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Setting Education Policy

Bill and a panel of state legislators discuss education policy in the commonwealth. The guests were Sen. Mike Wilson (R-Bowling Green), chair of the Senate Education Committee; Rep. Wilson Stone (D-Scottsville), vice chair of the House Education Committee; Rep. Phil Moffett (R-Louisville); and Sen. Robin Webb (D-Grayson).
Season 23 Episode 40 Length 56:33 Premiere: 10/10/16

About

Kentucky Tonight

KET’s Kentucky Tonight, hosted by Renee Shaw, brings together an expert panel for in-depth analysis of major issues facing the Commonwealth.

This weekly program features comprehensive discussions with lawmakers, stakeholders and policy leaders that are moderated by award-winning journalist Renee Shaw.

For nearly three decades, Kentucky Tonight has been a source for complete and balanced coverage of the most urgent and important public affairs developments in the state of Kentucky.

Often aired live, viewers are encouraged to participate by submitting questions in real-time via email, Twitter or KET’s online form. Viewers with questions and comments may send an email to kytonight@ket.org or use the contact form. All messages should include first and last name and town or county. The phone number for viewer calls during the program is 800-494-7605.

After the broadcast, Kentucky Tonight programs are available on KET.org and via podcast (iTunes or Android). Files are normally accessible within 24 hours after the television broadcast.

Kentucky Tonight was awarded a 1997 regional Emmy by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The series was also honored with a 1995 regional Emmy nomination.

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Renee Shaw is the Director of Public Affairs and Moderator at KET, currently serving as host of KET’s weeknight public affairs program Kentucky Edition, the signature public policy discussion series Kentucky Tonight, the weekly interview series Connections, Election coverage and KET Forums.

Since 2001, Renee has been the producing force behind KET’s legislative coverage that has been recognized by the Kentucky Associated Press and the National Educational Telecommunications Association. Under her leadership, KET has expanded its portfolio of public affairs content to include a daily news and information program, Kentucky Supreme Court coverage, townhall-style forums, and multi-platform program initiatives around issues such as opioid addiction and youth mental health.  

Renee has also earned top awards from the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), with three regional Emmy awards. In 2023, she was inducted into the Silver Circle of the NATAS, one of the industry’s highest honors recognizing television professionals with distinguished service in broadcast journalism for 25 years or more.  

Already an inductee into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame (2017), Renee expands her hall of fame status with induction into Western Kentucky University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni in November of 2023.  

In February of 2023, Renee graced the front cover of Kentucky Living magazine with a centerfold story on her 25 years of service at KET and even longer commitment to public media journalism. 

In addition to honors from various educational, civic, and community organizations, Renee has earned top honors from the Associated Press and has twice been recognized by Mental Health America for her years-long dedication to examining issues of mental health and opioid addiction.  

In 2022, she was honored with Women Leading Kentucky’s Governor Martha Layne Collins Leadership Award recognizing her trailblazing path and inspiring dedication to elevating important issues across Kentucky.   

In 2018, she co-produced and moderated a 6-part series on youth mental health that was awarded first place in educational content by NETA, the National Educational Telecommunications Association. 

She has been honored by the AKA Beta Gamma Omega Chapter with a Coretta Scott King Spirit of Ivy Award; earned the state media award from the Kentucky Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 2019; named a Charles W. Anderson Laureate by the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet in 2019 honoring her significant contributions in addressing socio-economic issues; and was recognized as a “Kentucky Trailblazer” by the University of Kentucky Martin School of Public Policy and Administration during the Wendell H. Ford Lecture Series in 2019. That same year, Shaw was named by The Kentucky Gazette’s inaugural recognition of the 50 most notable women in Kentucky politics and government.  

Renee was bestowed the 2021 Berea College Service Award and was named “Unapologetic Woman of the Year” in 2021 by the Community Action Council.   

