Posting of Certified Vacancies KRS 160.380
Use this index to quickly find a topic:
Acting or Interim Positions
Assignment without SBDM approval
Automatically approved waivers
Bargained contracts
Classified positions
Coaching Positions
Critical Shortage Areas
Definition of Vacancy
Emergency hiring waivers
Expiration date of postings
Extending the posting period
Extra-duty assignments
How to post a vacancy
Interviewing candidates
Itinerant positions in SBDM schools
Non-tenured staff positions
Procedure for requesting a waiver
Reassigning current personnel
SBDM council's role
Waivers for administrative positions
Waivers for teaching positions
Q. What is a vacancy?
A. Any certified position opening created by the resignation, dismissal, nonrenewal of contract, transfer, or death of a certified staff member of a local school district, or a new position created in a local school district for which certification is required.
Q. How must a certified vacancy be posted and for how long?
A. When a vacancy occurs in a local school district, the superintendent shall notify the Kentucky Department of Education using the on-line posting system provided by the KDE. The position must be posted for thirty (30) days before being filled. Each local district superintendent has designated a certified vacancies contact person and a back up for his/her district. That contact person is responsible for entering the district's certified vacancy information into the database and for maintaining the information once it is entered. The superintendent shall also post position openings in the local board office for public viewing.
Q. What if the district has an employer-employee bargained contract?
A. If an employer-employee bargained contract contains procedures for filling certified position openings created by the resignation, dismissal, nonrenewal of contract, transfer, or death of a certified staff member, or creation of a new position for which certification is required, a vacancy shall not exist unless certified positions remain open after compliance with those procedures.
Q. Do extra-duty or extra-curricular assignments have to be posted?
A. No. When extra duties are merely additional assignments, posting of those assignments is not required under KRS 160.380(2). However, when a certified position is created or becomes vacant and a particular extra-duty or extra-curricular assignment is considered to be attached to the new or vacant position, then the extra-duty or extra-curricular assignment should be posted as part of the new or vacant position.
Q. Do coaching positions have to be posted?
A. No. Coaching positions are extra duties, which are considered additional assignments. Posting of those assignments is not required under KRS 160.380(2). However, coaching assignments must be available to qualified staff before being offered to classified staff or para-professionals. For hiring and employment requirements for coaches (head or assistant), including cheerleading, refer to KHSAA Bylaw 27.
Q. When can a local superintendent transfer staff and reassign personnel without posting the positions?
A. Under KRS 160.380(2)(a) and KRS 161.760(2), after February I, and up until 30 days before the first student attendance day, a superintendent may transfer personnel within the district or the principal, in accordance with SBDM policy, may reassign personnel within the school for the new school year. The district may choose to post every position up for reassignment, or may make reassignments of staff on board and post those openings remaining due to resignation, dismissal, transfer, death, or creation of new positions. Within 30 days of the first student attendance day, when certified position become available as described in KR 1601.760(2) due to, e.g., resignation, dismissal, transfer, death, non-renewal of contract, or creation of new positions, those openings also must be posted. It is necessary to post each vacancy as it occurs after that date whether ultimately filled by transfer or new hiring. Transfer of staff into SBDM schools may occur only if the principal selects that person after consultation with the school council or if the district has a contractual obligation to place a tenured teacher into a position for which that individual holds the appropriate certification and the only position available is at the SBDM school.
Q. Do "acting" or interim positions have to be posted?
A. By definition, the "acting" position is temporary. Therefore, it is not necessary to post that position. For example, it is permissible to appoint an assistant principal as the "acting" principal during the interview process to ensure continuity of coverage until the principal position is filled on a permanent basis. While there is nothing in the law to prohibit an "acting" person from being considered for the job, it is the recommendation of Kentucky Department of Education's Office of Legal Services that the "acting" person not be considered for the job to avoid creating the appearance of undue influence in the hiring process.
Q. Is it permissible for the superintendent/SBDM principal/SBDM council to begin interviewing candidates before the thirty-day posting period is complete?
A. Yes. However, applications must be accepted through the thirty-day posting period.
Q. Do classified positions have to be posted in Frankfort?
A. No. Classified positions must be posted in accordance with local board policy.
Q. Should the superintendent post positions previously held by non-tenured staff members who have been terminated?
A. If a non-tenured staff member is notified by April 30 that he/she will not be rehired for the new school year, the local superintendent should not post the position until he determines if that person will be rehired. If the superintendent decides to rehire the staff member, giving SBDM principal's selection rights and SBDM council's consultation rights where appropriate, and rescinds the termination by June 30 then the non-tenured staff member's contract remains intact and no vacancy is created. However, if the contract is allowed to expire, the previous staff member cannot be rehired until the position has been posted for thirty (30) days.
