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Dear Colleagues,
At the Kentucky Department of Education, it is important to us that our high school students have access to amazing opportunities. With that said, I am excited to announce that every high school junior in the Commonwealth will take the SAT, at no cost, starting in spring 2026.
This is a big change, but one we know will have a tremendous impact on supporting students in reaching their goals after high school.
Students will take the exam as part of The College Board’s SAT School Day program. The SAT Junior State Administration is an online exam administered by school staff, and schools select the date(s) they plan to test during a six-week testing window beginning March 2.
The SAT is a multistage adaptive exam. Both the Reading and Writing section and the Math section are divided into two equal-length and separately timed parts called modules. Based on the performance of the first module, the second module of questions will either be more difficult or less difficult overall.
The SAT takes about two hours to complete. Within the allotted time for each section, students can move back and forth between questions and flag any questions they want to come back and review. The SAT does not have a standalone science section, but science skills are assessed within the reading, writing and math sections, making the test shorter.
More details about the SAT can be found in our SAT announcement on Kentucky Teacher and in our video explaining the move to the SAT, but I do want to focus on a few key highlights for you. The move to the SAT gives Kentucky students access to powerful tools that support their success, like free, personalized practice through Khan Academy and a new digital format that’s shorter and designed to be more student-friendly with fast score reporting.
The SAT is accepted at colleges and universities across Kentucky and throughout the United States. It also connects students to national scholarships and allows students and families to explore career opportunities and insights.
In Kentucky, we believe in opening doors for every student. By offering the SAT to all juniors starting in the spring of 2026, we are not just giving a test; we’re giving opportunity. Whether students are headed to college, a career or still exploring their path, this is a step forward in helping them reach their full potential.
As always, thank you for being …
All In,
Robbie Fletcher
Commissioner of Education
Spencer County Educator Michelle Gross Named 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year
Michelle Gross, a mathematics teacher at Spencer County Middle School, was named the 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year during a ceremony in Frankfort on Oct. 7.
“Wow this is such an honor,” Gross said. “… Thank you for the honor. I thank you all for the work you all put into this.”
Gross has 22 years of experience teaching math, including 20 years in Spencer County. She teaches 7th-grade math classes and a gifted and talented class called The Academy where students pick a subject area to dig into deeper.
“I want to build a culture of learning throughout state of Kentucky that’s rooted in community,” Gross said. “I want to see every voice uplifted. I want it expand beyond a single classroom or a single year.”
Gross was among nine educators who were honored as 2026 Kentucky Teacher Achievement Award Winners. Kara Byrn Dowdy, an English teacher at Mayfield High School (Mayfield Independent) and Melanie Howard, a special education moderate and severe disabilities teacher at Corbin Primary School (Corbin Independent), were also named finalists for the 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year honor.
“This is a day of celebration to recognize the work and accomplishments of nine exemplary educators,” Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher said. “They represent more than 40,000 fellow teachers who give of themselves every day to help our students achieve success.
“I want to be the first person today to say thank you to these nine exceptional teachers for all you do, not just on behalf of the Kentucky Department of Education, but on behalf of your students, your schools, your communities and the education profession. We appreciate you and your dedication to each and every student!”
Read more about the 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year ceremony on Kentucky Teacher.
School Report Card Update No. 13: SRC Reminders
The initial public release of the School Report Card Dashboard will be Oct. 15. This initial release will not include the assessment and accountability data. The Preview and Approval tools remain open so that districts can continue to see data before public release. The Collection tool is now closed. School Profile Reports can continue to be printed from the Overview landing page in the Preview tool. The School Report Card (SRC) Portal URL is included in the SRC Annual tasks documentation at the top of page 1.
Districts will be able to see the SRC Dashboard in the public test site beginning Oct. 13. The Collection tool will reopen after public release to allow districts to enter or update data as needed. The SRC Resources webpage serves as the central repository for communications and resources. The SRC timeline, resources and all SRC communications are posted to this webpage.
Fiscal Year 2026 KY Transition 360 Spark Request for Application Posted
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is issuing a request for applications (RFA) for KY Transition 360 SPARK: Supporting Postsecondary Achievement and Resources for Kentucky Students with Disabilities (SPARK).
