(FRANKFORT, KY) – Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff presented data on the 2025 Kentucky Educator Shortage Survey to school superintendents during the Superintendents Webcast on Oct. 14.
The data shows 34 districts reported having no unfilled certified, classified or licensed positions within the district as of Sept. 1. This represents 20% of the survey’s respondents, which were Kentucky’s 171 school districts, the Kentucky School for the Blind, the Kentucky School for the Deaf and the Kentucky Tech System.
Last year, only one district reported having no unfilled positions.
Meredith Brewer, associate commissioner in KDE’s Office of Educator Licensure and Effectiveness, said the purpose of the survey is to collect real-time data on educator vacancies across the state along with information on district-level strategies to address staffing shortages. It also helps KDE identify critical shortage areas and support the development of policies and initiatives to recruit and retain staff.
The 2025 survey had 100% participation across all districts.
“Thank you all for taking the time to complete the survey,” Brewer said to superintendents on the webcast. “This survey is a way for us to provide the most accurate representation of vacancies across the Commonwealth.”
The 2025 Kentucky Educator Shortage Survey indicated there were 2,421 total vacancies across the Commonwealth. The bulk of those vacancies – 1,621 – were classified vacancies, followed by 671 certified teacher vacancies, 90 licensed educator vacancies and 39 administrator vacancies. Brewer noted 25 of the administrator vacancies were for instructional or curriculum coaches reported from a single district.
Classified positions are non-teaching roles that do not require a teaching certification, and include positions such as teaching aides, bus drivers, custodians and food service employees.
“These roles are essential to daily school operations, and their high vacancy rate does highlight ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining support staff across our school districts,” Brewer said.
Among certified vacancies, schools reported needs for exceptional children educators and elementary school teachers the most. Brewer noted this data can be skewed by positions that have the most overall needs within a district, though.
“It is important for us to remember that vacancy numbers in a subject area are determined by two main factors: staffing challenges and the total number of positions a district will need for that role,” Brewer said. “Roles with many allocated positions, like elementary school or special education teachers, will naturally show more vacancies overall than roles with fewer positions, such as world language teachers, even if both face similar hiring difficulties.”
Positions with the most vacancies among licensed educators are school psychologists, speech pathologists and therapists.
Brewer explained that if a school district’s recruiting efforts are unsuccessful and the district is unable to secure a qualified teacher for a vacancy, the district can request an emergency certificate from the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB). As of Sept. 1, EPSB had issued 401 emergency certificates for the 2025-2026 school year.
“However, we do want to note that emergency certificates are supposed to be reserved for truly emergent situations. … It is supposed to be strictly limited and is valid for just that specific job for which the emergency certificate is issued,” she said.
Brewer said solutions to staff shortages varied across districts, but many continued to pursue qualified candidates while using substitute teachers to fill any vacant positions.
Among some of the other findings in the report, 72% of districts reported they observed a decrease in the number of qualified candidates applying for positions within their district over the past two years, and only a small fraction of Kentucky school districts, 6%, said they needed to cancel classes or programs due to a shortage of qualified applicants this year.
Assessment and Accountability
Jennifer Stafford, associate commissioner in KDE’s Office of Assessment and Accountability, presented an update on the timeline for school assessment and accountability reporting.
Results for the 2024-2025 school year will tentatively be released to the public at 12:01 a.m. ET on Nov. 19. Stafford also highlighted other dates for school administrators to be aware of, including an embargo period for the data and the 10-day regulatory data review period following the public release.
Stafford explained that the new Kentucky Summative Assessment for science impacted public reporting of the 2024-2025 testing cycle. KDE updated the science assessment in the winter of 2024-2025 based on academic content standards that were revised in 2023. Because the new assessment is not comparable with previous years, KDE brought in educators to revise performance level descriptors to inform decisions around new cut scores for the new assessment in September.
Schools have had individual student testing data, except for science scores, since the beginning of August. Individual science scores are tentatively expected to be released to schools on Oct. 21.
Kentucky Moves to SAT
KDE has awarded a contract under a competitive bid process to the College Board to administer the SAT Junior State Administration as the state-funded college admissions exam beginning in spring 2026.. This initial four-year contract, with a cost of $30 per student locked in over the four years, has the potential to save the Commonwealth up to $350,000 annually.
Kentucky high school juniors will take the SAT during the school day as part of the state’s required college admissions exam testing. KDE had previously worked with ACT as its college admissions exam provider; that contract ended on June 30, 2025.
Stafford explained how the SAT exam works to superintendents. The SAT Junior State Administration is an online adaptive exam that takes two hours and 14-minutes to complete.
The SAT assesses students’ reading, writing, math and science skills. The test has two sections, Reading & Writing and Math. Through its unique design, the SAT also delivers an Analysis in Science score generated by students’ performance on relevant questions within the Reading & Writing and Math sections that meets Kentucky’s statutory requirements.
The six-week test window will be March 2 through April 10, 2026, allowing schools to determine their own test administration dates.
The SAT is widely accepted by four-year colleges and universities across the United States. In Kentucky, most public institutions – including the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Eastern Kentucky University and Western Kentucky University – consider SAT scores for admission, even when submission is optional.
Stafford also discussed resources for the SAT. For educators, SAT offers free instructional planning tools, including an educator question bank, student skill insights, and resources to integrate questions into daily lessons. SAT and KDE are also hosting a series of in-person trainings for educators and administrators across the Commonwealth in November.
Students and families have access to a wide range of supports to help them navigate the SAT experience with confidence. Resources such as Understanding Scores explain what SAT results mean and how they connect to college readiness, while More Than a Score highlights the many ways SAT results can open opportunities beyond admissions. Parents are supported with a dedicated Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Teen Ready for the SAT, which offers clear steps to encourage preparation, reduce test anxiety, and connect students to free, personalized practice tools. Together, these resources ensure that both students and parents are equipped with the knowledge and strategies needed to make the most of the SAT journey.
Students also will have access to free test preparation materials through the College Board’s testing platform, Bluebook, and via partnerships with Khan Academy.
Other updates:
- The Kentucky Department for Public Health provided information about COVID-19 and flu testing supplies.
- KDE provided an update on the Counselor and School-based Mental Health Providers’ Use of Time Superintendent’s Report.
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