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Dear Colleagues,
The U.S. Department of Education (USED) announced last week it has signed six interagency agreements to transition the management of several federal education programs to other agencies.
One of the biggest changes is how programs from USED’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education will be handled. Most of the programs will transition to the U.S. Department of Labor, along with USEDs Office of Postsecondary Education. Many USED programs related to early childcare access would transition to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
We at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) are actively monitoring the transition to keep you informed of how these changes will impact your schools and districts. USED has confirmed that the statutory responsibilities for these programs will remain with USED. No laws have changed, either, meaning legislation such as the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is still in effect.
As we understand it, all federal education dollars will continue flowing through their respective programs and districts must still comply with all federal laws related to funding. We have no reason to believe there will be any funding or service disruptions due to these changes. USED said it expects the transitions to take about four months, but that will likely vary by program and agency.
We at KDE will keep an eye as these changes at the federal level are happening and will keep you informed of any changes that may impact you and your students at the district level.
Impact Kentucky Working Conditions Survey Update
The Impact Kentucky Working Conditions Survey is an opportunity for educators, once every two years, to provide input on teaching conditions that can be used to make improvements within schools and districts across the Commonwealth that will ultimately improve outcomes for students.
The 2025 edition of the survey is currently only at a 41.8% response rate as of Monday at noon, with the deadline for educators to complete it on Dec. 19. This means several schools and districts have not yet started the survey. Participation in this survey is critical to ensuring we at KDE have a broad set of data to inform decisions moving forward, so please encourage educators within your districts to take the survey.
Please contact Elly Gilbert with questions or concerns.
As always, thank you for being …
All In,
Robbie Fletcher
Commissioner of Education
Pertussis Cases Continue to Rise in Kentucky
On Nov. 24, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) notified Kentuckians about rising cases of pertussis (whooping cough) in the commonwealth. As of Nov. 19, 566 cases have been confirmed so far in 2025, surpassing the 543 cases identified in 2024. This represents the largest spike in whooping cough cases reported in Kentucky since 2012. Many of the cases have occurred in young infants and school-aged children. Health officials anticipate additional cases in the final weeks of the year and urge individuals to remain up to date on recommended immunizations.
Whooping cough is a very contagious respiratory illness. Symptoms can vary for people based on their age and vaccination status but typically begin with a runny or congested nose and mild coughing. After 1-2 weeks, the cough can progress to rapid, violent coughing fits that can cause the “whooping” sound, vomiting and labored breathing. Babies younger than one year old are at greatest risk for developing severe complications. Young infants may not initially present with classic symptoms and may not even have a cough. Instead, they may struggle to breath or stop breathing.
Anyone can get pertussis, however, people with pre-existing health conditions are at high risk for developing a severe infection. Young infants are at highest risk for severe disease and death.
Whooping cough outbreaks can occur in schools. Individuals diagnosed with pertussis should be excluded from school until they have completed five days of antibiotics.
The whooping cough immunization is required per 902 KAR 2:060 for Kentucky school children to attend school. Data from the 2024-2025 Kentucky school immunization survey shows that only 86% of kindergarteners and 85% of seventh graders are up to date on their required whooping cough immunizations. Health officials encourage that everyone remain up to date with whooping cough immunizations. This includes:
- All pregnant women should be immunized with every pregnancy to protect their babies.
- Infants should be immunized when they are two months, four months, six months, and 12-15 months old.
- Children should be immunized before starting kindergarten.
- Pre-teens should be immunized when 11-12 years old.
- Teens and adults should be immunized at least every 10 years or sooner if an injury occurs, or to protect a newborn.
Additional information and resources for children can be found on the Back to School Outreach Toolkit, the Disease Defender Kit for Schools, and on the KDPH pertussis website.
Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference 2026 Save the Date
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Division of Early Literacy (DEL) invites you to the third annual Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference June 8-9.
The conference, which will require registration but will be free to Kentucky's K-12 public school educators, will offer focused learning paths to meet the needs of teachers and administrators. Attendees will learn from KDE Office of Teaching and Learning consultants and partners about:
- Evidence-based instructional shifts for literacy;
- The benefits of structured literacy;
- Why high-quality instructional resources matter; and
- Available resources for implementing the Read to Succeed Act.
Mark your calendar for this June 8-9 event, and stay tuned for registration information coming in the new year.
School Bus Pricing Guide
Attached is the 2026 School Bus Pricing Guide for Kentucky. The online bus ordering portal opened on Nov. 14. Prior to submitting an order, districts must secure board approval and obtain the necessary signatures. Orders may now be entered and supporting documentation uploaded.
For districts intending to utilize Kentucky Interlocal School Transportation Association (KISTA) financing, please notify RSA representative Lincoln Theinert via email at your earliest convenience. The deadline to initiate KISTA orders is Jan. 15, 2026. Additionally, please inform your designated bus dealer if KISTA will be used as the processing timeline requires early coordination.
If you have any questions, please contact Carl Meehan via email.
Reading Diagnostic and Intervention Fund: Read to Achieve Grant Deadline Extension
The Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Office of Teaching and Learning has extended the application submission date for the fiscal year 2027 Reading Diagnostic and Intervention Fund: Read to Achieve Grant due to changes made within the request for application (RFA).
The updated RFA and FAQ can be found on the Competitive Grants from KDE webpage.
New RFA Schedule
Application submission deadline is Dec. 2 at 4 p.m. ET. All applications must be sent to KDERFP@education.ky.gov.
Review the links within the RFA for further guidance when writing the submission. If you have any questions, please contact KDERFP@education.ky.gov.
Please pay close attention to the blinding/redacted language within the RFA. Improperly blinded grants will be deemed non-responsive and not eligible for award.
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 Oct. 1, 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.
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