♪ >> This is a Pandora's box that I think we don't need to go to go near.

>> Objections to portions of a school safety measure over who should counsel kids in crisis?

So race is for teachers out right off the table.

How lawmakers answer that budget question last night.

>> When they're about limiting sick days, you know, the none of the things that you've got a phone call about.

>> Proposed change to the policy on teachers.

Sick leave is off the chopping block.

♪ And after this.

bridge collapse will look at the safety of Kentucky Bridges.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Teen Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION for this Tuesday March.

The 26.

>> I'm Renee Shaw at the KET Studios in the Capitol.

Annex and Frankfort.

On this day as we wind down the session.

Thank you so much for joining us this evening.

Contentious school safety bill that could place armed guards and school hallways its advancing through the Kentucky General Assembly.

One aspect of Senate Bill 2 that most parties agree on is additional support for student mental health.

But it too, would be offering that support that wild.

Some lawmakers in committee this morning.

Our June Leffler with Kentucky Edition reports the revised school safety measure now includes past or counselors as part of the trauma informed care team to help kids in distress.

More on that as we begin tonight's Legislative update.

>> A state senator Max wise push for school resource officers or sro's in 2019.

Those are police officers on school campuses today.

He says school districts can't recruit enough of them.

And that's why district should consider an alternative hiring armed guards.

>> If you have an elementary school, they let's say, by the way, the crow flies is 18 minutes away from that Sr road.

That's at the high school.

The elementary does not have coverage and that's cool.

That's right.

Now doesn't have the funding to provide additional SRO.

A guardian is a is a person who is as the bill states.

Retired state trooper retired law enforcement, retired federal law enforcement on we discharged veteran who's applying within 5 years of their discharge.

To their employment as a guardian, they could feel that role, that elementary school because they don't have anyone right now to cover that.

>> Why says as sorrows or the gold standard, the armed guardians are the right stopgap measure.

A Louisville Democrat says guard should never replace Sro's.

>> And I'm just devastated that we will have something that might skew away from that program might allow us to have people who are paid less money and districts may decide that because they're paid less money.

They might have guardians instead of us and the consequences of someone having.

Let's training in our school buildings around our children.

It's just very concerning to me.

I'm a no vote.

>> The bill also bolster school, mental health services, something most lawmakers like House representative says religious pastors with certain credentials should be considered for school counseling roles, too, just like students need more people to protect them.

He says students need more people to talk to.

>> And there are times when it's all hands on deck and there's not enough hands to be able to coming in and address the need, whatever it may be with a situation that trauma would be result of that situation.

>> The committee signed off on this edition, but some questioned it.

>> We're seeing over and over again.

Different situations here in Frankfort where we're allowing people to opt out of providing services that are critical for people based on them, not feeling conscientiously objecting to it or they vehemently and agreed our disagree based on values.

And I think that's something that we've got to iron out in here.

It's got to be in here.

And if that piece is not in here.

This is a Pandora's box that I think we don't need to go go near.

>> The House Education Committee approved Senate Bill 2 now heads to the full House.

Some changes were included the Kentucky Center for School Safety will oversee the Guardian program and school boards would need to sign a memorandum with local law enforcement on what they and guardians should do in case of the shooting for Kentucky edition of June left.

>> Thank you so much, Joe.

Now state lawmakers intend to toughen penalties for teams who commit gun related crimes and try them as adults.

Right now, Kentucky prosecutors have to petition a judge to elevate a minor's case to adult court.

But Senate bill 20 calls for teenagers aged 15 and older to be transferred to circuit court and tried as adults when charged with felony offenses like robbery and assault with a firearm was used in the alleged crime.

Opponents say the tougher punishments on teens will necessarily make the public safer.

Just 3 years ago.

>> We created the law that favors diversion programs in district court.

And here we are 3 years later, going back to a presumption that teenagers ought to be punished to the full extent of the law.

With very limited consideration of how we might rehabilitate them rather than punishing them.

