Kentucky AG Issues Opinion On Nepotism

The Kentucky attorney general’s office has issued an opinion after studying state nepotism statutes as they apply to the hiring of certain school teachers. The Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, or KERA, prohibits school principals from hiring their spouses or relatives. But a question has arisen as to whether the prohibition applies to ‘itinerant’ or ‘district-wide’ teachers hired by superintendants, instead of principals. The attorney general’s office, in an Open Records opinion sought by the Educational Professional Standards Board, says the prohibition does apply. The AG’s office says the law makes no distinction between who does the hiring, but is clear in its intent to prohibit nepotism. Therefore, the five page opinion says, certified employees may not be assigned to work in a school where the employee is a relative of the principal, regardless of the teacher’s ‘itinerant’ or “district-wide’ status.