Could a Kentucky school district advertise certified jobs district-wide before identifying the individual school building?

Plain-English summary

Kentucky's Attorney General concluded that Jefferson County Public Schools complied with the vacancy-posting statute by advertising certified positions district-wide each year and adding the particular school building when it became known. KRS 160.380 defined a certified-position vacancy within a school district, rather than a vacancy in one specified building. The opinion said the district did not have to identify a building in its initial notice.

Under the statute as the AG described it, the superintendent had to notify the Kentucky Department of Education and post an opening at the local board office 30 days before filling it. JCPS reported that it usually posted certified-position types in November and December and notified the department at least 60 days before filling them. The opinion accepted that practice when the later building-specific notices followed as positions became available. It also noted an exception in the vacancy definition for openings governed by an employer-employee bargained contract, unless positions remained open after that contract's procedures.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did a Kentucky district have to name the school building in its first certified-job notice?
A: The AG said no. The vacancy was tied to a certified position in the district, and JCPS could add the building once it knew the assignment.

Q: Was JCPS's annual district-wide posting practice lawful?
A: The opinion said yes for the described practice: district-wide postings of certified openings followed by school-specific updates as jobs became available.

Q: What notice period did the opinion identify before a vacancy could be filled?
A: It read KRS 160.380(2)(b) to require notice to the state education department and posting at the local board office 30 days before filling a covered position. The opinion reported that JCPS usually gave at least 60 days' notice to the department.

Q: Did the same vacancy definition apply when a bargained contract set its own filling procedure?
A: The statute quoted in the opinion excepted openings covered by such procedures until positions remained open after those procedures were followed.

Background and statutory framework

Senator Perry Clark asked whether JCPS's posting and notification practices complied with Kentucky law. The AG read KRS 160.380(1)(c)'s definition of vacancy together with KRS 160.380(2)(b)'s notice rule. It relied on earlier opinions interpreting KRS 161.720 to explain that a certified teacher was employed by the district rather than in a particular building. That reading supported a district-wide initial posting with later building information.

Citations and references

• KRS 160.380(1)(c): definition of a certified-position vacancy, including the contract-procedure exception.
• KRS 160.380(2)(b): state notification and local posting requirements discussed by the AG.
• KRS 161.720(4): teacher-employment provision cited with earlier AG opinions.

Source

• Landing page: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_570670ee-1f05-4048-9035-db27f0c31144/
• Original PDF: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/download/file/IO_570670ee-1f05-4048-9035-db27f0c31144

Original opinion text

OAG 10-003
May 13, 2010
Subject:

Posting and Notification Requirements for Vacancies
in Public School Districts

Requested by:

Senator Perry B. Clark

Written by:

Craig F. Newbern, Jr., Assistant Attorney General

Syllabus:

The Jefferson County Public School System’s current
method of annually posting job vacancies for certified positions on a district wide basis, followed by posting of specific school building jobs as they are known to be available, complies with the requirements of KRS 160.380.

Statutes construed:
KRS 160.380(1)(c), KRS 160.380(2)(b), KRS
161.720(4)
OAGs cited:

91-149, 76-436, 61-559

Opinion of the Attorney General
The following question, in substance, has been presented: Are
the practices of the Jefferson County Public School System (JCPS) in
compliance with Kentucky law regarding the posting and notification of
job vacancies within the school district?
KRS 160.380(1)(c) defines vacancy as:

OAG 10-003
Page 2

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. However, 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. Absent an employer-employee bargained contract, whenever a certified employee resigns, is dismissed or his contract is not renewed, or if he is transferred or dies, a vacancy is created. In addition, if a new certified position is created a vacancy exists. Pursuant to KRS 160.380(2)(b): When a vacancy occurs in a local school district, the superintendent shall notify the chief state school officer thirty (30) days before the position shall be filled. The chief state school officer shall keep a registry of local district vacancies which shall be made available to the public. The local school district shall post position openings in the local board office for public viewing. When a vacancy occurs in a local school district, the superintendent must notify the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and post the openings in the local school board office for 30 days before filling the position. We are of the opinion that vacancy is not defined by reference to a particular position in a particular school building. We reached this same opinion in OAG 61-559, OAG 76-436 and OAG 91-149. Those

OAG 10-003
Page 3

opinions, interpreting KRS 161.720, establish that employment of a
certified teacher, under either a limited or continuing contract, is employment in the school district only and not in a particular position or building1. Currently, when JCPS has or expects to have openings for certified positions2, JCPS notifies KDE at least 60 days before the position is filled. JCPS typically posts vacancies for several types of certified positions in November and December of each school year. As soon as one of these certified positions is available in a particular school building, JCPS posts the information about that particular school building with KDE and internally within JCPS. KRS 160.380 does not require these notifications to list a particular school building for each certified position vacancy. The statute defines vacancy by reference to the certified position within the school district that is vacant, not by reference to a particular job in a particular building. It is the opinion of the Office of the Attorney General that JCPS’s current method of annually posting job vacancies for certified positions on a district wide basis, followed by posting of specific school building jobs as they are known to be available, complies with the requirements of KRS 160.380.

Jack Conway
Attorney General
Craig F. Newbern, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General
#316

1

KRS 161.720(4)
KRS 161.020(1) requires certification for the positions of “superintendent, principal, teacher, supervisor, director of pupil personnel, or other public school position for which certificates may be issued. 2