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Dear Colleagues,
I want to thank all of you who could attend the meeting we had Wednesday afternoon about the hold the U.S. Department of Education (USED) has placed on $87 million in title funding that should have been coming to our districts and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).
If you were unable to be on that call, the recorded meeting is available on the KDE YouTube channel.
As discussed in the meeting, we learned from USED on the evening of June 30 that the funding would not be released as planned on July 1. This last-minute notice makes it especially difficult to adjust, though a loss of $87 million is always challenging for Kentucky’s schools.
| Grant |
FFY25 (SFY26) |
| Title I-C Migrant Education |
$7,912,543 |
| Title II-A Supporting Effective Instruction |
$33,638,143 |
| Title III-A English Language Acquisition |
$5,757,040 |
| Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment |
$20,290,765 |
| Title IV-B 21st Century Learning Centers (This affects funding for the 2026-2027 school year.) |
$19,441,421 |
Unfortunately, there are not a lot of good options right now for what to do with this loss of funding. Every district will be impacted, particularly with the $33.6 million we should have received in Title II-A, Supporting Effective Instruction and the nearly $20.3 million we were slated to receive from Title IV-A, Student Support and Academic Enrichment.
It is our hopes that USED and this administration will release these funds to the states at some point in the near future. Spending general funds (or other sources) and getting reimbursement may be an option for your district, but there is no guarantee that the funds will be provided. As stated in the webinar, utilizing other funding sources in hopes of reimbursement is a gamble.
I know many of you have been put into bad situations, particularly as it relates to staffing issues. If you are exploring staffing reduction options, we urge you to work with your board attorney, since the time to tell staff their contracts will not be renewed has long passed.
You may consider transferring any carryover funding you have for these programs to help you cover the most critical needs your schools have. If you have any questions about what can be transferred, please reach out to Karen Wirth and Thelma Hawkins.
We at KDE will be investigating all our options as we work with our state and federal partners since we are all trying to navigate the unsteady landscape that education across the country is facing. Please know that we will do anything we can to help your district, your schools and especially your students in the coming year.
As always, thank you for being …
All In,
Robbie Fletcher
Commissioner of Education
Kagan Publishing and Professional Development to Host Training Workshop for Kentucky Teachers in September
The University of Kentucky Center for Next Generation Leadership will be hosting a Kagan Cooperative Learning Workshop on Sept. 25-26.
Kagan provides powerful, research-based instructional strategies that promote engagement, teamwork and academic success across content areas. This training equips teachers with classroom-ready structures that support all learners, and it’s especially valuable for career and technical education (CTE) and law and public safety educators.
The event will be held at the UK Center for Next Generation Leadership, 1737 Russell Cave Road in Lexington. Check-in will be at 7:30 a.m. ET with training lasting from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. ET.
CTE instructors should register with the CTE instructors registration form. All other educators and administrators can register by visiting the Kagan Cooperative Learning Workshop registration webpage.
School and district administrators can attend free of charge with paid attendees.
Title I, Part A and Title I, Part D, Subpart 2 Applications Open in GMAP
Tentative Title I, Part A and Title I, Part D, Subpart 2 applications are open in the Grant Management Application and Planning system (GMAP).
Note, these allocations are tentative and are subject to change when final allocations are issued in the fall. We highly encourage districts to begin working on these applications immediately and submit for approval in GMAP by Aug. 31. Applications will be reviewed in the order in which they are received.
Since we have not received all federal allocations for programs contained within the consolidated application, only these applications are opening at this time. As other programs are allocated, they will be populated in GMAP. If you have application specific questions, please contact the following KDE staff:
Fiscal Year 2026 Community Education Request for Application Posted
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is issuing a request for application (RFA) to implement local community education initiatives for a maximum of four grants.
Community education is defined in KRS 160.155 as a program in which a public building – including a public elementary and secondary school – is used as a community center operated by a local education agency in cooperation with other groups in the community, community organizations and local government agencies to provide educational, recreational, cultural, healthcare and other related community services in accordance with the needs, interests and concerns of the community.
Grants will be awarded based on the availability of funds. Four grantees will be awarded $20,000 to employ a full-time community education director. The community education director must implement a comprehensive community education initiative countywide. Only one grant per county will be awarded.
Counties that have more than one school district must collaborate in implementing the community education initiative for all schools and communities. Applicants are required to provide a 25% ($5,000) cash match. Grant and match funds can only be used for salary to hire a full-time community education director.
General Information
Applications will only be accepted from public school districts that submit a plan to implement community education activities countywide. If multiple school districts are located within the county, then all school districts must be involved in the development and design of the application. Only one grant per county may be submitted for consideration. If more than one grant from the same county is submitted, both will be disqualified and not scored.
Current community education grantees are not eligible to apply and do not need to reapply to maintain your grant award.
Grant Period and Contract
The grant is anticipated to begin Sept. 1, 2025. Pending funding availability, community education grants are renewable annually if all grant assurances and requirements are met.
Grant Requirements
A public school district may receive funding for a community school program if the following criteria established in KRS 160.157 are met:
- Submits an application for approval;
- Submits a plan to the Kentucky Department of Education, approved by the local board of education, which outlines the proposed community education program, including procedures for obtaining the involvement and cooperation of other agencies and groups in identifying and recommending programs for meeting locally determined needs;
- Establishes an advisory council to assist in conducting community needs assessments and recommending program priorities to district leaders; and
- Employs one full-time community education director.
Submission
To assist applicants in preparing a quality application, please review the prerecorded technical assistance webinar that addresses essential grant requirements, budget preparation and state guidance.
The deadline to submit applications is July 17, 2025, at 4 p.m. ET. The application can be found on the KDE Competitive Grants webpage.
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