Bill would allow school boards to evaluate superintendents in closed meetings

School boards could evaluate superintendents behind closed doors, under a bill the Kentucky House approved today 67-29. Senate Bill 178 amends KRS 156.557 to require "any preliminary discussions relating to the evaluation of the superintendent by the board or between the board and the superintendent prior to the summative evaluation shall be conducted in closed session." Evaluations would still be presented in an open meeting. The bill, which goes back to the Senate for approval of an unrelated amendment, would reverse recent attorney-general and court decisions.

During the House Education Committee meeting Tuesday, Sara Call, a member of the Frankfort Independent Board of Education, testified her board had twice held closed-door evaluations with the superintendent, which was a violation of current state law, and said superintendent evaluation needed to be conducted in a closed meeting to allow for 'frank, honest and sometimes painful' conversations. "It’s sometimes difficult to be totally honest in front of the press," she told the committee, Stephenie Steitzer of The Courier-Journal reported.

The Kentucky Press Association has voiced strong disapproval of the bill, arguing the evaluation process of the highest-ranking school system employee should be done in open. "We strongly, strongly recommend that you do not pass this bill," Ashley Pack, general counsel for KPA, told the committee.

Courier-Journal reporter, photographer get a rare look at Family Court in Jefferson County

The Courier-Journal recently persuaded a Jefferson County Family Court judge to ease Kentucky's strict confidentiality rules long enough to allow reporter Deborah Yetter to research and write a rare report on, and photographer Matt Stone to take pictures of, the court's operations.

The report, the third part of a series on child abuse in the state, was published Tuesday. The story took a close look at several cases involving abused and abandoned children. Judge Joan Byer allowed access "with permission of the parties in the courtroom, as long as children and families weren't identified," Yetter wrote. "Byer said she exercised her discretion to do that because she believes, in most cases, the courts should be open and the public needs to understand what's going on with child welfare." Byer said the system is overburdened and caseworkers are under intense pressure to keep cases closed. (Photo by Matt Stone)

The report included several sidebars, one of which noted that the confidentiality rules usually followed in family court cases exceeded the requirements set by state law, and the practice of some other states. It also quoted childrens' advocates and others as saying excessive secrecy hides faults in the system. The main story can be found here. The sidebar on confidentiality rules is here.

Two press-freedom bills fail to pass

Two press-freedom bills are among those being tossed aside with just two limited-agenda days left in this year's regular legislative session. But the Kentucky Press Association vows to revive both next time around.

David Thompson, KPA executive director, said in a message to the group's members that SB 130, which would ensure access to voting places for journalists and photographers, had been agreed on by Secretary of State Trey Grayson, the State Board of Elections, the Kentucky Broadcasters Association and KPA. It passed out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee, then "politics showed up" in the Senate Republican caucus, Thompson reported. The bill wound up in another committee, where it remains.

House Bill 43 would have guaranteed freedom of speech and press for high school student journalists, with limitations, and would have immunized school boards from criminal or civil liability for student publications. But Thompson said it "didn't come close to getting a hearing" in the House Education Committee.

Thompson promised that KPA will lobby for both bills in 2010. The legislature may have a special session later this year but it is expected to be limited to budget-related issues. It returns next week to reconsider any vetoed bills and perhaps some held up by House-Senate disagreement.

Bill would set out rules for media at polls

A bill setting specific rules for the news media to cover election-day activities at voting places was introduced Friday in the state Senate. The bill has the agreement of the Kentucky Press Association, the Kentucky Broadcasters Association, the state Board of Elections and its chairman, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, according to KPA.

Senate Bill 130 was introduced by Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, in an attempt to prevent problems that hindered journalists in the 2008 election. Some officials prohibited access to voting rooms and others prohibited access within 300 feet of polling places, a KPA statement said.

"The legislation, while not perfect, would allow photographs of voters without limiting to profile shots or shots of 'legs and feet' as some were restricted in this last election," KPA said. "It would also allow interviews in the building except in the voting room or a voter who is already in line to vote."

The bill would also require journalists to carry either a state police press pass or authorization from the county board of elections. Current law does not authorize news media to be in the voting area. Even though a state attorney general's opinion says journalists have the right to be there, many election officials deny access, KPA said. The bill says journalists "shall not film the identity of voters in the voting room without first requesting and gaining the permission of each voter." The full text of the bill can be found at http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/09RS/SB130.htm.