LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass will not recommend state management or assistance for Jefferson County Public Schools after a follow-up audit of the district, the Kentucky Department of Education announced Tuesday.
"Based upon the findings outlined in the Management Audit Report, I have determined that there is not a pattern of a significant lack of efficiency and effectiveness in the governance and administration of JCPS," Glass said in a statement, adding that the district should incorporate the new audit's recommendations into its improvement plan and weekly cabinet meetings.
"I commend Dr. Pollio, his team and the Jefferson County Board of Education for their dedication to the implementation of the corrective action plan and their dedication to building sustainable systems that will provide stability to the district and allow the district to move forward."
The district was notified of the decision Friday, according to a KDE news release. The state conducted nearly 1,600 interviews between Sept. 21 and Oct. 9 and reviewed data, documents and the district's corrective action plan during the audit, the release says.
JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio said the district has gone from 276 items on its corrective action plan, developed following the initial audit, to 27 issues that remain works in progress.
"We're very proud of that work and how far we've come," he said, calling Tuesday's audit release "a big day" for JCPS.
"It's been a journey of growth and continuous improvement for JCPS and I want to say this: We're not there yet," Pollio said. "We're not where we need to be yet."
The follow-up audit comes two and a half years after KDE, under former Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis, recommended state management for Kentucky’s largest school district following a 14-month review of district operations.
That audit, released in April 2018, identified numerous deficiencies within JCPS, such as management of its special education and Head Start preschool programs, inadequate funding for facilities, inconsistencies in instruction and curriculum development, handling of internal investigations, and anomalies in state testing.
“Ensuring that every child in every school in JCPS is protected and served well is my first priority,” Lewis wrote in his letter to Pollio and Jefferson County Board of Education Chairwoman Diane Porter informing them of his determination. “The findings of the audit make it clear that for some time many children in JCPS have neither been protected nor served well.”
The initial audit’s release came weeks after Stephen Pruitt, the state’s former education commissioner, resigned following a four-hour executive session the day after former Gov. Matt Bevin appointed seven new members to the 11-member Kentucky Board of Education in April 2018.
Some speculated that Pruitt’s sudden departure was tied to the state’s recommendation for a takeover of JCPS.
“We certainly had apprehensions that the commissioner might recommend this,” Jefferson County Teachers Association President Brent McKim said at the time. “The way they so quickly changed the commissioner certainly made it seem like they were predisposed to do something draconian like this.”
But Pollio said Tuesday that he did not have a "contentious relationship" with Lewis, who stepped down in December after Gov. Andy Beshear took office and reorganized the entire Kentucky Board of Education.
"That was very far from the truth," Pollio said. "Dr. Lewis and I collaborated all the time, had phone conversations. He was very supportive."
The Jefferson County Board of Education challenged the state’s determination and later settled the matter with the state board in August 2018, agreeing to develop and follow a corrective action plan to fix issues identified in the original audit and give the state final say in policies related to restraint and seclusion of students, early childhood education, and special education.
The follow-up review was also part of the district’s settlement with KDE.
"The board appreciates the genuine effort and commitment by Dr. Pollio, his team and the Jefferson County Board of Education over the course of the corrective action plan," Lu Young, chairwoman of the Kentucky Board of Education, said in a statement Tuesday.
"We recognize that JCPS has come a long way from where they began and urge them to remain vigilant on behalf of the children and families they serve. We all recognize that this work is not over and that JCPS will continue on its journey to significant improvement – the work is too important for anything less."
The latest audit offered some areas of improvement for JCPS, such as boosting participation in its meal program during the COVID-19 pandemic, recruiting more bus drivers and monitors, pursuing other revenue possibilities like a utility tax and developing more partnerships with area businesses in career and technical instruction.
While the state commended JCPS for improvements in several areas, auditors found that deficiencies in special education have continued. KDE's Office of Special Education and Early Learning "verified persistent systemic findings of noncompliance," according to the audit.
Special education is an area "where we need to continue to focus" at JCPS, Pollio said, adding that he believes the district will ultimately be successful in fixing those issues.
"We were told that would be a three- to five-year process to get to where we need to be," he said, referring to special education. "I think we're on track, but we still have a lot of work to do."
The district's use of physical restraints on students was among issues raised by KDE in its latest review of JCPS operations.
Auditors found that the district accounted for nearly 45% of all physical restraints reported across the state during the 2019-20 school year, with one JCPS school contributing 10.4% of student restraints used throughout Kentucky schools.
That school -- later identified as Binet School, which serves students with significant learning and behavioral disabilities -- represented nearly a quarter of the district's total physical restraints and 94.2% of its reported seclusions during the 2019-20 school year, the audit says.
JCPS also accounted for 41.7% of restraints used against disabled students throughout the state last school year, according to the audit.
Auditors reviewed records of 37 students and found 13 instances in which JCPS staff used an improper restraint against a student and six times when students were injured but not offered medical aid, the report says.
"Repeated instances of physical restraint and seclusion were noted as the primary means of discipline even though behavior interventions specified in the student's (individual education program) were not implemented," auditors wrote.
Pollio said JCPS would focus on providing greater resources for students, particularly those with special needs, in hopes of reducing the frequency of restraint and seclusion inside schools.
"These are kids who may have trauma, emotional needs," he said. "They might have mental health needs. ... We need to increase the supports that we give, the wraparound services that we give to kids."
Auditors also noted "numerous systemic and student-specific violations concerning IEP development and implementation" following their review of special education plans.
Early childhood education was one area of noted improvement for JCPS. The Jefferson County Board of Education voted in May 2018 to relinquish its $15 million Head Start grant as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found numerous abuse and neglect issues involving preschool students in the district.
Auditors found that "all original findings of noncompliance" have been corrected based on the district's corrective action plan, according to the report.
In light of those improvements, Pollio wants the school board to consider pursuing the Head Start grant for Jefferson County, now worth $18 million and held by the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative and Family and Children's Place.
"I am interested in exploring that possibility with our board and open to the possibility of applying again to bring Head Start back because we need those federal funds," he said.
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