Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1924 |
Jurisdiction | Commonwealth of Kentucky |
Agency executive |
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Website | https://education.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx |
The Kentucky Department of Education (KY DOE) is an agency within the government of Kentucky that is responsible for regulating education in the state.
The Kentucky Department of Education became an official organization in 1924. [1] Its headquarters is located in Frankfort, Kentucky. [2]
In 1848, Kentucky citizens voted for a law that allowed taxation to support schools. [1] In 1938, a new law was passed allowing vocational-technical schools to be formed. In 1956, vocational-technical schools were expanded to help those who were blind, with a focus on providing training and jobs for the visually impaired. The vocational schools became controlled, like other public schools in the state, by the Department of Education in 1962. [1] The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) became a law in 1990, and is enforced by the Kentucky Department of Education. [3] KRS 159.010 is a Kentucky law that requires children aged between 6 and 16 to attend school. This law was modified by a 2013 Senate bill, raising the mandatory attendance age to 18 beginning in the 2015–2016 school year. [4] The Department of Education partners with the School Improvement Network to use programs such as PD 360 and Common Core 360 to educate students. [5]
The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) was established 1838. The board consisted ex officio members with limited ability to function effectively as the members had other responsibilities within the state. The board's powers, at that time, included creating laws, establishing a course of study and choosing course texts, and control of funds and property. The Board of Education is responsible for granting certificates for high school graduates and teacher training. [2]
The Kentucky Board of Education consists of 11 members. The governor of Kentucky appoints the members, and they are confirmed by both the state House of Representatives and the Senate. The board members political affiliation is not considered in appointments. Board members must be at least 30 years old, have an associates degree or higher, and lived in Kentucky for at least three years. Each member serves for four years. Today the board's primary purpose is to make and adopt regulations and policies. [6]
The state Board of Education has power over all of the schools in the state. Local boards of education have power over each of the schools located within its district. Each district board deals with issues that are of interest to the district.
There have been conflicts between the Board of Education and the Department of Education. The Kentucky Department of Education has jurisdiction over county boards. In November 2015 the Knox County Board of Education was investigated by the Kentucky Department of Education for violating Kentucky laws such as including personal matters in district rules that disrupt operations and providing free resources to independent schools. [7]
The 1838 law that established a Board of Education in Kentucky also called for the governor to select a superintendent of public instruction to serve for a two-years term. [2] Upon the ratification of the 1850 Kentucky constitution, the superintendent was made a constitutional officer elected to a four-year term. When the 1891 Kentucky constitution was ratified, like other constitutional officers, the superintendent was limited to one term. [2] With the passage of KERA in 1990, all duties and authorities were delegated to a newly created position known as the Commissioner of Education. Finally, in 1992 the office was abolished by a constitutional amendment and replaced by the Commissioner of Education. [8]
Notable superintendents include Joseph J. Bullock, Benjamin Bosworth Smith, Robert Jefferson Breckenridge, John Grant Crabbe, Robert R. Martin, and James B. Graham. [9]
Following the redelegation of authority and eventual abolishment of the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Kentucky Commissioner of Education was made the chief state school officer. Until 2023, the Kentucky Board of Education directly appointed the commissioner typically following a search and interview process. With the passage of Senate Bill 107 during the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly, the Commissioner of Education would require the recommendation of the KBE as well as confirmation by the Kentucky Senate. [10]
The current Commissioner of Education is Dr. Robbie Fletcher. [11]
Name | Tenure | |
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1. | Thomas C. Boysen | 1991 – 1995 |
2. | Wilmer St. Clair Cody | 1995 – 1999 |
Kevin Nolan (interim) | 1999 – 2001 | |
3. | Gene Wilhoit | 2001 – 2007 |
4. | Jon Draud | 2007 – 2009 |
Elaine Farris (interim) | 2009 | |
5. | Terry Holliday | 2009 – 2015 |
Kevin C. Brown (interim) | 2015 | |
6. | Stephen L. Pruitt | 2015 – 2018 |
Wayne Lewis (interim) | 2018 | |
7. | Wayne Lewis | 2018 – 2019 |
Kevin C. Brown (interim) | 2019 – 2020 | |
8. | Jason Glass | 2020 – 2023 |
Robin Kinney Fields (interim) | 2023 – 2024 | |
9. | Robbie Fletcher | 2024 – Present |
Other positions include a deputy commissioner and secretary. There are multiple assistant superintendent positions focused on instruction, rehabilitation services, vocational education, pupil personnel services, instruction, administration, finance, state relations, and federal relations. [1]
Hardin County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Elizabethtown. The county was formed in 1792. Hardin County is part of the Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Louisville/Jefferson County—Elizabethtown-Bardstown, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 110,702.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, an agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, is responsible for the conservation of wildlife resources and for boating projects in the state. A commissioner appointed by the Fish and Wildlife Commission heads the department. The commission—which oversees the department's commissioner and promulgates regulations governing fishing, hunting, and boating—is a nine-member bipartisan board appointed by the governor from a list of candidates nominated by active hunters and anglers in each of nine geographic districts in the state.
