KECSAC History

In 1990, the Kentucky General Assembly enacted the landmark Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), passed in response to a Kentucky Supreme Court decision declaring the state's entire system of public schools unconstitutional (Rose c. Council for Better Education, 790 S.W.2d 196 {Ky. 1989}).

That decision was the culmination of a 1985 lawsuit filed by 66 of Kentucky's 176 local school districts against the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education, the State Treasurer, and the Kentucky General Assembly for failing to provide an efficient system of common schools.

The Supreme Court relied upon Section 183 of the Kentucky Constitution which states: "The General Assembly shall, by appropriate legislation, provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the state" (Ky. Const. 183) in holding Kentucky's school system to be inadequate.

KERA called for sweeping changes in the funding and delivery of elementary and secondary education in the Commonwealth. However, it did not specifically address the needs of state agency children. In response to this deficiency, the Kentucky General Assembly passed Senate Bill 260 (SB260) in 1992, which called for the establishment of the Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children (KECSAC) (KRS 158.135). Kentucky House Bill 826 (HB826), passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in March 1994, broadened the eligibility for state agency children beyond those located in state operated and contracted day treatment, group homes, and residential placements. Under HB 826, the definition of state agency children was expanded to include youth placed or financed through the Cabinet for Families and Children in other residential treatment programs. In 1996, the General Assembly enacted House Bill 117 which established public juvenile offenders to the new agency. In 1998, the statute was again revised with the passage of House Bill 447 and House Bill 689 which expanded the definition of state agency children to include youth in therapeutic foster care placements and those confined in state operated juvenile detention facilities.

“State Agency Children” are those children who are committed to or in the custody of the Commonwealth and are being served in community-based and residential treatment programs funded and/or operated by one of Kentucky’s three state agency programs that provides direct care to children: the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), and the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (BHDID). State agency children programs are designed to meet the often intense needs of this underserved youth population.

Providing the educational services for these youth is currently the responsibility of Local Education Agencies (LEA) with support from the Kentucky Department of Education and the Department of Juvenile Justice. KECSAC works with local education agencies and programs to ensure the education provided meets the varying needs of state agency children. This education may include academic, pre-vocational, vocational, special education, social skills, and post-secondary offerings, which are in compliance with state and federal education laws and regulations.

The fiscal agent in charge of this statewide collaborative is the Kentucky School Boards Association. KECSAC’s legislative mission currently includes the annual distribution of 11 million dollars to local school districts and the provision of teacher training, data collection and facilitating interagency and program collaboration among all programs that service state agency children in the state. There are very few states that have such an innovative, collaborative model for serving state agency children.

KECSAC is a true partnership that links the schools, family and children’s services, community mental health, juvenile justice, private providers, and institutions of higher learning. There is an interagency advisory council comprised of representatives from these partner groups that provides support and consultation to KECSAC.

KECSAC Legislation

KECSAC Regulation
KRS 158.135 Reimbursement Regulation
KRS 158.137 Educational Passport Regulation
KRS 605.110 Medical Care Regulation
KRS 158.143 High School Equivalency Diploma Eligibility for State Agency Children