In 2015, she received the Green Dot Award for her coverage of domestic violence, sexual assault & human trafficking. In 2014, Renee was awarded the Anthony Lewis Media Award from the KY Department of Public Advocacy for her work on criminal justice reform. Two Kentucky governors, Republican Ernie Fletcher and Democrat Andy Beshear, have commissioned Renee as a Kentucky Colonel for noteworthy accomplishments and service to community, state, and nation.  

A former adjunct media writing professor at Georgetown College, Renee traveled to Cambodia in 2003 to help train emerging journalists on reporting on critical health issues as part of an exchange program at Western Kentucky University. And, she has enterprised stories for national media outlets, the PBS NewsHour and Public News Service.  

Shaw is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Kentucky, a board member of CASA of Lexington, and a longtime member of the Frankfort/Lexington Chapter of The Links Incorporated, an international, not-for-profit organization of women of color committed to volunteer service. She has served on the boards of the Kentucky Historical Society, Lexington Minority Business Expo, and the Board of Governors for the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 

Host Renee Shaw smiling in a green dress with a KET set behind her.

Education Policy Priorities for the Next General Assembly

Achievement gaps, charter schools, testing and accountability measures, and college costs are among the many education issues awaiting lawmakers in the 2017 session of the General Assembly.

On Monday’s Kentucky Tonight, a panel of state legislators convened to discuss these and other education topics in the commonwealth. The guests were Sen. Mike Wilson (R-Bowling Green), chair of the Senate Education Committee; Rep. Wilson Stone (D-Scottsville), vice chair of the House Education Committee; Rep. Phil Moffett (R-Louisville); and Sen. Robin Webb (D-Grayson).

Achievement Gaps
Speaking to USA Today reporters last week in Washington, U.S. Education Secretary John King called out Kentucky for failing to address performance inequities among the state’s public school students. Among the achievement gaps outlined by King, the story said, “60 percent of white elementary students scored at either the proficient or distinguished level in reading, while only 38 percent of black students scored that high. For Hispanic students, the figure was 43 percent.”

A recent report from the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence [LINK to this week’s Connections recap] further detailed the issue, saying as many as 70 percent of Kentucky children may be at risk of under-performing. The study said achievement gaps can start as early as kindergarten. See this week’s Connections.

“If there’s a pressing problem right now in Kentucky education, this is it,” says
Rep. Stone. “This is the time for all hands on deck and really be thinking about ways to remedy the situation not in the next generation but in this generation.”

Stone recommends boosting funds for early childhood education, saying that addressing achievement gaps sooner will reduce the need for remedial interventions later. Sen. Wilson adds that more money for kindergartens would help. He says the state pays for half a day now, and could consider full-day funding. Wilson also says more parental involvement, such as reading to a child from a very early age, can improve academic achievement.

Charter Schools
Last week the Kentucky Board of Education said it would study the possibility of bringing charter schools to the commonwealth. Such schools, which are usually publicly funded, are freed from some academic regulations and allowed to employ innovative teaching strategies in return for meeting certain accountability and student achievement standards. Frankfort Republicans have pushed charter school bills in several recent legislative sessions, but the measures have stalled in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

Rep. Moffett contends that since traditional schools are failing some students, especially low-income and minority pupils, parents should have the option of sending their children to a charter school that can better serve their needs. He says the charter concept has been well tested: Minnesota started the first American charter schools in 1994. They now operate in 43 states.

“We have the opportunity to take all of the lessons learned over the years from all of those states that have done it and fashion a charter school law that’s effective, that will have accountability that we want,” Moffett says. “And If they don’t work well, we should close them and start them over. “

Democratic opponents of charters argue the schools drain money away from traditional classrooms, can lack proper oversight, and can result in the privatization of public education if for-profit companies are allowed to operate the schools. Stone says student achievement gaps can be solved within the existing public school framework without risking dollars to create a charter school system. He favors suspending some regulations or laws to give traditional schools more flexibility to try new instructional methods.

Sen. Webb says she’s not been impressed with the performance of charter operations she’s tracked in other states.