In a society where children are in the school to prison pipeline.

This bill, Russia's them to the finish line.

>> The House revise the Senate bill was approved in the lower chamber today on a 68 to 19 vote and now heads back to the Senate for lawmakers there to approve it and send it on to the governor's desk.

How to KET students in school and how to recruit more rule vet Marion's that these are just a few of the questions posed to the Senate education panel today.

Kentucky additions Clayton Dalton has this update on some education bills moving through the General Assembly.

>> According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, average vet school debt has been on the decline for the past few years.

It's a good sign.

But the vet school graduates still averages around $150,000 worth of debt.

Kentucky lawmakers think they might be able to help while addressing the state's shortage of rural veterinarians.

>> Our students want to come back home.

And if they're from a rural area, they want to come back to rural Kentucky.

And so what this bill does is for rule.

But in areas it allows for student loan repayment and after 5 years of employment, they would actually receive $87,500.

The committee unanimously approved House Bill 5.53.

But something more should be done.

I think it's just time Kentucky.

Look at now having a veterinary school here and keeping getting more of earrings to come here.

Lawmakers also discussed truancy, a pervasive issue in Kentucky's K through 12 public schools.

>> Louisville, Republican Jarrett bomb and says over a 3rd of Jefferson County students skip out on too much school.

The district that I represent is at 38%.

>> I'm sad to report that there are 40 districts in our state that have higher rates than that.

Even with 13 districts over 50%.

>> A student is considered truant if they miss more than 10% of the school year in 2023, almost 200,000 Kentucky students met that threshold.

The bill sponsors say something must be done.

These kids are not.

>> In school with their peers learning socializing where they should be as children so they can become the next generation of.

Kentuckians that are going to be contributing to our society.

And so what House Bill, 6.11, he's going to do is allow 4 cases to be referred to the county attorneys after.

>> A student has missed 15 an excuse days of school House Bill 6.11, also gained unanimous support.

But state Senator Reggie Thomas says this is a complex issue.

Problems go beyond just does not show up to school there.

Other underlying issues here.

>> That we need to address issues of poverty, issues of unemployment issued a dysfunctional families.

>> Committee members also heard House concurrent resolution.

81, it would create a task force to review the challenges facing Jefferson County Public schools.

>> These challenges include widening achievement gaps, transportation issue, safety of our teachers and chilled to the children, a teacher shoulders and many any other in a issues.

We need to take a close examination of the exact governments of the JCPS and the particular the board when it comes to structure functionality duties, effectiveness and efficiency.

>> Before being heard in this Senate committee, the resolution face bipartisan opposition on the House floor.

Some lawmakers said they think this is an overstep by the General Assembly.

But today the measure was met with unanimous bipartisan support.

All 3 of these measures, House Bill 5.53 House Bill, 6.11, and House concurrent resolution.

81 were placed on the Senate's consent orders, which is a fast tracked way passing a batch of bills for Kentucky edition.

I'm Clayton Dalton.

It.

Thank you, Clayton.

>> Changes to how Kentucky teachers buildup and cash out they're sick.

Leave is off the chopping block.

A contentious bill that passed in the Senate last month would have set a cap on sick days for teachers, but not anymore.

Republican Senator Jimmy Higdon told a committee last night that he removed that line, which a welcome change from members of the House State Government Committee.

>> The Senate bill for about probably a lot of you have already made commitments to vote against it.

This bill has been drastically changed.

Nothing in there about limiting sick days.

You know that none of the things that you've got a phone call about are still in there.

>> I'm a little concerned.

I was going to be Pat spoke at today.

I do think it's really important that we have the conversation, but also recognize that a lot of times when teachers agree sick days, it might be to care for somebody like my mom, just like grandmother.

It could be for Adam pregnancy.

Leave or anything like that.

So just that is important that people can say they're sick days.

