Educator Certification

Quarterly reports are required for the Emergency Non-Certified Personnel Program. These are submitted by the participating school districts. The reports are due as follows:

In 1998, the Education Professional Standards Board established the Emergency Non-Certified School Personnel Pilot Program in response to the growing difficulties experienced by school districts in recruiting and retaining qualified substitute teachers. Participation in the program for the 1998-99 school year was limited to five school districts, participation was expanded for the 1999-2000 school year to twelve districts. In 2000, the EPSB amended 704 KAR 20:210 to open the program to any school district in Kentucky. The Emergency Non-Certified School Personnel Program allows participating school districts to use persons with a high school diploma, or its equivalent, when all other qualified substitutes are unavailable.

In 2002, the EPSB amended 704 KAR 20:210 to 16 KAR 2:030 creating a rolling application process throughout the school year and allowing some personnel to be utilized district wide.

Application Information

For districts that did not participate during the previous school year:

A district must submit a written letter of application for participation in the program with the following supporting documentation:

1. The number of teaching days not filled with an appropriately certified teacher or appropriately certified emergency substitute in the preceding year;
2. The extent and anticipated usage of emergency school personnel;
3. A plan to eliminate the need for emergency school personnel in the future;
4. The steps taken by the district to recruit and retain emergency certified personnel;
5. The recruitment of persons with a high school diploma (or its equivalent), age 25 or over, except an individual enrolled in an approved teacher education program who may be less than 25 years old;
6. Recruitment of parents or paraprofessionals assigned to the school (the EPSB does not encourage the use of instructional assistants assigned to other classrooms, since regular classroom teachers are relying on these assistants to be available to them);
7. A detailed outline of a minimum 18-clock-hour orientation program including emphasis on student safety, district policies and procedures; district may develop their own 
8. An outline of the district screening process, including the required criminal record and reference check.

For districts that did participate during the previous school year:

Continued participation during the upcoming year (contingent upon EPSB approval) requires submission of Form TC-EN.

ALL districts selected for participation in the program must agree to the following:

1. To utilize each substitute in only the school to which he/she has been assigned, unless the substitute was in the program the previous year;
2. To submit quarterly reports to the EPSB documenting the number of days personnel were utilized under this program;
3. The Program Participants form is to submit with the first quarterly report a complete list (by name, Social Security Number, and school; of substitutes employed via this program, all of whom must have a high school diploma or its equivalent and be at least 25 years of age, except those individuals enrolled in an approved teacher education program, who may be less than 25 years of age; and
4. To submit a year-end evaluation of the program.