“Do-over” year deadline

Time for parents to file a “Do-over” request for their students to complete a supplemental year to retake or supplement courses or grades the student took in the 2020-2021 academic year is running out.

Senate Bill 128, also known as the “Do-over bill” allows students in grades K-12 to use the 2021-2022 school year as a supplemental year to retake or supplement courses the student has taken.

The bill specifically states the year is for students to re-take or supplement courses taken during the 2020-2021 school year and not to simply gain an additional year in the public-school system to explore new coursework, according to the guidance released by the Kentucky Department of Education on April 16.

According to the guidance, “The SB 128 supplemental year is not designed for students who intend to move on to the next grade during the 2021-2022 school year and enroll in coursework associated with the next grade level.”

The guidance also states that it is possible that if students utilize the supplemental year, their graduation will most likely be delayed due to postponing progress toward necessary minimum state and local graduation requirements.

According to the bill, students have until May 1 to submit a request to their local board of education, and the local board has until June 1 to decide whether to accept all requests or no requests.

Corbin, Whitley and Williamsburg school districts have each taken a slightly different approach as to how parents and students can inform the district of their decision to utilize the supplemental year.

Corbin

Corbin has a Google forms survey link on its website (https://www.corbinschools.org/) for parents to use to request a supplemental year.

The survey must be completed for each child. The district has set the deadline as April 26 for the surveys to be submitted.

Whitley County

Principals at each of the schools have a form which parents must complete in order to request the supplemental year.

The form requires basic information about the student with a signature authorizing the request. Parents or students wishing to request a supplemental year should contact their school or the district office to receive a copy of the request form.

The deadline for request submissions is May 1.

Williamsburg

Similar to Corbin, the Williamsburg Independent School District has a Senate Bill 128 link on the district website (https://www.wburg.k12.ky.us/) under the ‘Parents’ tab.

The page contains the KDE guidance information under one link and the form that interested families need to fill out to request the year under the other. Requests should be submitted online.

The deadline for request submissions is May 1.

Each local school district must vote to approve or deny all requests by June 1. By submitting a request, students are not guaranteed to be able to complete a supplemental year or courses.

The Kentucky Department of Education’s guidance regarding the SB 128 is subject to change. Parents should check the department’s website (education.ky.gov) for the most up to date information.