>> The latest version of Senate Bill 4 will tally just how many sick days Kentucky teachers have teachers can roll over and stockpile sick days to use for emergencies or to cash out when they retire.

That poses a liability to the state pension system.

A dollar amount that lawmakers say they need to know.

Negotiators on the millet multibillion-dollar executive branch budget have come to an agreement while other budgetary matters remain.

The House and Senate differed on those spending plans and talks have been ongoing to reconcile differences.

We talked about the budget last night on Kentucky tonight in an appropriate place.

One of the legislative committee rooms in the front for Capitol Annex.

I asked our panel of lawmakers about Governor Andy Beshear's request for a pay raise for teachers and whether that's likely to happen.

>> I think it's a very difficult step to I was here the last time as was Senator Webb that we did teacher raises.

And one of the it was actually my first budget session.

One of the things that sticks in my memory very dramatically is a school superintendent coming in and saying, look, when you guys do raises because of how the secret formula pushes.

It is different.

And he showed me and just in the 5 districting, I have 5 school districts in my Senate district.

How is it different ones differently?

And for some, it actually netted them money and for others, it cost them money to do.

The raises that we mandated and and, you know, the nature of of the Sikh formula, which we used to fund our schools is it started with a constitutional provision to provide a common system of schooling through the rows decision at the Supreme Court threw a hero for hot for education reform that gave us to seek formula.

So this is a constitutionally based funding formula and any deviation from it.

The begins to skew us towards being out of constitutional compliance.

And so both from the practical side as well as a constitutional side.

I for how we make this happen.

>> I'm sure the chairman's perspective and I think the challenge and before I came to a head fake county.

So I do have a county that things and you kind of get outside realize it's not the same in these counties that do have different struggles.

Their priorities are sometimes different.

And I think you have to get the context as well.

The whole piece of the education puzzle it is transportation is per people funding.

It is lots of things we do one on Lars list.

Other things we do.

Investments for education, all ties into how we want to give some support for educational systems.

You can't.

You can focus on one with that.

Look in the context of the whole.

But I think we're trying to pretty good job addressing that.

Yeah.

So representative students and we've heard from a lot of the members of the education community, the K groups about the teacher pay along with student discipline issues have been things that have really contributed to the teacher shortage on the ranking of teacher pay.

Do you think that should be the thing that state lawmakers put some emphasis and focus on?

>> I absolutely do.

And I well, I love our teachers.

I think it should be across the board.

I think it should be all school employees because >> cafeteria workers and janitors and bus drivers.

You know, they help make our schools go as well.

So I don't want to leave them out of this conversation.

However.

You know, I think it's important that we really stop it and think about that because we know that last time plan, we just gave money through sake.

Only one single district in all of Kentucky gave a comparable raise as to what state employees got.

So I think that plan we're looking you know, it not being equal.

I think it's only going to be equal if it comes from us.

And we know that the governor had proposed 11% across the board for all school employees.

And that would put us right in the middle of states with starting in average teacher pay.

So.

We can't KET wanting and saying that we want to attract the best and the brightest and then retain those teachers here.

If we're not going to pay them.

As you hear, we're losing teachers to Tennessee.

We're losing teachers to Ohio, West Virginia all the time because they are paying a higher a district that borders to other states and we lose teacher.

So we've got to really focus on.

>> attraction, retention and pay them a living wage so that that that would be a party mine in you know, the retired state employees and we hear a lot from them.

I would like to wave a wand and help those folks spent.

But I think it all as far as executive branch goes we've got to give them regardless.

He's governor, not about this is always been my budget.

Plus the gardens.

He's in the executive branch leadership.

You've got to give them the flexibility necessary given expense expanding and for economic development for disasters, from things of that nature.

I think we're going to have polls of money for those things.

But but what if, you know, we East and West Kentucky, the experience last couple years, just I want to make sure there's a safety net there.

And the governor's got whoever the governor is has flexibility to respond and that we've still got people suffering over the next of Woods made a promise.

