At its June meeting the Shelby County School Board conducted a first reading of revised policies recommended by the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) and discussed guidance on Senate Bill 181; the superintendent said he will send guidance to staff and the community after the board's vote on first reading.

"One of my first guidance documents will be on Senate Bill 181," Superintendent Dr. Matthews said, noting the district is preparing materials to explain the law to employees and the community. Board and staff described two options for meeting the new civics requirement: a half-credit accredited civics course or a 100-question civics test. "What the new law says is that you can either have a half accredited civics or you can have or the board can vote for a 100 question civics test," a staff member said during the discussion. Multiple speakers urged the board to favor the half-credit option to embed civics instruction in coursework rather than require a separate high-stakes test.

The board discussed graduation requirements and an item in policy draft language: "For students entering grade 9, on or after 07/01/2025, successful completion of 1 credit course in financial literacy," language read aloud during the meeting. One board member proposed a motion "to declare a positive first reading of revised court policies and a positive review of the revised administrative procedures," and to table a specific procedure for further evaluation. The transcript identifies the procedure using variants of the code cited by speakers; one reference in the packet is "O82324AP0.2"; a member recommended tabling that procedure for additional review and moving to amend policy 8.13 to require a half-credit for civics for graduation. The record shows the motion was made; the transcript does not record a vote or final disposition in the excerpt provided.

Board and staff said the district will examine course codes and placement options to embed civics and financial literacy content where appropriate, and that virtual platform content (Apex) already contains civics and financial-literacy components at the high school level. The board asked staff for additional procedure language and timing details before final adoption.