As mandated by KRS 156.670, [Appendix D] a plan related to purchasing, developing, and using technology to accomplish specific purposes in Kentucky's public school systems must be developed and must cover at least a five-year period. The previous five versions of the Kentucky Education Technology System (KETS) Master Plan for Education Technology served the state very well and are the foundation for the current (sixth) 2024-2030 KETS Master Plan.
The fundamental concepts and visionary principles used in the development of the first and subsequent plans remain relevant today. They are as important today as they were 30 years ago, have withstood the test of time, and will remain as guiding principles and benchmarks for future decision-making.
To develop this plan, Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff gathered feedback and closely examined input from the state's 171 public school districts, the Kentucky School for the Deaf and the Kentucky School for the Blind, consulted with KDE program areas, and studied other plans such as the state plans of North Carolina and Wisconsin as well as the National Education Technology Plan and the Future Ready Framework. The KETS Master Plan is designed to build upon the state's past successes and progress while progressing toward the future. This plan illustrates the path that will enable all students, teachers, and administrators to understand and leverage technology. Education technology can provide students and teachers the opportunity to realize their full potential. It extends instructional content beyond traditional school walls and leads students to where every opportunity is open to them.
This Master Plan includes information about the technology needs of schools, districts and the state; education technology-related products and standards; areas of emphasis; technology planning guidance; studies and research; and the policies and laws that affect education technology in Kentucky.
While technology has changed over the years, the driving purpose of the planning process for the KETS Master Plan has not. The primary purpose is to ensure technology tools enhance the learning experience of students, help prepare students for post-secondary and career readiness, and further develop a competitive workforce. This has not wavered. Equity of access and expanded opportunity have roots in the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 and will continue to be a cornerstone and driving force for KDE through this KETS Master Plan. Through technology-enabled tools, the following experiences and designs will continue to be major drivers through the work identified in this plan:
- Informative, engaging, safe, and secure experience for students,
- Options addressing the different learning and teaching styles of all students and teachers,
- In depth understanding of academic content with deep learning experiences,
- Data-driven decision-making,
- Age/ability-appropriate ease of access and enhanced security and privacy protections and controls,
- Creation and production of products and content,
- Collection, analysis and integration of information, and
- Communication and collaboration with others.
The 2024-2030 KETS Master Plan addresses the technology needs of schools, districts, and the state. This portion of the plan recognizes both the ongoing operational, maintenance and replacement needs as well as the technology-enabled aspects of new strategic educational priorities, plans, and projects. A blend of federal, state, and local funding sources is combined and creatively used to address the technology needs and are identified in the budget.
New in this Plan
- The 2024-2030 KETS Master Plan differs from previous versions in several ways. Some additions are:
- Since 1992, KETS has enjoyed many big wins and successes that continue to be the priorities and driving principles of the Master Plan. Inside this Master Plan, major KETS historical milestones are graphically represented in a timeline format and are updated annually (Appendix G).
- Targeted areas of emphasis are aligned with KDE strategic goals and the Future Ready Framework to help position the state and P-12 students to be future-ready. New areas of emphasis are tied to Collaborative Leadership, Robust Infrastructure and Ecosystems, Data Security, Safety, Privacy and Use, Budget and Resources, Partnerships, Digital Learning, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, and Personalized Professional Learning, as well as the Use of Space and Time.
- The plan more closely aligns with the P-12 education strategic plan of the state, school districts, and national frameworks through an enhanced and detailed comprehensive education technology plan alignment design. The Kentucky Department of Education and Kentucky Board of Education Strategic Plan components are embedded throughout the Master Plan and technology-enabled products and services are used to help address specific strategies in those plans.
- While the core budget framework remains the same, several projected cost items have been modernized to capture more up-to-date education technology need strategies (including purchasing trends).
- Cybersecurity continues to be a woven core thread throughout this Master Plan. A comprehensive cybersecurity statement is newly represented in this plan for the KETS program (Appendix F).
- The plan continues to be informed by relevant studies, research, audit and survey results, and customer feedback as well as national and other state and district plans to help guide and influence the direction of the work going forward. The following new studies and research results along with many others that are included further validate initiatives and work of the Master Plan. A link to a comprehensive list can be found in both Appendix A and Appendix C. o The People-Side of Educational Technology (including "What is Education Technology")
- KETS standards are streamlined for display in table format to provide a summary of technology needs, and architectural, and product standards (Appendix E).
- The technology need budget projection has been modernized to reflect the progress of districts, trending patterns, and inclusion of new technologies (Appendix H).