FRANKFORT — Kentucky parents can now access a Web site to research their children's teachers' credentials.

        The new Teacher Certification Inquiry feature is part of a Kentucky Department of Education site, www.kentuckyschools.org. The databank has been available about a month.

        Susan Leib, executive director of the state Education Professional Standards Board, said the databank lists the licenses earned by some 40,000 teachers and 5,000 administrators in public schools throughout the state.

        Parents can search by a teacher's name or by school, but a disclaimer states the information listed is not the official record on file with the state.

        “I haven't heard really anything negative,” said Louise Steidel, a third-grade teacher at Cline Elementary School in Cold Spring and a member of the Kentucky Education Association board of directors. “We have not had any problems evolve out of that.”

        The database does not include private or parochial school teachers.

        One concern involves teachers who hold emergency certification credentials and teach outside their field. Ms. Leib said teachers in that situation should not be judged as inferior.

        “We are doing everything we can to move them to full certification,” Ms. Leib said.

        Ms. Leib said the General Assembly gave the KEA some $2.9 million two years ago to create the database. She said future plans call for listing professional development records and salaries, but that information will not be available to the general public.

        It is possible to check credentials for Ohio teachers on the Web site, www.ode.state.oh.us, but a Social Security Number is needed.

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