The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) states that social studies "is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence." For students to become fully empowered participants in democracy, students must draw upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, sociology as well as content from the humanities to develop broad conceptual understandings in social studies. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens of a diverse democratic society in an interdependent world.
Announcements
Revised Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies Adopted for 2023-2024 School Year
Section 4(3)(a) of Senate Bill 1 (2022) created
KRS 158.196, which requires the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to incorporate fundamental American documents and speeches into the grade-level appropriate middle and high school social studies academic standards and align corresponding assessments. KDE brought together educators from across the state who serve on the social studies Advisory Panels and Review Committee to incorporate the fundamental documents into the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies (2022). The revised
KAS for Social Studies were approved by the Kentucky Board of Education in December 2022 and became effective in September 2023 with the final regulatory adoption. The newly adopted standards will be implemented in Kentucky classrooms beginning in the 2023-2024 school year. A
Social Studies Standards At a Glance document and a revised
KAS for Social Studies Glossary of Terms are provided to support educators in understanding how the KAS for Social Studies (2022) were revised to meet the requirements of KRS 158.196. Additionally, A Getting to Know Your KAS for Social Studies module is available on KYstandards.org under
Social Studies Professional Learning Modules to support educators in the implementation of the social studies standards.