorporate a variety of language resources, technological tools, and multiple opportunities for students to develop complex communication skills for a variety of purposes,” the bill reads.
Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher said the bill marks a huge step for the state, and that KDE will work alongside schools to help.
“We want to connect districts with each other to talk about local accountability and how you can work together to develop your local accountability systems,” Fletcher said.
HB 257 is set to go into effect before the start of the 2026-27 academic year.