Grants will be awarded to 20 districts, with each district receiving $75,000. These funds will strengthen existing systems and build sustainable practices that improve post-school outcomes for students with disabilities.
General Information
Applications will only be accepted from public school districts that submit a complete application, including narrative responses for a comprehensive needs assessment, project design, transition team and budget plan. Applications must clearly describe how the district will strengthen transition programming by increasing interagency collaboration, enhancing family-school partnerships, using high-quality transition assessments and building sustainable systems that continue beyond the grant period.
Grant Period and Contract
The grant is anticipated to begin Feb. 2, 2026, and go through June 30, 2027.
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 Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. ET. The application and technical assistance webinar can be found on the KDE Competitive Grants webpage.
New Data Verification for the Technical Education Database System (TEDS)
As we grow in our data collection processes, there is a need to adjust our data validation. Infinite Campus no longer requires a social security number, and it has been removed as a collection point for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).
Beginning October 1, 2025, TEDS import data will be validated based on the State Student Identification (SSID) number, date of birth (DOB), first name and last name.
If there is a mismatch, you will see the following message:
- Error: The specified SSID and DOB combination does not match the SSID and DOB stored on the existing TEDS student Demographic record. Verify DOB.
Please test your import early and often until you are prepared to complete an official import.
If you see an error, it is because the data already in TEDS does not match what you are attempting to import. Please do the following:
- Verify the SSID.
- Use documentation, other than Infinite Campus, to verify date of birth and name.
- Correct any errors discovered in Infinite Campus, then create new export files from Infinite Campus and test the import into TEDS.
- If data is verified and there is still an error on import, email KDE CTE Data Services.
An import can be tested at any time. Please do not finalize an import until the data is error-free. If an import is finalized with errors, any records with identified errors will not be imported into TEDS.
Call for Submission: ILP Lesson Plans
The Kentucky Department of Education is building a statewide repository of exemplar lesson plans to support the individual learning plan (ILP) process for grades 6-12.
We are inviting educators to submit high-impact lessons that showcase how ILPs can be used to:
- Explore student interests and strengths
- Identify career and college pathways
- Colleges, universities, and apprenticeships exploration
- Financial aid and scholarships
- Planning for the future
Our goal is to highlight the excellent work already happening in schools across the Commonwealth and to provide a resource bank that other educators can access and adapt.
If you have a lesson plan that has been effective in your classroom or school, we encourage you to share it!
Submissions should be:
- Aligned to Kentucky standards;
- Designed for grades 6–12; and
- Focused on ILP implementation and student engagement.
Please submit lesson plans by Nov. 4.
Safe Haven Boxes
Friendly reminder that KRS 156.095 requires every public school to prominently display:
- The statewide child abuse hotline number – (877) 597-2331/(877) KYSAFE1 or (800) 752-6200 – administered by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services;
- The National Human Trafficking Reporting Hotline number, (888) 373-7888, administered by the United States Department for Health and Human Services; and
- The Safe Haven Baby Boxes Crisis Line number, (866) 992-2291, administered by the Safe Haven Baby Boxes national organization or any equivalent successor entity. This requirement is in model policy 09.227, which is provided by the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA).
Declaration of Participation Planned to Open on Nov. 1
The Declaration of Participation will open in the Grant Management, Application, and Planning (GMAP) system on Nov. 1. Data will be due by Feb. 1, 2026.
Through this process, data will be collected to identify the number of students enrolled in private and home schools within each district’s boundaries. This data will be used to calculate school year 2026-2027 allocations for the following federal programs: Title II, Part A: Supporting Effective Instruction; Title III, Part A: Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students; Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants; and IDEA-B: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Please review the Declaration of Participation webpage and its resources. Of particular interest is the Resources for Districts section, which includes several guidance and resource documents. Each district must complete and submit the data in GMAP by Feb. 1, 2026.
This email will be sent directly as a follow up email to the district’s Declaration of Participation submitters listed in GMAP, as well as directors of pupil personnel and superintendents. The process may require collaboration with district federal program contacts to ensure the Private Non-Profit and Home Schools Assurance Form is sent to each private and home school within the district boundaries.
