Staying Ready to Support When the Unthinkable Happens
Our hearts are with the Louisville community following the recent UPS plane crash that tragically claimed lives and shook so many across our Commonwealth. To all who were directly impacted, please know that we are holding you close in thought and prayer. In times like these, our collective compassion and connection remind us of the strength found in community, and the vital role school counselors play in helping others navigate grief and uncertainty.
As school counselors, we are often called to provide stability and support when the unthinkable happens. Whether a tragedy occurs within our own community or reverberates from afar, our students and staff look to us for guidance, comfort and hope. This is the heart of school-based crisis response, being ready to meet emotional and psychological needs with empathy, organization and calm leadership.
Staying ready begins long before a crisis occurs. It means knowing our school’s crisis plan, identifying key partners and ensuring that our response protocols reflect best practices for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. It means taking time to nurture our own well-being, so that when the call comes, we can show up as grounded, compassionate leaders. And it means remembering that healing takes time, both for those we support and for ourselves.
The work we do is important. In moments of collective sorrow, we help our communities hold on to hope. Let’s continue to prepare, connect and care for one another, knowing that our presence makes a difference long after the headlines fade.
In Service,
Michelle Sircy
 Council for Postsecondary Education: Academic Readiness Indicators
The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) serves as the statewide coordinating board for higher education, ensuring that all Kentuckians have access to affordable, high-quality postsecondary opportunities. Through its strategic agenda, CPE works to raise educational attainment, close educational gaps and strengthen the connection between education and workforce needs, helping ensure every Kentucky student has a clear pathway to success after high school.
With the shift Kentucky has made towards the SAT, CPE has updated the Academic Readiness Indicators for 2025-2027 school year. School Counselors will want to review for their own professional learning and also share with students, staff and families.
School Counselor Summit for 2025-2026
We are pleased to announce the dates for the upcoming 2025–2026 School Counselor Summits, designed intentionally with school counselors in mind.
The dates for the summits are Oct. 2, Dec. 4, Feb. 5 and June 4. All sessions are virtual, held from 9 a.m. to noon ET, and provide three Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) hours for each summit you attend (following the completion of an evaluation).
This Year’s Theme: Living in the 60s
In Kentucky, legislation requires school counselors to spend 60% of their time on direct student services. But what does that look like in daily practice, especially for school counselors with high caseloads? How can you effectively achieve this benchmark and advocate for the time you need to meet student needs and the legislative requirement?
This year’s Summits will focus on:
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Defining what qualifies as direct services
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Practical strategies to meet the 60% requirement
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Tools and approaches for advocating for your role and time
Mark your calendars and register now to ensure you don’t miss this valuable and timely professional development opportunity.
2026-2027 Course Codes View Now Available in the Searchable State Course Codes Database within KECS
The Searchable State Course Codes Database (SSCCD) within the Kentucky Educator Certification System (KECS) is now available with an updated view for the 2026-2027 school year. The Course Codes Frequently Asked Questions document also has been revised for 2026-2027 and remains an excellent resource to help new and returning course codes contacts familiarize themselves with proper course code usage.
Academic courses received minimal updates this year with most revisions reflecting course description changes to align to Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing revisions or course description changes coming from the College Board and International Baccalaureate. Additionally, as announced last year, the Integrated Science series is being deprecated. The Integrated Science series can be replaced with one of the following four options for meeting the required minimum high school graduation requirements for science:
- 302601 Biology 1, 304521 Chemistry I, 304821 Physics I, and 304611 Earth Space Science
- 302061 Biology 1, 304058 Introduction to Chemistry and Physics, and 304611 Earth Space Science
- 302698 Biology with Earth Space Science, 304598 Chemistry with Earth/Space Science, and 304898 Physics with Earth/Space Science
- 303051 Conceptual Science I, 303052 Conceptual Science II, and 303053 Conceptual Science III
The career and technical education (CTE) course catalogs were revised to ensure program relevance and student preparedness. Outdated courses were removed because they no longer aligned with current business and industry needs. Concurrently, financial literacy courses were streamlined to offer schools maximum flexibility in integrating the new, required one-credit course for all students entering grade 9 on or after July 1, 2025, ensuring compliance with House Bill 342 (2025).
For a detailed list of course code changes, please see the Course Code Changes spreadsheet. A Deprecated Course Codes and What to Use Instead spreadsheet is also available to help schools replace deprecated course codes. Both sheets include historical changes from the 2016-2017 school year to the present and can be found on the Kentucky Uniform Academic Course Codes webpage.
Please contact the Kentucky Department of Education's course codes email inbox with any questions.
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