♪ >> My anticipation will be in the next 2 weeks.

We will see a community that's in the yellow.

I can't promise that.

But as soon as that happens, we will masks will be optional.

>> Kentucky's largest school system has a mask mandate.

How long will it last?

Every student here has been in the country for less than 5 years.

So we're still all learning English and learning academics to catch up to our age levels.

Starting a new school is topping off.

But what if that school is in a new country?

How one district is helping refugee students overcome those challenges.

I was before.

>> Coming back home, this home will be.

>> Hear from some famous Kentucky ends as their immortalized on campus.

Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION for this Wednesday, August, the 17th, thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Renee Shaw.

>> Fayette County, Kentucky, second largest county has its first confirmed case of monkeypox.

The Lexington Herald-Leader says the state has 17 confirmed or likely cases.

It's 12,689 nationally, the Lexington, Fayette County Health Department plans a vaccination clinic tomorrow at Central Baptist Church on Wilson Downing Road in Lexington, it's open to people outside of Fayette County, but not everyone is eligible.

Find out more at the health department's Facebook page.

COVID is still a much bigger problem as students head back to school.

Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio talked about his district's mandatory mask policy during an interim joint Education Committee.

Hearing.

And Frank for yesterday, that also focused on improving students, mental health KET has Casey Parker Bell has more on both.

One thing that we've been can consistently concerned about is the trauma that is going to follow these families after the pandemic.

And the recent natural disasters in eastern and western Kentucky.

>> Legislators are looking for ways to improve student mental health.

And yesterday the Education Committee heard testimony from Lieutenant Governor and Kentucky students about how they say mental health outcomes can be improved.

Their testimony prompted Taylorsville Republican James Tipton tell a personal story about his mental health care.

Something with you.

I'm sure a lot of people there's a period of my life when I suffer from depression.

And I was on medication for peer time, not on the medication.

Now.

But it's nothing right.

It's all right to ask people for help.

To tell people that I need help.

And that's a message that we need to share as adults you all need to share his students.

There's nothing wrong if asking for help.

The students involved in the team, Kentucky Student Mental Health Initiative called on legislators to expand on last year's House Bill.

44, that bill allows school boards to create policies allowing for excuse absences due to mental health reasons.

The recommendations heard yesterday would allow for up to 6 excuse mental health absences.

It called for expansion and access to mental health services and to provide comprehensive suicide prevention.

The group also recommended increased professional development for teachers on mental health issues.

But some legislators question those recommendations and how they would be implemented.

Seeing your recommendations right would recommend 6 excused absences.

>> How did you come up with 6?

And then the second question would how do you prevent abuse that?

So when they came up with the recommendation for 6 days I went back into assistant principal note, it was like, well, how do we know that that won't be abused and so one of the things that I suggested was what if week were acquired a note from a mental health provider in the same way that we do physical health.

And Julia said.

Diagnosis is privilege.

Requiring that and new evidence informed mental.

>> Health professional in development for all school staff.

I hear from from a teachers all the time.

They want to teach.

They want to teach math.

They want to teach science.

They want each reading.

They're not mental health professionals.

They're not equipped to address this.

What would you say to a teacher who?

Faces that additional challenge?

As a teacher myself, there were days where I felt and I think it was represented vision.

Ask maybe that mentioned this earlier, the the importance of making sure that our professional development is valid.

Is updated and is.

>> Purposeful Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio also spoke to the Inter medication Committee.

He gave an update on the state's largest school system about one in 7 Kentucky public school students attend JCPS at the end of July.

Jefferson County Public Schools announced it would return to a mask.

Mandatory policy to combat COVID-19 infection.

Polio says the mask requirement would continue until Jefferson County left the red zone for COVID-19 risk.

>> In March, our Board of Education gave me the authority to come out of masking based upon the CDC guidelines.

I was on a conference call yesterday with the White House and the CDC.

It is clear what their guidance is.

I mean, it is clear what the CDC says should happen when you're in red.

They say clearly we recommend universal masking when a community is in red for Kentucky edition.

I'm Casey Parker Bell.

>> Superintendent polio says wants Louisville leaves the red zone for COVID-19 infection.

The district will end the mask mandate Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron put out this statement, quote, JCPS has instituted a universal mask mandate for all schoolchildren.

Everyone who steps foot on a JCPS building or boss this policy places on necessary strain on teachers and hinders the development of our children.

And we've asked the board to end the mandate.

Cameron also questions whether the board has the authority to require masks.

