by Morgan Watkins , @morganwatkins26 –
On the second-to-last day of the legislative session, Kentucky lawmakers sent the state Senate’s No. 1 priority, a high-profile proposal for education reform, to Gov. Matt Bevin’s desk.
Senate Bill 1 – which has been referred to by some people as the “Common Core killer” or the “teachers can teach” bill – is a lengthy piece of legislation that will bring sweeping reforms to Kentucky’s public-school system if the governor signs it into law.
Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, sponsored SB 1 and has said it effectively would let the commonwealth leave the controversial Common Core State Standards behind.
The bill would implement a new method for reviewing the state’s educational standards for subjects like science, social studies and math. It also would give school districts more control over handling teacher evaluations and overseeing low-performing schools, among other changes.
The legislature sent another bill to Bevin’s desk on Wednesday that would require the state to create new regulations for an elective social studies class on the Bible that public high schools in Kentucky would be allowed to offer their students.
That measure – known as House Bill 128 –just needs the governor’s signature. Proponents of the bill have said students would benefit from a course that teaches them more about the Bible and its influence on their society.
Some people have raised concerns about the separation of church and state, but the legislation received bipartisan support in the Senate Wednesday evening and passed with a 34-4 vote.
Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, spoke in support of the Bible bill shortly before it was approved.
“As a lawyer, I have no problem with this measure. I think it will be an asset to the curriculum of Kentucky schoolchildren,” she said.
A criminal justice reform bill Bevin publicly backed earlier this year also got the final approval it needed from the Senate on Wednesday afternoon and only requires the governor’s signature to become law now.
Senate Bill 120 resulted from the work of the Criminal Justice Policy Assessment Council Bevin created last year to examine Kentucky’s struggle with recidivism and other challenges.
It includes a mix of reforms that are meant to help people have a smoother transition back into society after serving time for their crimes, and it has received public support from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky as well as the governor.
Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, sponsored the bill, which would give people with felony convictions a chance to get professional licenses for various occupations once they’re out of prison. The legislation also would let inmates do work for private businesses and earn wages while they’re still behind bars.
SB 120 is part of a bipartisan effort to improve Kentucky’s criminal justice system. The ACLU has said it’s a worthwhile measure but that additional reforms are still needed.
“We need a justice system that functions less like a maze and more like a road map,” the ACLU’s advocacy director, Kate Miller, said when SB 120 was unveiled earlier this year. “This bill is a great step forward in terms of providing folks with that road map away from incarceration and toward successfully re-entering our communities.”
Contact reporter Morgan Watkins at 502-875-5136 or [email protected]
