As mandated by Kentucky law, the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) develops and adopts the regulations that govern Kentucky's 171 public school districts and the actions of the Kentucky Department of Education.
Kentucky Board of Education Vision
Each and every Kentucky learner will become an engaged citizen and empowered learner prepared to lead a life filled with purpose.
Kentucky Board of Education Mission
Improve the future of all Kentucky learners by providing leadership, advocating for resources, advancing policy, and cultivating community partnerships to ensure each and every student has equitable access to high-quality, lifelong learning.
Kentucky Board of Education
2025-2026 Goals
The Kentucky Board of Education is steadfast in its dedication to ensuring equal access, opportunities, and advancement for every student. We are committed to identifying and eliminating barriers that hinder learners, particularly those from historically underserved communities, enabling all Kentucky students to realize their full potential.
Goal 1: Foster Vibrant Student Learning Experiences
- Support educators to design and implement engaging, real-world, and content-rich learning experiences that inspire students to participate actively and apply their knowledge meaningfully.
- Strengthen the educator workforce through enhanced collaboration with the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) and Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE). Prioritize the recruitment, retention, and diversification of the educator workforce to enrich the teaching and learning experience and the educational environment for all students.
Goal 2: Advance Educational Innovation and Excellence- Support the development and implementation of an accountability system that values innovative teaching practices and vibrant learning environments.
- Promote continuous improvement through community-based accountability measures, ensuring that all students have equitable access to high-quality education.
- Advance statewide efforts to support educators in the implementation of high-quality literacy and numeracy instruction aligned with high quality literacy and numeracy instructional resources.
- Explore opportunities for high school transformation across the Commonwealth aligned with workforce development.
Goal 3: Cultivate Collaborative Partnerships
- Establish and sustain strong partnerships with all education stakeholders, including families, policymakers, and community members, to:
- Collaboratively enhance educational outcomes and support the holistic development of every student.
- Encourage and strengthen statewide and local community support of professional educators.
Goal 4: Measurement and Reflection
- Develop measurability and reporting for each board goal, thereby reinforcing the board's accountability to its mission and established legislative priorities.
Kentucky Board of Education
2026 Legislative Priorities
The Kentucky Board of Education is committed to improving the future of all Kentuckians by providing
leadership, advancing policy, and cultivating community partnerships to ensure every student has
equitable access to high-quality, lifelong learning.
We pledge to develop authentic partnerships with other Kentucky agencies and education stakeholders
to strengthen our efforts and maximize impact. To that end, we establish the following legislative
priorities for the 2026 Regular Session:
1. Continue the work of Kentucky United We Learn (KUWL) in partnership with the KUWL Council
- Advocate for legislative backing to promote the reimagined assessment and accountability
systems. This includes fostering conversations around innovative approaches to measuring
student success and ensuring the systems are meaningful and useful to all learners.
2. Support the Educator Workforce- Educator Preparation: Collaborate with the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) and
the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) to update educator preparation programs (EPPs),
ensuring future educators are well prepared in both the art and science of teaching and
equipped to create vibrant learning experiences for every student.
- Educator Recruitment and Retention: Continue advocacy regarding teacher scholarships and
additional mentoring to improve the attractiveness of the teaching profession.
- Explore the possibility of a statewide common application system to support future
educators in their search for a teaching placement and districts in their identification of
high-quality candidates.
- Advocate for a reimagining of the existing teacher scholarship, such as envisioned in
Senate Bill 253 from the 2025 Regular Session, that could provide a tuition-free pathway
into the classroom
3. Secure Additional Funding for Key Initiatives
- Numeracy Counts Act Professional Development: Provide targeted professional development
and school-based math coaches to educators to enhance math instruction and ensure the
successful implementation of the Numeracy Counts Act.
- Read to Succeed Literacy Coaches: Increase funding for continuing professional learning
academies and school-based literacy coaches who can deliver job-embedded training and
support for educators at all levels to improve literacy outcomes.
- Universal Preschool: Advoate for additional funding to expand preschool access to support the
development of foundational literacy and numeracy skills to ensure more students enter
kindergarten ready to learn and be successful.
- High-Quality Instructional Resources (HQIRs): Support districts in adopting HQIRs that align with
standards and promote grade-level, high-quality instruction in every classroom and/or invest in
curriculum-based professional learning aligned to the adopted resources to support effective
HQIR implementation. Funding also will be used to establish and sustain the HQIR repository and
support the statutorily-required work of the State Quality Curriculum Taskforce.
- Kentucky Education Technology System (KETS): Invest in the ongoing maintenance and
sustainability of KETS ensuring that districts have access to modern educational technologies
that enhance teaching and learning.
- Full-Day Kindergarten: Advocate for the codification of funding for full-day kindergarten to
ensure that all students have the opportunity to build a strong foundation for future learning.
- School Safety: Support ongoing efforts to create school environments where student and
educator well-being is prioritized.
4. Statutory Updates and Clean-up
- Stagger Board of Education Terms: Amend KRS 156.029 to increase stability of the Board by
staggering the turnover of the Supreme Court seats.
- Council for Education Technology: Remove or amend outdated references to the Council for
Education Technology, which was repealed in 2006, from current statutes.
- KETS Teacher Home Computer Program: Eliminate the obsolete KETS teacher home computer
statute, which no longer aligns with current education technology needs.
5. Facilities: Work directly with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and KDE advisory council(s)
to explore pathways to modernize the funding of district facilities.
6. Review and Update Substitute Teaching Statute (KRS 161.102(5)): Address limitations on districts
that currently restrict use of emergency certified substitutes to no more than 20 days.
7. Continue the historic investment in Career and Technical Education (CTE) by addressing current
funding inequities between Area Technology Centers (ATCs) and local centers.
- Include the ATCs in the CTE funding formula and increase CTE funding by $15 million to hold
local programs harmless
KBE's A Call to Action
The KBE's A Call to Action serves several purposes. Primarily, it will be a touchstone for the KBE to ensure future KBE actions align with the established values for the future of assessment and accountability in Kentucky. Additionally, the document will be used as a communication and advocacy tool by the KBE members when sharing about KBE goals, United We Learn, and the importance of a transformed educational experience for every student in the Commonwealth.
Document: Call to Action (Updated August 17 2023)
The Kentucky Board of Education also serves as the board for the Kentucky School for the Blind and Kentucky School for the Deaf, and Department of Education staff also serve as resources for those schools.
KBE Policy Manual (Approved August 2021)
Consolidated Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action Compliance Plan
Title IX Compliance Statement 2023
The Kentucky Board of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, gender identity, veteran's status, genetic information, or disability in employment or the provision of services.