(FRANKFORT, KY) – Representatives with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) provided information to superintendents on several pieces of legislation that passed during the 2026 regular session, including legislation to reimagine assessment and accountability in the Commonwealth, during the Superintendents Webcast on May 12.
House Bill (HB) 257 encourages districts to work more closely with their communities to establish priorities for their schools – called local indicators of quality or local accountability systems – and help ensure all students have access to vibrant learning experiences.
Shara Savage, director of KDE’s Division of Assessment and Accountability Support, explained the details of the legislation and the timeline for implementation. She said HB 257 won’t affect spring 2026 testing and fall data reporting for school year 2025-2026, but there will be a few notable changes for districts in 2027. State testing will no longer include editing and mechanics, on-demand writing or the school climate survey. A variety of accountability changes will occur in the 2026-2027 school year as well, including new indicators – chronic absenteeism, individual student growth – and the removal of change.
Savage also listed how many opportunities for input and feedback there will be for the new regulations with HB 257 before they are finalized by the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE), including multiple meetings with the Local Superintendents Advisory Council, the Kentucky Technical Advisory Council, and the School Curriculum, Assessment and Accountability Council.
Brian Perry, KDE director of government relations, provided more details on dozens of other bills that lawmakers passed during the legislative session, including funding bills, regulatory cleanup legislation and other changes to education policy.
College Admissions Exam
Jennifer Stafford, associate commissioner of KDE’s Office of Assessment and Accountability, provided an update on Kentucky’s college entrance exam following Senate Bill 197.
The General Assembly approved Senate Bill 197 on the final day of the legislative session, which included a section related to Kentucky’s college entrance exam that would have placed limitations on the use of general funds and required a new procurement for a college entrance exam for the 2026–2027 school year.
Gov. Andy Beshear used his line-item veto power to eliminate the reference to the limitation on the use of general funds but did not veto the reference to a new competitive procurement process, therefore, KDE will be required to begin a new procurement for the state-provided college entrance exam to be implemented in the 2026-2027 school year.
Stafford explained how this means there will be uncertainty with the college entrance exam for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year and how KDE is working with the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet to repeat the competitive procurement process.
“There's a model procurement code, (KRS Chapter 45A), that all contracts go through, so we'll follow those in an unbiased, fair, effective procurement so that there will not be any question about the integrity of the procurement process,” Stafford said. “And again, that was done last year. We followed all the laws, the requirements, the guidelines of 45A, and we will do that again this time.”
Stafford said KDE’s goal is to have the contract in place as soon as practically possible, which could happen as early as October.
Lead Remediation
A representative with Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet provided information on programs to reduce lead in drinking water at schools and childcare facilities, including new regulations and a fund to help schools with lead remediation efforts.
Eileen Miller, an environmental scientist advisor with the cabinet’s Division of Water, explained the new Lead and Copper Rule Improvements from the Environmental Protection Agency that go into effect Nov. 1, 2027. The new rules require public water systems to provide education and communications about lead in drinking water to school and childcare facilities. They also require these systems to offer water sample testing to all schools and childcares built prior to 2014.
There is no requirement for schools to participate in offered sampling, but the Division of Water does offer it to schools. The testing is free for facilities built prior to 2014 and includes educational guidance, remediation recommendations and reimbursement for completed remediation when lead is detected. Funding for the remediation comes from the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act from 2016 and comes with a few conditions and restrictions, including how it prioritizes schools and childcare facilities for students aged 6 and younger and requires the results of any testing to be made publicly available.
More details about the lead remediation program are available on the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Lead in Drinking Water Reduction Program webpage.
Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing
Revisions to the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Reading and Writing were approved May 5 and will be effective for classroom implementation beginning this fall.
Chrystal Rowland, director of academic program standards in KDE’s Office of Teaching and Learning, provided information on resources offered by KDE to help implement the new reading and writing standards, including professional learning resources.
In other business, superintendents heard:
- An update on the new teacher survey and requirements for new teacher induction programs; and
- An overview of the Special Education Regional Technical Assistance Centers.
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