He says his office is looking into it.

President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act yesterday at the White House.

The bill's backers say it will lower prescription drug costs and spend more on clean energy that any bill ever passed.

Reactions to this, as you might guess, depend on the political party.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says, quote, Democrats robbed Americans last year by spending our economy into record inflation this year.

Their solution is to do it a second time.

The partisan Bill President Biden signed into law means higher taxes, higher energy bills and aggressive.

I R s audits.

Congressman John Yarmouth of Louisville, the only Democrat in Kentucky's congressional delegation says something else, quote, the Inflation Reduction Act will lower costs and fight the climate crisis with the urgency, it demands.

I'm proud to have my name on this historic legislation.

The president just signed into law.

It's a huge win.

He says for the American people and our planet, unquote.

A week ago the president signed the PACT Act which prop stands for promise to address comprehensive toxics.

The bill expands medical benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits or other toxic substances.

It's good news for veterans like Brian on burglary.

>> Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan only faced a judge about.

They were breathing toxic smoke from burn pits.

>> The burn pit is it's a little tree.

Did not want the enemy getting.

They would burn it, use chemicals, whatever, whatever can be sold in power.

Sunburn.

That's what they did.

And all of our service members that was they are was exposed to all the toxic fumes and smoke that was coming from these fires Camp Lejeune from 1953.

Through 1987 base, knowingly and willingly covered up contaminated on the base that contained pce TCE benzene.

>> Final Cora.

Up to 68 more chemicals which caused all kinds of cancers.

It was always the veteran had to prove that they will stay or to the VA. We've got our paperwork, but 99.9% of the time the VA would the night and the the veterans would not get the crucial medical care they needed.

Now was a packed day.

We don't have to prove.

We say we sell to lay the bills.

They because it was a lot of on issues that to some of the teachers didn't want to build a pass because of some kind a little glitch that kept calling.

And this bill puts our economy, though, at risk by creating presumptions of service connection.

>> For the most common of ailments.

>> went to Jon Stewart.

Another ad gets it was kept camping out outside the White House.

And while he was some of the senators came out and started saying, hey, come with me, come with me.

They took us inside the Capitol building.

Put us around and let us watch the vote.

The motion is agreed to.

It was just like it.

>> But it was a dream.

The SEC never been to watch.

We hear that final vote.

>> No, come out saying yes, past seeing the smiles, seeing everybody rejoice and the tears.

And then the next night UT the invitation from President Biden to visit the White House for the signing was.

Still puts chill bumps so many this here now means.

It's to try to figure out where their next meal will come from because a lot of homeless because of their illnesses, they'll get treatment for their cancers and other health issues the fate of them still hard to believe.

That's it.

All these years of advocating along with hundreds of others that helped me.

No one wants it.

Got the brain tumors in all these other health issues.

And so if that no one they found finally going to get justice, we'll never get an apology from the government.

But this is the first tip of getting justice for everybody.

>> In other news spots full and Henderson County is getting a new bridge.

Here's an artist's rendering of it to the new bridge will replace an old one that's been around since the 1930's when the new bridge opens.

It will give people and farm equipment a wider path between Henderson and Owens B roll construction started in 2020 and will end later this month.

♪ >> It began with 6 kids and a teacher in a church basement 15 years later, Fugees family has 2 schools, one in Atlanta and the other in Columbus, Ohio.

>> That focus on refugee and immigrant education, the Bowling Green Independent School District is now the first school system to implement their model for its students who are new to the United States.

>> I 2004, I met a group of kids playing soccer in the parking lot.

I jumped in, played I call it that the original group was from Afghanistan, Liberia and Sudan.

And I got to know them as a coach.

We started the team and then realize their needs weren't being met in school.

>> We have a lot of students who are new to our country.

And when those students come, we have been sending them to the junior high and high school and we just felt like there was a better way.

So the purpose of Tauranga is to give them a chance learn English and English.

An immersion atmosphere.

>> While they're catching up on academics so that when they transition back to the junior high or high school, they're reading at grade level right.

>> When someone drove by and we'll go with King.

This is soccer.

But this is not soccer.

It is more than that.

It is like providing a safe environment for the key to express themselves.

>> We you soccer because soccer is kind of the universal language that we incorporate a lot of movement and the day and students begin the day with an activity, classy their martial arts or yoga.

And then they'll have soccer at the end of the day and again, kind of a non-threatening way to teach your language.

I can run go.

We doing to say that is on me to the best ski part of the culture of >> Everybody get to play.

