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Four education bills pass Senate

January 30, 2008|Tom Buford

In a bipartisan manner, the State Senate passed four education bills aimed at encouraging our young people to challenge themselves in the areas of math and science to prepare themselves not only for college but for the jobs of the future. Incentives were also offered to those who would like to teach in these crucial and understaffed areas.

Senate Bill 2 will increase the rigor of the high school curricula by increasing the number of schools offering advanced placement courses as well as the number of existing AP classes and the number of exams taken. The bill will provide incentives for students to take AP examinations and provide grants for schools to start AP programs in advanced math and science. It is our hope that as students excel in these classes and score well, this will decrease the college costs for parents with meaningful college prep classes - colleges give credit for scores of 3 or above. The bill will also provide financial incentives to middle schools to set up demanding math/science tracks and to teachers to improve content knowledge. Jobs in the math and science fields will be in high demand in the future. As a coal-producing state, we must be prepared to lead in the energy industry.

Along with a concentration on higher math and sciences, Senate Bill 64 creates an incentive fund to provide grants to nonprofit organizations, institutions, and agencies for the purpose of conducting institutes to certify teachers. People who want to teach math and science will have priority. With these bills, the Senate's intent is to not only prepare students but also have enough teachers to teach them.

We also passed two bills that help direct state education grants in a more effective approach. Senate Bill 44 allows high school juniors and seniors to use KEES scholarships for dual credit courses with colleges. Senate Bill 75 aligns KEES awards with graduation requirements. Unfortunately, some students have fallen into the habit of accepting KEES funds but not applying themselves to graduate in a timely manner. The bill will allow retention of KEES awards if a student's GPA after the sophomore and junior years is at least 2.5 and the student is on track to graduate in eight semesters for a four-year program or 10 semesters for a five-year program.

I'd also like to point out that one of my bills, Senate Bill 68, has been passed out of the Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee. This bill will assist children of military families who transfer from one school to the next.

Early next week, we will see what the Governor has to report in this State of the Budget address. As a member of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, I am particularly interested in how the Governor suggests we allocate scarce resources. I am committed to preserving and providing adequate funding to education, health services, and infrastructure. The budget bill will be introduced in the House and then make its way to the Senate. If you have any comments or questions about the process or have another issue you would like to discuss, please call me toll free at 1/800-372-7181. You can also follow all the Frankfort action online at http://lrc.ky.gov.

Editor's note: Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, serves as the Chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee and Vice-Chair of the Health and Welfare Committee. He sits on the Appropriations and Revenue Committee and the Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regula-tions Committee. He represents the 22nd District including Boyle, Fayette, Garrard, and Jessamine counties.

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