HB 469

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1AN ACT relating to local boards of education.
2 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
3Section 1. KRS 160.180 is amended to read as follows:
4 (1)     As used in this section, "relative" means father, mother, brother, sister, husband,
5wife, son, and daughter.
6 (2)     A person shall only be eligible for membership on a board of education if the
7person:
8(a)     Has attained the age of twenty-four (24) years;
9(b)     Has been a citizen of Kentucky for at least three (3) years preceding the
10election and is a voter of the district for which he or she is elected;
11(c)     Has completed at least the twelfth grade or has been issued a High School
12Equivalency Diploma[, as evidenced by:
131.      An affidavit signed under penalty of perjury certifying completion of the
14twelfth grade or the equivalent that has been filed with the nominating
15petition required by KRS 118.315; or
162.      A transcript evidencing completion of the twelfth grade or the results of
17a twelfth grade equivalency examination that has been filed with the
18nominating petition required by KRS 118.315];
19(d)     Is not ineligible for employment in the school district under KRS
20160.380(5);
21(e)[(d)]        Does not hold any elective federal, state, county, or city office;
22(f)[(e)]        Is not, at the time of his or her election, directly or indirectly interested
23in the sale to the board of books, stationery, or any other property, materials,
24supplies, equipment, or services for which school funds are expended;
25(g)[(f)]        Has not been removed from membership on a board of education for
26cause; and
27(h)[(g)]        Does not have a relative employed by the school district, in the case of a
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1person elected after July 13, 1990. This shall not apply to a board member
2holding office on July 13, 1990, whose relative was not initially hired by the
3district during the tenure of the board member.
4 (3)     (a)     A member of a board of education shall be subject to removal from office
5pursuant to KRS 415.050 and 415.060 if, after the election the member:
61.      Becomes interested in any contract with or claims against the board, of
7the kind mentioned in subsection (2)(f)[(e)] of this section;
82.      Moves his or her residence from the division for which he or she was
9chosen;
103.      Attempts to influence the employment of any school employee, except
11the superintendent or school board attorney;
124.      Is convicted of a felony;
135.      Performs acts of malfeasance in performance of duties prescribed by
14law;
156.      Willfully misuses, converts, or misappropriates public property or funds;
16or
177.      Does anything that would render the member ineligible for reelection.
18(b)     In accordance with KRS 7.410, the Office of Education Accountability shall
19have the duty and responsibility to investigate current local board of education
20members for allegations of conduct prohibited by paragraph (a) of this
21subsection. After review and investigation, the Office of Education
22Accountability shall refer appropriate matters to the Attorney General.
23 (4)     A member of a board of education shall be eligible for reelection unless he or she
24becomes disqualified.
25 (5)     The annual in-service training requirements for all members of boards of education
26in office as of December 31, 2014, shall be as follows:
27(a)     Twelve (12) hours for members with zero to three (3) years of experience;
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1(b)     Eight (8) hours for members with four (4) to seven (7) years of experience;
2and
3(c)     Four (4) hours for members with eight (8) or more years of experience.
4The Kentucky Board of Education shall identify the criteria for fulfilling this
5requirement.
6 (6)     (a)     For all members of boards of education who begin their initial service on or
7after January 1, 2015, the in-service training requirements shall be:
81.      Twelve (12) hours for members with zero to eight (8) years of
9experience each year, which shall include a minimum of:
10a.      One (1) hour of ethics training each year; and
11b.      One (1) hour of open meetings and open records training within
12the first twelve (12) months of initial service and at least once
13every four (4) years thereafter; and
142.      Eight (8) hours for members with more than eight (8) years of
15experience each year, which shall include a minimum of:
16a.      One (1) hour of ethics training each year; and
17b.      One (1) hour of open meetings and open records training at least
18once every four (4) years.
19(b)     Training topics for members under this subsection with less than two (2) years
20of consecutive service shall include three (3) hours of finance and one (1)
21hour of superintendent evaluation within the first two (2) years of service. The
22Kentucky Board of Education shall identify criteria for fulfilling this
23requirement.
24SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 160 IS CREATED TO
25 READ AS FOLLOWS:
26 (1)     A county clerk shall require an individual seeking membership on a board of
27education, as a candidate named on the ballot or a registered write-in candidate,
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1to establish that he or she meets the qualifications for office established by
2subsection (2) of Section 1 of this Act by submitting:
3(a)     To a national and state criminal background check by the Department of
4Kentucky State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the cost of
5which shall be paid by the individual, that indicates the individual has not
6been convicted of, and does not have pending charges for, a criminal
7offense that would make the individual ineligible for employment in the
8district pursuant to KRS 160.380(5);
9(b)     A clear CA/N check, as defined in KRS 160.380, the cost of which shall be
10paid by the individual;
11(c)     Proof of completion of the twelfth grade as evidenced by:
121.      An affidavit signed under penalty of perjury certifying completion of
13the twelfth grade or the equivalent;
142.      A transcript evidencing completion of the twelfth grade; or
153.      The results of a twelfth grade equivalency examination; and
16(d)     Other documentation determined by the clerk of the county to be necessary
17to establish that the individual is eligible for membership on a board of
18education under subsection (2) of Section 1 of this Act.
19 (2)     Records collected by the county clerk pursuant to subsection (1) of this section
20shall be:
21(a)     Used for the sole purpose of determining an individual's qualification for
22membership on a board of education pursuant to subsection (2) of Section 1
23of this Act; and
24(b)     Exempt from the Kentucky Open Records Act, KRS 61.870 to 61.884. This
25paragraph shall not restrict access to open records in the possession or
26control of another office or agency.
27Section 3. KRS 160.190 is amended to read as follows:
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1 (1)     Any vacancy in any board of education shall be filled by a majority vote of the
2remaining members of the local board within sixty (60) days after the vacancy
3occurs. Within thirty (30) days of the vacancy, the local board shall, for two (2)
4weeks, have solicited applications by posting a notice announcing the vacancy on
5the district's website and by placing an advertisement in the newspaper of the
6largest general circulation in the county. An applicant shall file a letter of intent
7with the local board affirming that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements
8as established in[by] KRS 160.180[ and shall submit with the application a
9transcript evidencing completion of the twelfth grade or results of a twelfth grade
10equivalency examination]. After the two (2) weeks of advertisement on the district's
11website and in the newspaper, the local board shall select from the applicants under
12this subsection to fill the vacancy.
13 (2)     If the local board fails to make an appointment under subsection (1) of this section,
14then the chief state school officer shall fill the vacancy within sixty (60) days of the
15failure.
16 (3)     The member chosen under this section shall:
17(a)     Meet the eligibility requirements for office established in subsection (2) of
18Section 1 of this Act; and[Meet the eligibility requirements as established by
19KRS 160.180 and shall ]
20(b)     Hold office until his or her successor is elected or appointed, and has
21qualified.
22 (4)     Any vacancy having an unexpired term of one (1) year or more on August 1 after
23the vacancy occurs shall be filled for the unexpired term by an election to be held at
24the next regular election after the vacancy occurs. The elected member shall
25succeed the member chosen under subsection (1) or (2) of this section to fill the
26vacancy. Nominating petitions shall be filed with the county clerk not later than the
27second Tuesday in August preceding the day for holding the regular election for the
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1unexpired term. Declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate shall be filed with
2the county clerk in accordance with KRS 117.265.
3 (5)     (a)     If no candidate files a petition of nomination or declaration of intent to be a
4write-in candidate to fill an unexpired term on a local board of education
5under subsection (4) of this section, then a new vacancy shall exist on
6November 1 and the vacancy shall be filled according to subsection (1) of this
7section.
8(b)     If no candidate files a petition of nomination or declaration of intent to be a
9write-in candidate for a new term on a local board of education opening
10pursuant to KRS 118.315 and 118.365, then a vacancy shall exist on January 1
11and the vacancy shall be filled according to subsection (1) of this section.