Everybody get to express himself and everybody get the activity.

Did many of our students, especially a refugee students because they've been life circumstances.

They've had interrupted educational experiences.

So this is an opportunity to.

Give that educational experience back in 2 and allowed him to catch up by just giving them the basics that they might have missed out on in their He's been want to be free.

You know, you can see up in soccer.

It is freedom.

You know, sometimes people say soccer, his life.

It is the freedom to Trump Express to be able to run and be free.

So that's what we tried to life of this team here.

We want to see academic gains.

Were these can mainstream back in and be >> alongside their peers, their native corn I'm the biggest thing that I would hope they would get from.

This is a sense of community, a sense of family from this cool atmosphere.

They're divided into houses and that's how they're playing soccer right And I we just hope that that's a good touch point for them.

A connection point where they can come in every day and know that there's a group that cares about them and is happy that you're here.

>> This is not just a school and family that we're creating.

♪ >> Time now for our midweek.

Check in on what's happening in Kentucky.

Politics with dry Lynn Barton, who is the managing editor of Kentucky Public Radio and Ohio Valley Resource.

Good to see you, as always.

For island.

>> I run a good to see you, too.

>> So let's talk about flood recovery.

And we know we talked a little bit about this last Wednesday.

A lot of complaints from both sides of the aisle about FEMA.

They're either slow response or the just steady stream of denials that's coming from those who are seeking assistance, individual assistance being denied back sometimes because they can't produce the paperwork.

That was destroyed in the flood.

So tell us about how this is really right wing politicians from both sides of the aisle.

>> Yeah, there's been a real bipartisan response here of from Democratic Governor Andy Beshear to Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

There calling on FEMA to do something to speed up the process and try to get the approval rate and beyond just the approval rate, the actual amount that people are getting is a little less than people are expecting.

That amount can also be There's a whole education effort behind this as well as to what FEMA can actually do, what they can provide, how you can go through the FEMA process it's which is cumbersome and confusing, especially for people who are, you know, trying to make their way through this tragedy, as you said, might not have the documents readily available.

A couple things.

FEMA's done to make this a little bit easier.

Is there authorized to approve some benefits on site.

So when somebody shows up to a disaster is relief center around eastern Kentucky, they might be able to get approved for benefits right there.

And then that didn't used to happen.

And also they tried to boost up their text reach out of program to try to get to people who are in more remote areas.

This is something everybody is going to be watching for a while.

And it is pretty notable that he was making these kind of on the ground changes, we will see how much it actually, you know, improves out that number of how many people are getting that.

>> And another flood related matter an issue and something that will be following in talking about a special session.

So we're hearing with the governor said the other day a few weeks, but we're also hearing and a legislative hearing just yesterday, a senator said sooner rather than later.

What do we know about a timeline for a special session to deal with a relief package for eastern Kentucky hands?

>> Yeah.

The one thing that we know is that a special sessions can come really You know, we have to, I guess, was back in.

But what this event late then Governor Matt Bevin called a special session for the next day.

So these can happen really rapidly.

So, you know, this really could be something like next week could be in the coming weeks after that.

We don't really know until the governor calls it a and he's the only person who can call a special session.

So these legislators around the state are really just waiting for that.

There's a lot of discussion happening behind the scenes right now.

I think a lot of legislative leaders are, you know, trying to figure out some of that schedule stuff.

Will they have enough people around to be part of part of those discussions be part of be able to get to Frankfort on the turn of a dime.

Yeah.

>> Pivoting now to talk about mask mandates, Jefferson County Public Schools as the time that we've talked to, they have a mask mandate because Jefferson County is still in the red.

Marty Pollio, the school superintendent testified in a committee just the other day that said that he's just following the rules.

You know, the school board's following the rules from what the Fed says you should do when you're in the red.

There's been another development with the mask debate and that involves the Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

Tell us about this.

>> Right.

The Attorney General Daniel Cameron is really just urging JCPS too lift its mask He didn't.

He didn't know right from and threatened to sue.

But there is a little bit of saber rattling going on here.

He was saying that his officers is reviewing whether or not they feel that the policy in JCPS is legal it is important to note last year during another special related to coronavirus Legislature actually authorized local school districts to make these local decisions about masking during the regular session this year.

The legislature declined to do anything about that you know, totally banned districts from having mask mandates.

So we have this policy in which local districts are allowed to do this.

Meanwhile, JCPS is the only district in the state that is still requiring masks.

