This story was written by Lia Salvatierra, our new Education Reporter. Find more of Lia’s reporting here. Do you have an NKY education story? Email lsalvatierra@linknky.com.
Covington Independent Public Schools is again seeking exemptions from certain state education rules under Kentucky’s School of Innovation Act, but this time for all of the district’s schools.
Originally passed in 2025, the School of Innovation Act allows the Kentucky Board of Education to waive regulations for public schools in favor of customization, flexibility and non-traditional learning models.
Covington Independent Public Schools applied for waivers for one of its schools, Holmes Middle School, last year. The Kentucky Board of Education denied the request in February of this year.
Lawmakers revised the original legislation this spring, creating a formal pilot program for those rule waivers and naming Covington Independent Public Schools as the candidate for that pilot. The revised law also opened up the door for state and matching funding for the pilot.
The amount of state funding available is $2.5 million, as long as that sum is privately matched, according to Covington Board of Education Chairman Tom Haggard, who is also vice president of community engagement at EducateNKY.
Language in the revised law states “any distribution of funds shall be to Educate NKY Inc. to support the establishment of schools of innovation within the Covington Independent School District.”
Haggard told LINK nky he believes the district was selected for the pilot because of the Holmes Middle School application.
“I think the General Assembly took note of that and said, ‘Hey, you know, there’s some folks there who are willing to be up front on this,’” Haggard said. “I think that’s exciting. Covington doesn’t often get the opportunity to lead, especially on positive things.”
Despite being named as part of the pilot program in the law, Covington still has to formally apply for waivers to state rules through the Kentucky Board of Education.
Over the past several months, a district task force has worked on its new application packet to waive rules for the entire district.
Click here for a list of Covington back-to-school events
The task force included Covington’s new Superintendent, Cortnei Flucas, who started at the district on July 1.
The Covington Board of Education approved the final application packet to waive seven state education rules across the entire district last week at a July 30 special meeting.
The Kentucky Board of Education was scheduled to consider the application at a meeting on Aug. 5, due to a state-imposed 30-day deadline for deciding on waiver applications.
The state board’s next scheduled meeting on Sept. 2 falls after the 30-day deadline.
But the board opted to table the item and instead call a special meeting before that deadline to make a decision.
Board members said the Kentucky Department of Education did not have time for a “meaningful” review of the request, and agreed the scale of the application requires more thorough consideration.
“It’s very clear from the scope of this waiver that there is some, I would say, substantial innovation in mind,” Sharon Porter Robinson, vice chair of the Kentucky Board of Education said.
What’s in the waivers?
Covington applied for exemptions to seven different Kentucky education rules pertaining to staffing, school calendars, attendance, salaries, testing and stakeholder input, according to documents obtained by LINK nky.
Flucas told LINK nky that the goal of the district’s waiver application is not to become recognized as an innovation district, but to ensure Covington has options for its students.
“We see this opportunity to execute and be a bit more nimble, if you will, in our approach to teaching and learning,” Flucas said. “The waivers, or being considered an innovative district, is absolutely not the goal.”
Here is more detail about current rules and how Covington plans to adjust them to better fit the district’s needs:
- State salary schedule
- Currently: State law sets salaries around rank and experience, rather than performance and results, with some exceptions.
- If waived: Covington wants the ability to determine salaries based on performance and need, rather than just years of experience.
- Creating calendars
- Currently: Under Kentucky law, district calendars should be created by a calendar committee. Also, Kentucky’s commissioner of education must approve any “alternative” calendars.
- If waived: Covington wants the option to delegate calendar creation to district administrators, a task force and any other stakeholders to to ensure alignment with innovation initiatives. It also wants to waive the need for state approval.
- Calendar requirements
- Currently: Other state calendar rules include regulations around how to reallocate missed time and deadlines for calendar adoption.
- If waived: Covington wants the option to waive all of those rules in favor of customization and flexibility.
- School-based decision making
- Currently: Kentucky law establishes “school-based decision making” councils, which essentially give parents, teachers and administrators a role in policymaking at their schools.
- If waived: Covington wants the option to be exempt from the state’s rules around these councils in favor of its own model. The district also wants the ability to add career and industry experts to the council, in addition to parents, teachers and administrators.
- State assessments
- Currently: Kentucky has its own state education testing aligned with federal standards.
- If waived: Covington wants the ability to create its own tailored assessments, in addition to the state testing.
- Attendance
- Currently: Under Kentucky law, 15 unexcused absences triggers a mandatory referral to the county attorney.
- If waived: Covington wants exemption from requiring court intervention on the state timeline, in favor of a local intervention process. The district wants to address underlying causes of truancy and bring in the county attorney’s office only when necessary.
- Hiring teachers
- Currently: All Kentucky teachers must have a teaching license or certification from the state.
- If waived: Covington wants the ability to hire up to 25% of uncertified staff, while still requiring undergraduate or graduate degree in their respective field. The aim is to hire industry experts, such as in cybersecurity or health sciences, to strengthen curriculum.
Now we wait
Flucas isn’t waiting for a verdict from the state to begin charting the district’s future.
Since beginning in July, she’s been designing a public input process set to bring together multiple councils of parents, students and teachers to inform a vision for Covington.
“It’s part of my first 100-day plan to do all this listening and learning,” she said.
And even if the state approves the waiver application, it’s not guaranteed the district will opt for big changes, she said. That’s up to the stakeholders.
“It is now our chance and our opportunity to craft that vision, a coherent vision, pre-K through 12-plus, as a school community,” she said.
Haggard said if any changes are decided upon, it’s unlikely they would be implemented until next school year.
But he believes strongly that the public wants to see change.
“I feel pretty strongly that the public sent the members of this board to serve because they wanted something different,” Haggard said. “They didn’t want to keep doing the same old thing, and so that’s what we’re trying to support.”
Lia Salvatierra is a journalist with Report for America, a service program that helps boost coverage of underreported topics and areas throughout the United States. To help LINK nky continue to provide this kind of reporting, you can make a tax-deductible donation here.
