(FRANKFORT, KY) – Kentucky’s Consolidated State Plan to implement the requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), has been revised. The Kentucky Department of Education has released the plan for public comment and submitted it to Gov. Andy Beshear for review.

The revised plan can be publicly accessed online. Amendments to Kentucky’s plan are necessary to ensure alignment with federal and state laws, and changes since Dec. 12, 2019 are indicated in yellow. Specifically, proposed revisions impact, among other components, the identification of schools for Targeted Support and Improvement, Additional Targeted Support and Improvement, and Comprehensive Support and Improvement; the Transition Readiness and Quality of School Climate and Safety indicators; processes related to English Learners; and, interim goals and measures of interim progress.

Under federal law, state education agencies are required to submit a plan detailing the implementation of the law and how federal education dollars will be spent. After public comments and the governor’s review, the state plan must be resubmitted to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) for review.

The Kentucky Consolidated State Plan initially was submitted to USED in September 2017, and after making revisions required by USED, it received federal approval in May 2018. The plan was grounded in a year and a half of extensive outreach and engagement efforts with Kentuckians, including educators at all levels, families, businesses, education partners, policymakers and communities. Senate Bill 1, passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2017, further guided the development of the state plan.

The initial year of implementation of the state plan occurred in the 2017-2018 academic year, with the first results of the new accountability system being reported in September 2018. The second year of implementation, which occurred in the 2018-2019 academic year was reported in October 2019. Parents, educators, lawmakers and education stakeholders across the Commonwealth were given new, more transparent tools to understand the performance of local schools, including overall ratings for each Kentucky public school ranging from 1 (the lowest) to 5 (the highest) stars.

Public comments on the draft revisions to Kentucky’s state plan must be received by close of business Feb. 2. Comments may be emailed to kdecommunications@education.ky.gov or submitted to Todd Allen, Interim General Counsel, Kentucky Department of Education, 300 Sower Blvd, 5th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601. You also may submit comments via fax at (502) 564-9321. All comments that are received timely will be considered before submission of the revised state plan to USED.