Tagged: The Next Louisville

Seventh grader Charlie Cross sometimes gets frustrated with learning.

“If I don’t know what to do, I’ll raise my hand and they’ll go to other kids and then my hand will get tired so I’ll put it down and I just lay my head down on the desk,” he says.

Cross has been sent to the principal’s office for things like this before. He's also been sent to the district’s alternative school.

He’s not alone.

Jefferson County Public Schools will lay off 41 teachers next school year, half of whom teach special education. 

JCPS officials say state budget and federal sequester cuts are partly the reason for the layoffs, but they also say fewer students are using special education services. 

The state required school districts to submit their layoff lists on May 15.

JCPS' list included 20 Exceptional Child Education (special education) teachers, 11 English teachers, seven physical education teachers and one art teacher. 

Jefferson County Public School Superintendent Donna Hargens sent a memo to all principals reminding them that district employees must remain neutral when discussing religion in school.

Last week, the group Louisville Area Christian Educators, or LACES, held an evening meeting at a district facility where a JCPS principal reportedly discussed ways religion could be introduced to students. Some have raised concerns with the group’s use of a public school facility to deliver their message.

More Kentucky students attend Indiana colleges and universities where they can get in-state tuition than the other way around.

Kentucky and Indiana officials have announced that they're extending the agreement that allows students to pay in-state tuition at certain colleges and universities across the Ohio River. The extension was approved by the two states' higher education agencies as its expiration date approached this summer.