Kentucky Education Facts

Basic statistical information about Kentucky's schools, including number of schools, numbers of teachers and students, statewide education funding and other items.

 

For national statistics, visit the National Center for Education Statistics.

The Legislative Research Commission's Office of Education Accountability produces 2016 Kentucky District Data Profiles.

 

Kentucky's public school system is directed by state statutes and regulations. 

 

173 (29 female superintendents; 142 male; 3 minority) Two districts did not report superintendents during the 2018 data collection.  

 

Number of public schools
(Does not include dependent districts Ft. Campbell and Ft. Knox, alternative programs or the Kentucky School for the Deaf and Kentucky School for the Blind)

1,220

 

Preschool – 47​

Elementary (preschool-6th grade) – 86

Elementary/middle (any combination of P-6 and 6-8) – 653

Middle (6-8) – 174

Middle/high (any combination of 6-8 and 9-12) – 55

High (9-12) – 191

P-12 (any combination of P-6 and 6-8 and 9-12) – 14

 

These figures include one 6th-grade-only and one 9th-grade-only schools.

 Five school districts do not have high schools. They are: Anchorage Independent, East Bernstadt Independent, Science Hill Independent, Southgate Independent and West Point Independent.

 

Career and Technical Schools

Locally operated – 42

State operated – 53

 

Number of public school teachers (actual headcount) 

42,146 (White – 96%; Minority – 4%; Male - 22%; Female – 78%) 

 

656,588 

 

White – 77.4%

African American – 10.6%

Hispanic – 6.4%

Asian – 1.7%

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander – less than 1%

Native American – less than 1%

Two or More Races – 3.6%

 

185 days (includes 170 days of instruction; four days of professional development; four holidays; two planning days)

 

Number of employed certified staff, minus teachers (actual headcount as of September 15, 2017) 

8,842

 

$52,328

 

11 years, 9 months

 

3,601 (8.6% of the total teaching force)

 

5th nationwide 

 

2,194

 

0 (Program was not funded in the current biennium.)

Total number who hold Kentucky-issued certifications (as of January 25, 2018)

212,762 (excludes conditional, adjunct, emergency and temporary certificates, as well as statements of eligibility)

 

Number of classified staff (actual head count as of September 15, 2017) 

46,912

 

Average per-pupil current expense spending (excludes debt service, facilities and fund transfers)

$10,192 (2015-16 SRC)

 

$3.0 billion [FY 18]

 

Total P-12 state education budget (includes general, federal and restricted fund sources)

$5.08 billion FY18

 

$948 million [FY 18]

 

$2.6 billion [2015-2016]

 

867 (172 districts have five-member boards; Jefferson County has seven because of its size.)

 

Male - 447 Female - 394; 26 either did not indicate gender or were elected/appointed since last demographic survey in 2017

 

White – 762, Non-White – 43, 62 unknown because they did not disclose or were elected/appointed since last demographic survey in 2017 

 

1,112 (31 exemptions – 17 because of accountability status; 14 in one-school districts)

NOTE: 703 KAR 5:040 mandates that schools classified as "A1" schools are eligible for SBDM councils. A1 schools do not include preschools, alternative schools, vocational-technical or special education schools.

 

Number of alternative SBDM models 

18

 

5,639
 

2,967,780

 

State dropout rate 

1.3%

 

2.0%

 

94.4%

 

89.7%

(Four-year adjusted cohort rate)

 

Successful Transition Rate​ (Percentage of high school graduates attending college, vocational/technical schools, entering the military, employed or a combination of the above)

92.5%

 

Pre-kindergarten (preschool) children enrolled in state-funded programs 

20,854 (As of December 1, 2017 - includes children who meet eligibility criteria and children served through district funds or tuition) 

 

 

$90.1 million [FY18]

 

Full day - 159

Half day - 7

Both – 7

 

Percent of individuals eligible for free or reduced-price meals in public schools (includes K-12 students reported to KDE as of the last day of enrollment in the school year)
60.80%

 

18,071 [as of December 2017]

 

86,201 [as of December 2017]

 

90,271

Primary Talent Pool (K-3): 22,134 (as of January 2018)

Formal ID (4-12): 68,137 (as of January 2018)

 

$6.6 million [FY 18]

 

32,192

 

51,637

 

25,670 (50%)

 

921

 

Number of public schools operating schoolwide Title I programs (those that serve all students in a school) 

909

 

12

 

$210.3 million 2017-18

 

$152,268

 

6

 

6,559

 

69

 

22,750

 

$3.46 million

 

$8 million

 

22,356 

 

Languages, other than English, spoken at home by EL students 

Total – 135

Spanish (61%)

Arabic (6%)

Somali (4%)

Swahili (3%)

Nepali (2%)

Japanese (2%) 

Others (approximately 22%)

 

Students to modern high-performance computers ratio 

1.1-to-1 [as of June 2017]

 

100%, with a minimum of 100 kbps to 150 kbps of bandwidth available per student (all 173 district offices have access to high-speed fiber internet services)
 

78% to 89% (78% broadband, 11% cellular), with 89% of students with home access reporting having wireless access at home)

 

Amount of federal e-Rate funding available to Kentucky school districts for technology and statewide fiber internet services

$35.2 million [FY 17]

 

77% of Kentucky schools participate in the statewide program, with a 2016-17 year over year growth of 16%. More than 9,300 students from 465 schools and 118 districts participated in the 2017 STLP State Championship. 

 

91% high school and area technology center participation in the statewide program. Students earned more than 15,000 professionally recognized career-ready certifications in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years combined, with a 59% certification pass rate, which is 29% greater than the national average. 

 

90% of Kentucky school districts report having a meaningful strategic digital citizenship program in which students are learning the nine fundamental elements of safe and responsible use with online or digital tools.

 

90% of Kentucky school districts are offering online or blended courses to students.

 

Number of students accessing the technology-enabled Individual Learning Plan (ILP) (as of 2015-16 school year)

91% of students in grades 6-12 who have an ILP update or complete their plans annually (more than 260,000 accounts)

 

811 (421 family resource; 266 youth services; 124 combined)

 

1,170

 

618,787

 

Number of students served in extended school services programs during the school year (not including summer programs)

177,066

 

$24.6 million

 

93

 

132

 

Number of school buses (as of December 2017)

9,822

 

Number of licensed school bus drivers (as of January 2018)​

10,075