Kentucky Senate Bill 128 has been approved by both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Andy Beshear. This bill, also referred to as KY SB 128 and known by some as the “redshirt” or the “do-over” bill, allows K-12 students currently enrolled in public or non-public schools to request to use the 2021-2022 school year as a supplemental year. Students who choose this option can retake and/or supplement coursework already completed.
If you are interested in more information about this option for your child, please contact their school. All requests must be submitted on the ECBOE-approved form by May 1st. Forms will be available at each school and at the Elliott County Board of Education office. If you change your mind after submitting the form, the student and/or parents may rescind this request at any time before May 31, 2021.
Our school board is required to make a decision by June 1st, 2021 on whether to approve all or none of the requests for a supplemental school year. School districts are not allowed to decide on an individual basis. If our board members decide to accept requests for a supplemental year, we will accept all requests and if they decide not to accept requests for a supplemental year, we will accept no requests.
Below are a few benefits and concerns surrounding the SB 128 decision for your child. Please call your child’s school with any questions.
Benefits
· Students may make up/retake classes from the prior year or take supplemental classes. For example, if a high school student was enrolled in US History, they would retake US History, or they could take AP US History as a supplement.
· Students who experienced learning loss because of the pandemic will have a full year of in-person instruction.
· Students who fail a high school course can retake that same course for credit.
· Students may participate in extracurricular activities as long as they meet KHSAA age and other eligibility requirements.
· Graduated seniors returning for the supplemental year may have the repeated courses listed on transcripts for informational purposes.
Concerns
· Students will be returning to school with a new class of students, as the vast majority of students in their grade will be promoted.
· Students may not be academically challenged by repeating the same class/courses.
· Students cannot explore new elective class offerings in the “supplemental” year.
· If the student is 19 before August 1st, 2021, they will be ineligible for KHSAA sports during the 2021-22 school year.
· Grades for graduated seniors cannot be changed; the GPA for these students remains the same, no matter if they make a better grade in the class during the 2021-2022 school year.