Not forget about him.

>> Today, budget negotiators announced an agreement on the executive branch budget that includes 3% pay raises for state workers each year of the upcoming biennium and more money for K through 12 funding school, transportation and higher education priorities.

More budget related matters have yet to be decided, though lawmakers are a current impasse on the judicial and transportation budgets and road plan.

We're going to track those negotiation as the session winds down in the coming days.

Even though the public health emergency on the COVID-19 pandemic has long ended.

The policy discussions about vaccine mandates are still starring Republican state Senator Lindsey Titian or Senate bill 2.95.

Would KET schools, employers and medical providers from requiring COVID-19 and future vaccines.

Senator Titian or says vaccines are unnecessary and she contends ineffective and even dangerous.

>> SB 2.95 represents a pivotal step in addressing the complexities surrounding vaccine mandates and underscores the importance of preserving individual liberties, even in the face of public 2 health challenges, Mister President, I would urge this body to vote yes on this as it will set up residence in a standard for where we stand as a body on personal liberties.

>> Several lawmakers spoke out against the bill, including 2 Republicans who said it should be up to the government to tell businesses how to operate.

>> With passage of this legislation, we're saying at the hospital cannot require their employees to have any COVID-19 vaccine.

We say any COVID-19 vaccine a literal reading of that means any known today.

And any known in the future.

Those employees caring for my great aunt at the nursing home.

One of my family members.

And the hospital.

We are not going to be required to be vaccinated if they choose to not be upon passage of this legislation.

And we have small business owners that want to search set certain rules and expectations and they might want to require this.

They might absolutely not require this.

>> They should be allowed to make that decision.

We're tying their hands and that's wrong.

>> Still, some lawmakers defended the bill saying the development of the COVID-19 vaccine was rushed and standard medical processes were ignored.

Senate bill 2.95 pass the full Senate 25 to 11.

It now heads to the House for consideration.

There.

There could be a seismic shift in the way gambling and horse racing is soon regulated in Kentucky, Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer and speaker of the House.

David Osborne testified before a joint committee on Senate bill 2.99.

Today, if passed would create the Kentucky horse racing and Gaming Corporation, the new independent regulatory body, but replace both the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the Department of Charitable Gaming, which are both currently under the public protection Cabinet, the bill voids, the need for an amendment pushed by leaders say earlier this month that would have attached the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to the Department of Agriculture.

Senators say or said current members of the horse Racing Commission wouldn't be moved to the new agency going forward.

The governor would be still able to appoint members.

But speaking to the joint committee today, Senator Thayer said future members would need Senate confirmation.

>> That step that the racing commission doesn't have right now is important because Senate confirmation requires a higher degree of scrutiny, then boards that are not confirmed by the Senate.

We do a complete state police background check.

>> conferees are required to come before a Senate committee.

Where members of the committee review their entire application if they indeed passed that state police background check.

Members of the committee can then ask questions.

Of the of conferees.

It is a higher level of scrutiny that I think it's time the racing commission has because of the.

The amount of money going through.

That agency.

>> Several lawmakers had questions about the proposal, Senate minority floor leader, our Reggie Thomas, who's actually not the floor leader, suggested the 281 page Bill was too complex to be rushed through in the final days of the legislative process.

Still, he voted in favor of the bill saying he agreed to the change was needed.

The new corporation would also regulate charitable gaming.

All those Speaker Osborne said he didn't anticipate the change would impact how charities operate after today's discussion, a Senate committee approved the measure and then it was fast tracked to the full Senate where it was approved and now it goes on to the House.

♪ ♪ >> The CDC says cases of the measles are on the rise in the U.S. that starts our medical news today.

>> 17 states have reported a total of 64 cases this year.

While no cases have been reported in Kentucky, 5 of the states bordering the Commonwealth have reported at least one case.

That includes a case in Cincinnati where the CDC says someone with measles attended a Disney on ICE show earlier this month.