12Section 4. KRS 117.265 is amended to read as follows:
13 (1)     A voter may, at any regular or special election, cast a write-in vote for any person
14qualified as provided in subsection (2) or (3) of this section, whose name does not
15appear upon the ballot for any office, by writing the name of his or her choice upon
16the appropriate ballot for the office being voted on as required by KRS 117.125.
17Any candidate who is defeated or disqualified in a partisan or nonpartisan primary
18shall be ineligible as a candidate for the same office in the regular election, unless
19there is a vacancy pursuant to KRS 118.105(3). Any voter utilizing a federal
20provisional ballot, a federal provisional in-person absentee ballot, or a mail-in
21absentee ballot for a regular or special election may write in a vote for any eligible
22person whose name does not appear upon the ballot, by writing the name of his or
23her choice under the office.
24 (2)     Write-in votes shall be counted only for candidates for election to office who have
25filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate with the Secretary of State or
26county clerk, depending on the office being sought, on or before the certification
27deadlines established in KRS 118.215(1)(a) to (c) and 118A.090(2) and not later
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1than the second Friday before the date of a special election. In the case of a special
2election administered under KRS 118.730, a declaration of intent to be a write-in
3candidate shall be filed at least twenty-eight (28) days before the day of the
4election. The declaration of intent shall be filed no earlier than the first Wednesday
5after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the year the office will
6appear on the ballot, and no later than 4 p.m. local time at the place of filing when
7filed on the last date on which papers may be filed. The declaration of intent shall
8be on a form prescribed and furnished by the Secretary of State.
9 (3)     A person shall not be eligible as a write-in candidate:
10(a)     For more than one (1) office in a regular or special election;[ or]
11(b)     If his or her name appears upon the ballot for any office, except that the
12candidate may file a notice of withdrawal prior to filing an intent to be a
13write-in candidate for office when a vacancy in a different office occurs
14because of:
151.      Death;
162.      Disqualification to hold the office sought;
173.      Severe disabling condition which arose after the nomination; or
184.      The nomination of an unopposed candidate; or
19(c)     For membership on a board of education, unless he or she meets the
20eligibility requirements for office established in subsection (2) of Section 1
21of this Act, as required to be proven in accordance with Section 2 of this
22Act.
23 (4)     Persons who wish to run for President and Vice President shall file a declaration of
24intent to be a write-in candidate, along with a list of presidential electors pledged to
25those candidates, with the Secretary of State on or before the fourth Friday in
26October preceding the date of the regular election for those offices. The declaration
27of intent shall be filed no earlier than the first Wednesday after the first Monday in
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1November of the year preceding the year the office will appear on the ballot, and no
2later than 4 p.m. local time at the place of filing when filed on the last date on
3which papers may be filed. Write-in votes cast for the candidates whose names
4appear on the ballot shall apply to the slate of pledged presidential electors, whose
5names shall not appear on the ballot.
6 (5)     The county clerk shall provide to the precinct election officers certified lists of
7those persons who have filed declarations of intent as provided in subsections (2)
8and (3) of this section. These lists shall not be posted anywhere, but a voter may
9request to see a copy of the list. Once the voter has reviewed the copy, it shall
10immediately be returned to the precinct election officer. Only write-in votes cast for
11qualified candidates shall be counted.
12 (6)     Two (2) election officers of opposing parties shall upon the request of any voter
13instruct the voter on how to cast a write-in vote.
14Section 5.  Notwithstanding subsection (3)(a)7. of Section 1 of this Act,
15 members serving on boards of education on the effective date of Section 1 of this Act
16 shall not be subject to removal from office on the basis of ineligibility for employment in
17 the school district pursuant to KRS 160.380(5) but shall not be eligible for reelection
18 unless he or she meets the eligibility requirements for office established in subsection (2)
19 of Section 1 of this Act, as required to be proven in accordance with Section 2 of this Act.
20Section 6. Sections 1 to 4 of this Act take effect January 1, 2027.
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