“I’m not saying there’s not a model that might work,” says Webb, “but I am very cautious based on the success or lack of success in some jurisdictions with the charter school as a be-all, end-all to solve the education problems.”

Moffett acknowledges that charter schools aren’t a “silver bullet” but instead should be considered another “tool in the tool shed” to address achievement problems. He and fellow Republican Wilson support legislation that would allow pilot projects to test the charter concept in urban Jefferson and Fayette counties where achievement gaps have been the most persistent. Wilson says that would give educators, lawmakers, and parents a chance to evaluate whether charters would be a good option for Kentucky.

Greater Transparency for Test Results
Moffett has prefiled a bill for the 2017 session to make it easier for parents to know exactly how well the school their child attends or might attend is performing. The legislation would require every school and school system to clearly display in the upper right corner of its website homepage the percentage of students performing at proficient or above in six categories of the state’s standardized test scores.

Although that data is already available online, Moffett says it takes effort to search it out for each school. Wilson says anything that helps parents gauge their child’s school’s performance is a step in the right direction.

“Right now it’s really hard for parents to figure out exactly how their child is doing or how the school itself is doing,” says Wilson. “A lot of times it’s a summative score and you can’t see how different groups are performing.”

Since the bill was only prefiled on Monday, Webb and Stone hadn’t had a chance to review the legislation. They say the concept is good, but Webb wants to ensure that any topline percentages that are presented take into account demographic differences that exist among school populations. Stone says some people may not feel comfortable seeking out this information online, so he hopes parents will go to the child’s school to ask for it.

Other Primary and Secondary Issues
Kentucky’s lawmakers and education officials are busily preparing to implement the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which Stone says will return more decision-making authority to the state and to local districts, especially over testing and accountability measures. Part of the process, says Wilson, is to “purge our laws” of regulations enacted to implement earlier federal legislation like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top that some education advocates found too restrictive.

Scholarship tax credits is another issue that could come before the legislature in 2017. Wilson and Moffett say the idea is to grant tax credits to individuals or corporations that donate money to a nonprofit organization that gives scholarships to low-income students so they can attend the public or private school of their choice. Moffett says this will give at-risk students the ability to leave a school that is failing their needs, while legislators continue to debate the larger challenges facing public education.

And all four lawmakers say the unfunded liabilities in the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System will be an ongoing problem for the commonwealth. Wilson says the nearly $1 billion allocated to paying down the debt in the current biennium is a good start. Webb says legislators must come up with a solution to the funding crisis or else risk loosing high-quality teaching talent to other states and other professions.

Addressing College Costs
Two state initiatives will help mitigate some of the costs of doing coursework beyond high school. Dual credit scholarships will pay for high school students to take certain general education classes or career and technical education courses while simultaneously receiving high school and postsecondary credit for their work.

Wilson says not all families can otherwise afford the cost of a dual credit courses. He emphasizes that the classes can help students get a jump start on traditional college course work or they can put them on a path to a technical certification that can lead to a good-paying job. The legislature appropriated $15 million over the next two years to cover dual credit course costs for students.

This program offers additional advantages, according to Stone. Since the scholarship money pays for the classes, students can enjoy lower college tuition costs because they’ve already completed some of their coursework. Plus he says high school students who fear they’re not academically suited for higher education can experience college-level work. As they succeed in the dual credit classes, they may feel encouraged to attend a college or university.

Starting in 2017 students pursuing a two-year degree or certificate program can receive assistance from the new Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program. That will provide gap funding to students who receive financial aid so that any costs not already paid for by a scholarship or grant will be covered, thus making their schoolwork essentially free. Stone says the program represents the kind of “outside the box” thinking that can help reduce higher education costs for many Kentucky students and develop a better-trained workforce.