The CDC says most cases are among people who are not vaccinated for measles symptoms to typically begin one to 2 weeks after contact with the virus can include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash children younger than 5 adults over the age of 20 pregnant women.

And those with compromised immune systems are at most risk for the illness.

It is a big national story of the day today.

A cargo ship hit a support column causing the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland as the bridge collapsed.

A construction crew and some vehicles fell into the water.

Rescuers have found 2 people, 6 others are still missing.

The governor of Maryland says the ship issued a mayday call before the crash.

Now, here are a few facts about Kentucky Bridges, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, Kentucky has more than 14,000 bridges in 2023, about 7% of those are about 1000.

We're considered structurally deficient.

That's slightly better than in 2019.

The state says a total of 3100 Kentucky bridges need repair.

What a judge decided about a controversial mural at the University of Kentucky campus.

And good luck finding a hotel room for the solar eclipse and western Kentucky this weekend.

Our Joe Gibbs has those stories and more in tonight's look at headlines around Kentucky.

♪ >> The judge has dismissed a lawsuit to stop the removal of a controversial mural at the University of Kentucky, though the bureau will stay in place for now.

Students have protested the 1930's mural depicting black men and women planting tobacco and a Native American man holding a Tomahawk University of Kentucky.

President Eli Capilouto announced its removal in 2020 writer, Wendell Berry and his wife filed the lawsuit shortly after capital of those announcement WKU reports the judge ruled Barry and his wife don't have legal standing to file the suit.

But the judge also ruled the art has historical significance and should not be removed.

A new report on 2020 for housing needs assessment shows Louisville is not keeping up with affordable housing needs for its lowest income households.

Louisville public media reports the city is short about 36,000 housing units for Louisville, Younes taking 30% or less than the area.

Median income.

That's up from 31,000 in 2019, according to the report, the shortages due to a population increase.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg tells Louisville Public Media that the city is committed to build 15,000 affordable housing units across incomes by 2027.

Berea College students have filed with the National Labor Relations Board to form a labor union.

The school requires students to work on campus as part of its curriculum.

According to W E K EU, the United Student Workers and Maria wants to ensure students can use wages for their basic needs.

The group H federal approval to 4.

Travelers hoping to catch the April 8 solar eclipse will face low availability and high prices for lodging.

Paducah is in the path of totality.

It is a popular destination for viewing the eclipse.

But because Sun reports, one of the larger hotels has been booked for more than 2 months.

And another hotel shows the price for a room jumping from $70 a night to $465 on April 7th.

Kentucky is hosting the largest annual school archery tournament in the country this week.

The Bowling Green Daily News reports nearly 8500 student archers will compete in the Kentucky National archery in the schools state tournament.

The tournament will be March 28th through the 30th at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

High scores will go on to compete nationally.

With headlines around Kentucky.

I'm told the Good.

>> Thank you to be good.

The University of Kentucky women's basketball team has its new coach.

UK has hired Kenny Brooks, the current coach of Virginia Tech.

He will replace Kyra Elzy UK relieved her of her duties March 11th, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Brooks has been coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies since 2016.

The team had 8 consecutive winning seasons under Brooks and reach the Final 4 last season.

♪ You've ever been in the hospital.

You know, it can be difficult times.

UK health care is working to change that through art.

Tomorrow on Kentucky EDITION will learn how art therapy helps patients process.

Emotions and he'll well that I do that for us tonight.

We'll have much more that story and more tomorrow night on Kentucky edition at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

We have got all the goods that happening over here in Frankfort will deliver that to you tomorrow night.

Make sure that you follow us on all the ways you see on your screen there, Facebook X, formerly Twitter and Instagram to stay in the loop and look for us on the PBS video app on your mobile device and smart TV.

>> And send us a story idea.

And public affairs at KET Dot Org once again.

Thank you for watching.

I'm Renee Shaw and I'll see you right back here again tomorrow night.

Take really good care.

♪