A controversial education bill that lifts a statewide school mask mandate received final passage Thursday by lawmakers now tasked with shaping Kentucky's COVID-19 policies.After back-and-forth discussions among lawmakers in the Republican-led legislature, Senate Bill 1 passed the Senate on a 28-8 vote, then the House of Representatives voted 70-25 to send the bill to Gov. Andy Beshear.WLKY reporter Mark Vanderhoff tweeted Thursday that the House of Representatives agreed to waive the second and third readings on SB 1, so they could sub it for their version of the education bill, House Bill 1.SB 1 would leave it up to local school boards to decide whether to issue mask mandates."I also value the judgment and the trust of superintendents, educators, school board members," said Sen. Max Wise who is the Senate Education chair. "With this bill, we give them trust and I think we all would say we all would trust superintendents to do what's best."The bill also gives schools additional flexibility to weather the pandemic. School districts would receive up to 20 remote learning days to move individual schools or classes to virtual learning due to COVID-19 disruptions.It also stabilizes funding for school districts, despite fluctuations in in-person attendance during the pandemic and makes it easier for districts to hire new employees amid severe staffing shortages.The education bill also allows schools to offer incentives for students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and temporarily makes it easier to hire employees to address staffing shortages.Jason Glass, a commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Education, called the measure "politically motivated" and that it doesn't "go far enough in providing flexibility in different school models that our school needs."Glass said the department of education plans to work with school districts to encourage them to continue following COVID-19 best practices."We will be working with Kentucky’s school districts as they continue to try to keep students in school safely and do our best to manage the consequences of the decisions made by our legislature in this special session," Glass said.
A controversial education bill that lifts a statewide school mask mandate received final passage Thursday by lawmakers now tasked with shaping Kentucky's COVID-19 policies.
After back-and-forth discussions among lawmakers in the Republican-led legislature, Senate Bill 1 passed the Senate on a 28-8 vote, then the House of Representatives voted 70-25 to send the bill to Gov. Andy Beshear.
WLKY reporter Mark Vanderhoff tweeted Thursday that the House of Representatives agreed to waive the second and third readings on SB 1, so they could sub it for their version of the education bill, House Bill 1.
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SB 1 would leave it up to local school boards to decide whether to issue mask mandates.
"I also value the judgment and the trust of superintendents, educators, school board members," said Sen. Max Wise who is the Senate Education chair. "With this bill, we give them trust and I think we all would say we all would trust superintendents to do what's best."
The bill also gives schools additional flexibility to weather the pandemic. School districts would receive up to 20 remote learning days to move individual schools or classes to virtual learning due to COVID-19 disruptions.
It also stabilizes funding for school districts, despite fluctuations in in-person attendance during the pandemic and makes it easier for districts to hire new employees amid severe staffing shortages.
The education bill also allows schools to offer incentives for students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and temporarily makes it easier to hire employees to address staffing shortages.
Jason Glass, a commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Education, called the measure "politically motivated" and that it doesn't "go far enough in providing flexibility in different school models that our school needs."
Glass said the department of education plans to work with school districts to encourage them to continue following COVID-19 best practices.
"We will be working with Kentucky’s school districts as they continue to try to keep students in school safely and do our best to manage the consequences of the decisions made by our legislature in this special session," Glass said.
