Commissioner of Education
Terry Holliday, Ph.D., was selected as Kentucky’s fifth commissioner of education in July 2009. Holliday served as superintendent of the more than 20,000-student Iredell-Statesville school district from 2002 until 2009. Under his leadership, the Iredell-Statesville school district received the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which was created by ... More
Coordinated School Health
What is a Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP)?A CSHP is an organized set of programs, policies and activities. This coordinated model consists of assessing the school environment, having a school health or wellness council and developing an action plan. This team has members at both the Kentucky Department of Education and ... More
Data & Research
This page contains information on how to make a data request from the Kentucky Department of Education and requirements for varied school/district data collections.
District Support Services
Welcome to the Division of District Support! We provide information and support for district programs that ensure a strong foundation for education, including: high-quality facilities designed to maximize student learning; safe and secure transportation for students; health requirements for students; student data and state education funding, including the SEEK (Support Education Excellence in Kentucky) program. Who ... More
Doing Business With KDE
All vendors/individuals wishing to do business with the Department of Education must be registered through the Finance and Administration Cabinet. This allows vendors the opportunity to identify those products and services they wish to offer to the Commonwealth. Vendors registering for the first time should go to the New Vendor Registration ... More
Facilities
The District Facilities Branch in the Division of District Support partners with local school districts to help build a statewide education facility infrastructure that supports student performance by providing an equitable and adequate learning environment for all students. The branch provides assistance to school districts by reviewing and approving all sites, new buildings, ... More
Federal Programs and Instructional Equity
Federal program funding includes a wide range of direct assistance programs to local schools and districts which provide funding for programs that boost student acheivement, and provide additional resources to engender a supportive environment for students.
Finance & Funding
This section provides financial, technical, and administrative support from Commonwealth of Kentucky and U.S. Department of Education sources. This support is available to local school districts to assist them with ensuring efficient and effective use of resources, and achievement of high state and federal student assessment goals. For more information about the ... More
Grant Information
The Kentucky Department of Education administers a variety of state and federal grant programs through allocations and competitive process. In addition, the Department works with private foundations to coordinate the distribution of private grant funds to schools and districts throughout the state. For specific program areas and the grants they offer, or ... More
Health Services
"School health programs offer the opportunity to provide the services and knowledge necessary to enable children to be productive learners and to develop the skills to make healthy decisions for the rest of their lives" -National School Board Association (1995) KDPH New Immunization Requirements (Effective 7/1/2011) ITV Broadcast on Immunization Updates (Broadcast 2/7/2011) ... More
Kentucky Board of Education
As mandated by Kentucky law, the Kentucky Board of Education develops and adopts the regulations that govern Kentucky's 174 public school districts and the actions of the Kentucky Department of Education. Department officials follow board guidelines as they both lead and serve public elementary, middle and high schools.
Legal & Legislative Services
The Office of Legal and Legislative Services provides Department of Education staff and the Kentucky Board of Education with legal counsel and advice on matters pertaining to education-related state and federal laws and regulations. The department's chief counsel also serves as hearing officer for the Kentucky Board of Education and manages ... More
Next Generation Professionals
Our Mission is to support student success through effective educators. Our goals are to equip educators with critical tools, including guidance, systems of support and a measurable model of educator effectiveness based on student achievement. We desire to help and support schools and districts identify, recruit, diversity, retain and professionally grow ... More
Professional Development
School and Community Nutrition
Good nutrition makes a vital contribution to physical development and cognitive performance. KDE administers several programs that deliver quality nutrition and nutrition education to Kentucky students and other citizens. In addition to the important mission of providing fuel for growth and learning, these programs bring into Kentucky more than $150 million ... More
School Based Decision Making
In the 1990 legislative session, the Kentucky legislature passed HB 940, which is best known as the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Essentially, this piece of legislation changed the face of education in Kentucky from curriculum to finance. One drastic change that came with KERA was how governance was handled, and ... More
School Improvement
School Improvement provides a data-driven, research-based framework for defining goals and objectives for improving student learning and for selecting and implementing strategies to improve the instructional and organizational effectiveness of every school.
Technology
The Kentucky Education Technology Systems (KETS) is a direct result of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. Within the work of KETS, a Master Plan was developed along with the KETS Implementation Plan that guides our continuing work. This section will provide current and historical information on the KETS project ... More
Testing & Reporting
Kentucky's educational reforms are based upon the principle that schools must be held accountable for the progress of their students. Frequent, meaningful testing is required to assess the extent of student progress toward proficiency; accurate, understandable reporting is required so that all stakeholders in Kentucky education have the data needed for ... More
Transportation
The Kentucky Department of Education's Pupil Transportation Branch is dedicated to the safe transport of Kentucky's school children.