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Season 23 Episodes

U.S. Senate Candidates

S23 E43 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 10/31/16

6th U.S. Congressional District Candidates

S23 E42 Length 56:53 Premiere Date 10/24/16

Countdown to the Election

S23 E41 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 10/17/16

Setting Education Policy

S23 E40 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 10/10/16

Jobs and Wages: Latest Trends

S23 E39 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 10/02/16

The Race for President

S23 E38 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 09/25/16

Forecasting the U.S. Economy

S23 E37 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 09/19/16

Changes to Kentucky's Medicaid

S23 E36 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 09/12/16

U.S. Foreign Policy Issues

S23 E35 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 08/29/16

Impact of Campaign Finance Laws

S23 E34 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 08/22/16

The Electoral College and Politics

S23 E33 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 08/15/16

The Future of Medicaid in Kentucky

S23 E32 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 08/01/16

Previewing the 2016 Election

S23 E31 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 07/10/16

Gun Control vs. 2nd Amendment

S23 E30 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 06/27/16

Debating Immigration Policy

S23 E29 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 06/20/16

Debate Over Jobs and Wages

S23 E27 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 06/06/16

Decoding Kentucky's Primary

S23 E25 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 05/23/16

2016 Primary Election Preview

S23 E24 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 05/16/16

Democratic U.S. Senate Primary

S23 E23 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 05/09/16

Republican U.S. Senate Primary Candidate

S23 E22 Length 26:31 Premiere Date 05/02/16

Republican 1st District Congressional Candidates

S23 E21 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 04/25/16

Democratic 1st District Congressional Candidate

S23 E20 Length 26:31 Premiere Date 04/18/16

Democratic 6th District Congressional Candidates

S23 E19 Length 28:01 Premiere Date 04/11/16

Republican 6th District Congressional Candidates

S23 E17 Length 28:01 Premiere Date 03/28/16

Republican 3rd Congressional District Candidates

S23 E16 Length 28:01 Premiere Date 03/21/16

2016 General Assembly at Midpoint

S23 E15 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 02/29/16

Negotiations on State Budget

S23 E14 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 02/22/16

Crafting New Education Policy

S23 E13 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 02/15/16

Debating the Minimum Wage

S23 E12 Length 56:31 Premiere Date 02/08/16

Assessing the Governor's Budget

S23 E11 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 02/01/16

Felony Records Expungement

S23 E10 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 01/25/16

Right to Work and Prevailing Wage

S23 E9 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 01/18/16

Charter Schools in Kentucky

S23 E8 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 01/11/16

Major Issues Await Legislature

S23 E7 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 01/04/16

Solving the State Pension Crisis

S23 E6 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 12/14/15

Preparing for the 2016 General Assembly

S23 E4 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 11/23/15

Priorities for the State Budget

S23 E3 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 11/16/15

Election Analysis

S23 E2 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 11/09/15

What's at Stake in the 2015 Election?

S23 E1 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 11/02/15

See All Episodes

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Review of the 2024 Kentucky Lawmaking Session - S31 E3

Renee Shaw hosts a review of the 2024 Kentucky lawmaking session. Scheduled guests: State Sen. Phillip Wheeler (R-Pikeville); State Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong (D-Louisville); State Rep. Rachel Roarx (D-Louisville); and State Rep. Michael Sarge Pollock (R-Campbellsville). A 2024 KET production.

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Kentucky Tonight - S31 E4

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Kentucky Tonight - S31 E5

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Kentucky Tonight - S31 E6

  • Monday May 20, 2024 8:00 pm ET on KET
  • Monday May 20, 2024 7:00 pm CT on KET
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Review of the 2024 Kentucky Lawmaking Session - S31 E3

  • Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:00 pm ET on KETKY
  • Tuesday April 23, 2024 8:00 pm CT on KETKY
  • Tuesday April 23, 2024 1:00 pm ET on KETKY
  • Tuesday April 23, 2024 12:00 pm CT on KETKY
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  • Tuesday April 23, 2024 5:03 am CT on KETKY
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Legislative Session Recap - S31 E2

  • Wednesday April 17, 2024 5:00 am ET on KET
  • Wednesday April 17, 2024 4:00 am CT on KET
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State Budget - S30 E44

  • Wednesday March 27, 2024 1:00 am ET on KET
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