Q. What if the local superintendent needs to fill the vacancy in less than thirty (30) days' time?
A. When a vacancy needs to be filled in less than thirty (30) days' time to prevent disruption of necessary instructional or support services of the school district, the superintendent may seek a waiver from the Kentucky Department of Education. The request must be made using the online posting system provided by the KDE. The Kentucky Department of Education must respond to a waiver request within two (2) working days.
Q. What is the procedure for requesting a waiver?
A. When a position becomes vacant and the superintendent can justify that a thirty-day delay would disrupt necessary services and he has determined that a qualified applicant is readily available, he should submit the waiver request to the Kentucky Department of Education using the on-line posting system. When a position becomes vacant and the superintendent can justify that a thirty-day delay would disrupt necessary services and a qualified applicant is not readily available, he/she should post the position and begin searching for a qualified applicant. If a qualified applicant is identified before the thirty-day posting period is complete, the superintendent should then submit a waiver request to the Kentucky Department of Education. If the thirty-day posting period expires before a qualified applicant is identified, a hiring wavier is not necessary.
Q. Are hiring waivers granted for administrative positions?
A. If an administrative position directly affects the delivery of necessary instructional or support services it may be eligible for a hiring waiver. The superintendent must justify the waiver request by specifying the duties and timelines involved.
Q. Are waivers always granted for teaching positions?
A. No. Hiring waivers are approved for teaching positions when the position becomes vacant during the regular school year, within thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of a new school year, and during the summer when instruction is taking place (i.e., band camp, summer school, etc.). However, personal employment hardships and professional development activities alone do not constitute justification of a waiver during the summer months.
Q. Are there any positions for which a hiring waiver is automatically approved?
A. Yes, positions on the Kentucky Department of Education's critical shortage list are automatically approved for hiring waivers. The current list of critical shortage areas includes:
English/Language Arts - Middle and High
English as a Second Language
Exceptional Children
Foreign Languages
Information Technology
Math - Middle and High
School Media Librarian
Science - Middle and High
Social Studies - Middle and High
Technology Education
Minority teachers (any certification) *** for hiring purposes only ***
Q. In an SBDM school, what is the school council's role in filling vacancies?
A. The superintendent submits a list of qualified applicants for the vacant position to the principal in an SBDM school. After consultation with the school council, the principal selects the particular certified and classified persons to fill the vacancies in the school, and those decisions are binding on the superintendent. If the position to be filled is that of the principal in an SBDM school, the school council selects a new principal from the qualified applicants submitted by the superintendent, and the decision is binding on the superintendent.
Q. When can a superintendent transfer staff into an SBDM school bypassing statutorily required consultation with the council and selection by the principal?
A. The superintendent may transfer someone into a vacant position in an SBDM school when the only position available in the district is at that SBDM School and one of the following circumstances exists:
a) Reduction in force (i.e., decrease in enrollment, closing of a school, territorial changes affecting the district) that make it necessary to place a certified staff member because of teacher seniority rights under KRS 161.800;
b) When positions become available subsequent to a reduction in force, and KRS 161.800 applies to require the following: teachers whose continuing contracts are suspended in a reduction in force have the right of restoration to continuing service status in the order of seniority of service in the district if qualified for the position;
c) When the superintendent must honor an employer-employee bargained contract on transfers;
d) When required pursuant to the district-wide affirmative action plan, whether voluntary or involuntary;
e) When an employee is returning from a leave of absence;
f) When a court or teacher tribunal has ordered the reinstatement of a former employee;
g) When an administrator has been demoted (or is returning to the district from a contract position) and must be assigned to a position within his or her areas(s) of certification (returning administrators are not entitled to their former position or another administrative position).
h) When an employee under contract must be placed to avoid a breach of contract;
i) When a principal has been hired and his/her spouse needs to be transferred out of the school to avoid a nepotism violation under KRS 160.380.
Q. How are itinerant positions filled in SBDM schools?
A. Superintendents have the authority to select persons to fill district-wide positions such as itinerant teaching positions even if the position includes assignments at SBDM schools.
Q. Can the thirty-day posting period be extended?
A. As long as the mandated thirty-day posting requirement has been met, the posting may be extended for as long as it takes to find a suitable applicant or until the posting year ends. The local district contact person has control over how long it remains visible on the web. The district may want to advertise the extension in the local media, their central office, etc.
Q. How long can a position be posted before it is considered "expired?"
A. "Posting years" run from October 1 to September 30. For example, a position posted on June 1, 2000, would remain in effect until September 30, 2000. After that time it would be considered inactive and would have to be posted in Frankfort again before it could be filled. But, because most posting activity takes place during the summer months, all positions posted on or after July 1 of each year are automatically included in the new posting year list on October 1. As an example, a position posted on July 15, 2000, would not expire until September 30, 2001.