Please reach out to Amanda Reifsnyder with general questions about the data collection process. If you have specific programmatic or GMAP questions, please reach out to the following Kentucky Department of Education staff:
- Title II-A: Dana Kelly, (502) 564-1479, ext. 4502.
- Title III, English Learner/Immigrant: Kaiman Triplett, (502) 564-4970, ext. 4089.
- Title IV-A: Lee Bowling, (502) 564-4772, ext. 4035.
- IDEA-B: Karla Miller, (502) 564-4970, ext. 4155.
- GMAP Technical Assistance: Thelma Hawkins, (502) 564-1979, ext. 4361.
Kentucky Department for Public Health: Flu and COVID-19 Testing Supplies Available
The Kentucky Department for Public Health will begin distributing over-the-counter combo COVID-19/Flu A&B antigen tests to public and private schools on Oct. 15 for the 2025-2026 school year. The over-the-counter combo test provided is the BinaxNOW COVID-19/Flu A&B, which uses a single nasal swab to simultaneously detect COVID-19, influenza A and influenza B, with results available in 15 minutes.
To expedite requests, school districts are asked to provide shipping information for one primary location by Oct. 3 so accounts can be established before program launch by completing the Kentucky schools COVID-19/Flu A&B registration form. Districts are still eligible to receive testing supplies after this date but could experience delays in receiving testing supplies.
A link to the resource request form to order testing supplies will be provided to the school districts that have registered on Oct. 15. Testing supplies will be shipped directly from McKesson to the primary address indicated for the district. The school district will coordinate distribution to each school. Allocation of testing supplies will be determined by federal funding, available inventory and state-defined priorities.
School districts are eligible to request COVID-19/Flu A&B professional point-of-care tests. For more information on ordering tests, please contact Kentucky Department for Public Health COVID-19 testing inbox or Jennifer Broussard with the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
Annual School Immunization Survey for the 2025–2026
The Annual School Immunization Survey for the 2025–2026 school year opened on Sept. 15 and must be completed no later than Dec. 31.
The Annual School Immunization Survey is an assessment of the vaccination coverage of children in Kentucky schools, meeting the requirements of 702 KAR 1:160 and 902 KAR 2:060.
All public or private primary or secondary schools in Kentucky are required to maintain a current immunization certificate on file for each child in attendance by KRS 214.034, unless exempted by KRS 214.036.
All public or private elementary or secondary schools must electronically submit their immunization results to their local health departments for kindergarten, seventh grade, and 11th-grade students in accordance with KRS 158.037 and 902 KAR 2:055.
All instructions and links to complete the survey are available on the Kentucky Department for Public Health's Immunization Branch website.
Schools that do not submit reports by Dec. 31 will be contacted by a Kentucky Department for Public Health Immunization Branch representative.
If you have any questions about the survey, please email the Kentucky Department for Public Health's Immunization Branch or call (502) 229-8597.
Accepting Applications for Diagnostic Review Team Members
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Cognia are accepting applications for diagnostic review team members to serve during the 2025-2026 school year.
The Cognia diagnostic review process is a performance-driven approach that relies on data from student performance, stakeholder feedback, classroom observations and a review of documents, artifacts and school practices.
Diagnostic reviews yield a comprehensive analysis of an institution in an extensive report intended to energize and guide continuous improvement planning for underperforming schools and districts.
All diagnostic review team members must have experience or expertise in the following areas:
- School or system administration with a specific emphasis on instructional leadership such as superintendent, principal, instructional supervisor, director of curriculum and instruction, assessment, special education, etc.
- Leading or supporting turnaround/improvement initiatives at the school, system or state department levels.
- Familiarity with the analysis and use of data as a driver for improvement.
Diagnostic review team members are required to complete specialized training. While there is no compensation for participating as a diagnostic review team member, all expenses associated with travel for an onsite visit will be reimbursed by Cognia.
If you are interested in serving in this capacity, please begin by submitting your contact information on the Diagnostic Review Team Member Interest Form.
We will send next step information to support you through the training process. We will have multiple training options available throughout the next few months in preparation for reviews scheduled for the 2025-2026 school year. If you have questions, please email the Cognia team.
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