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James Turner Morehead was an American politician who was a United States Senator and the 12th Governor of Kentucky. He was the first native-born Kentuckian to hold the governorship of the state. A member of Henry Clay's National Republican Party, Morehead entered politics just as his party was beginning to challenge the Democratic Party's dominance in the state.
The Ashland Independent School District is a school district based in Boyd County, Kentucky. The district serves the area within the city limits of Ashland, Kentucky.
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Education in Kentucky includes elementary school, middle school, high school, and post-secondary institutions. Most Kentucky schools and colleges are accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is the state education agency responsible for interpreting and implementing laws relevant to public education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Public education in the Commonwealth is organized according to the regulations adopted by the BESE, which are good faith interpretations of Massachusetts state and federal law. The BESE's responsibilities include granting and renewing charter school applications, developing and implementing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), submitting yearly budget proposals for public education to the Massachusetts General Court, setting the standards for and certifying teachers, principals, and superintendents, and monitoring—as well as intervening to ameliorate—the achievement of underperforming districts in the Commonwealth.
Benjamin Bosworth Smith was an American Protestant Episcopal bishop, and the Presiding Bishop of his Church beginning in 1868.
Kentucky State Reformatory (KSR) is a medium-security prison for adult males. The prison is located in unincorporated Oldham County, Kentucky, near La Grange, and about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Louisville. It opened in 1940 to replace the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort after a flood damaged the original property. As of 2024, the capacity of KSR is 1,051 inmates.
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Joseph James Bullock was a Presbyterian clergyman who served as the first Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1838 until 1839, and as Chaplain of the United States Senate from 1879 until 1883.
Kentucky Equal Rights Association (KERA) was the first permanent statewide women's rights organization in Kentucky. Founded in November 1888, the KERA voted in 1920 to transmute itself into the Kentucky League of Women Voters to continue its many and diverse progressive efforts on behalf of women's rights.
Education reform has been a topic for Kentucky government officials and citizens for over 20 years. The most significant piece of reform legislation was passed in 1990, and was known as the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). This act instituted six basic initiatives, some of the most important being a focus on core subjects, community service, and self-sufficiency. Kentucky education has seen improvements in terms of equalizing funding among various schools, but still has a long way to go in becoming nationally competitive in its educational outcomes and standardized test scores.
The Day Law mandated racial segregation in educational institutions in Kentucky. Formally designated "An Act to Prohibit White and Colored Persons from Attending the Same School," the bill was introduced in the Kentucky House of Representatives by Carl Day (D) in January 1904, and signed into law by Governor J.C.W. Beckham in March 1904. As well as prohibiting students of color from attending the same school as white students, the law prohibited individual schools from operating separate black and white branches within 25 miles of each other.
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Elise Clay Bennett Smith was President of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association from 1915 to 1916, and served as an Executive Committee member for the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Her last name changed several times as she married three men in succession: from her birth surname of Bennett she became Smith, then Jefferson, and finally Gagliardini.
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