And that's because of a policy that they said as long as Jefferson counties in this lake zone, this red zone of transmission for coronavirus.

They're going to continue to require masking.

It would be up to the local school board to lift something like that.

But yes of Attorney General Cameron was of the you kind of too.

To sue or take some sort of action of against the district will see if anything ever comes about.

>> And 50 seconds we have remaining something.

I'm not fun, but we know that there's going to be an opportunity at the state fair.

And you also get a little little plus a little bonus there.

If you get your COVID in shot or your booster shot, tell us about this.

>> Yeah.

The Kentucky Association of Health plans is giving $25 gift cards and unlimited ride.

Wristbands for people who attend the Kentucky State This would begin on August 18.

I guess that is tomorrow.

Yeah.

So people an extra incentive for people to get that booster get their first dose of the vaccine as COVID continues to spread around the area.

It is not doesn't seem to be as severe as it normally is, but certainly in Jefferson County is spreading quite a bit.

So just a little bit extra incentive to the finally get people getting the shot.

>> Yeah, we'll see how that goes.

And of course, you know, stay fair.

Opening Day.

The 18th tomorrow Thursday.

So will be there will have a crew and we might see Rylan Barton that you treat would not.

Haha, I'll be there.

Yeah, good to see you.

Take good care.

>> But thank you.

>> And other news, 6 primary election recounts are now over without any winners changing the secretary of state's office says with the recounts finish taken certified the winners and 2 congressional races, one race for the Kentucky state Senate and 3 races for the Kentucky Statehouse.

Secretary of state Michael Adams has been openly critical of these recounts because most of the races were close and the recounts are costly.

♪ The project is underway.

Exploring the common connections we have with each other.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky project is a mix of artistry and storytelling.

The participants are captured on canvas and on video as they tell their story.

Here's a look.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> As much as anything, I think it was, you know, put it in the city.

They believe in themselves too.

♪ >> Largest city in the country to my knowledge not built on a narrow body of water.

We have the horse farms.

That's our water feature.

♪ ♪ >> Well, with that happy, Chandler say I've never been to Kentuckyian you either pleasant on his way home or longing to be how something like that.

I mean that I feel I love to travel and left come home I definitely feel a strong connection to Kentucky is just so much a part of who we are, especially with the thoroughbred industry and bourbon industry.

It's I can't imagine living anywhere.

♪ >> When the tree has and they put anything for 10 of the boys in the backyard.

We felt welcome.

And I think that sentence was coming.

Kentucky generally stay with me.

♪ ♪ Take that over time with what I learned.

>> Is how important is that these cell phone?

>> I ♪ >> once everybody Kentucky that all the conversation comes this way.

And not all over 50 years ago, we would like to do and one self of self with them and sometimes you go first.

>> The rivers can do with the river's going to do it.

You know, farming is a gamble and especially on the river bottoms because you can lose 3 crops and one season.

And I just I have so much respect for farmers say you don't find people that work any harder.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> I changed my way of thinking a lot and it had to do that.

The passage of time becoming a mom, the beauty of the space is around me and being really deeply impacted by Holly Hill in being able to live.

This is where you that.

♪ ♪ ♪ I always look forward to coming back home.

This is home for me and always will be.

>> I've tried to make Kentucky where really the powerhouse forces are.

♪ >> I'm a big believer that people are is different.

As the world actually.

And I want to show.

>> We all the same things out of life.

>> Be proud of the place where you live.

So there is that place that kept you.

Everyone.

>> Just wants to.

And there >> I'll go back do crime.

We have to be Taylor's keeper and we are and it goes again back to all of our connectedness.

We're all talking his plan together, all doing the best we can one step at a time and to acknowledge each other to hear each other.

Appreciate each other.

Responsible for week 8, we're responsible.

>> I want to get back.

Eat it.

I found it a piece.

♪ >> Pretty neat.

That is the Commonwealth of Kentucky Project Multimedia art exhibit is at the WLEX Arts Gallery.

In Lexington, it opens to the public on Monday, August the 22nd.

Well, thank you for joining us tonight.

We hope to see you right back here again tomorrow night at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central for Kentucky edition where we inform connect and inspire subscribe to our weekly Kentucky Edition, e-mail news letter and watch full episodes and clips.

>> And KET Dot Org can also find us on the PBS video app on your mobile device and smart TV.

And of course, you can follow KET on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay in the loop.

We got a great show lined up for you tomorrow.

Hope to see you take good care.

♪ ♪