Kentucky lawmakers propose 'red tape reduction act,' aim to address teacher requirements

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A proposed bill in the Kentucky legislature aims to reduce the time teachers spend on required training and evaluations, allowing them to focus more on students.

House Bill 48 would adjust the frequency of some professional development requirements and change certain trainings from once year to every four years.

The Jefferson County Teachers Association estimates school staff currently spend up to three days each year on training sessions.

"Teachers have a lot of bureaucratic responsibilities, a lot of paperwork," said Maddie Shepard, president of the JCTA. "One of the goals of this bill is to cut back on that, to free teachers up to focus on instruction and the things that affect students most."

Shepard said trainings range from ways to identify special education students, protecting personal information and identifying phishing attempts.

"Oftentimes, someone will have an idea that this is something that teachers need to know," Shepard said. "And a lot of times they're right, but that that list stacks up pretty quickly. There's a pretty wide spectrum of things that teachers engage in annual training on, and it's not that they're necessarily not important, but there are certain trainings — like the identifying online phishing scams might be something that we need to do every couple years and not every year."

The bill would also increase the time between mandatory teacher evaluations. JCTA said many teachers find more value in informal evaluations, which provide more immediate feedback for improvement compared to formal reviews.

"What also happens in schools — and a lot of people don't know this — is that informal observations and informal coaching and feedback cycles are happening," Shepard said. "I think, to a lot of teachers, those more informal drop-ins, informal observations and informal conversations are happening frequently, or all the time, with peers and with administrators are far more helpful in terms of like coaching and growth than the summative evaluations."

HB 48 has support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as they look for ways to streamline teacher responsibilities and prioritize classroom instruction.

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