Kentucky Association of Teachers of History

Revised Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies adopted for 2019-20 school year

Kentucky Department of Education News Release, July 9, 2019

After undergoing a rigorous revision process that began in January 2018, revised standards for social studies became law on July 5.

The newly adopted standards will be implemented in Kentucky classrooms beginning in the 2019-2020 school year and may be accessed at kystandards.org. A “Getting to Know Your KAS for Social Studies” module also is available to support educators in the implementation of the new social studies standards.

The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) adopted the revised social studies standards in February, and they received legislative review in May.

The process of revising the standards, last adopted in 2006, was part of the ongoing review of content area standards and aligned assessments mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly in Senate Bill 1 (2017).

Kentucky educators were involved in every step of the development of the standards. Educators, along with business and industry professionals, comprised advisory panels and a review and development committee. There were revisions by educators and community members informed by public feedback, along with review by the KBE, before the standards underwent final legislative review and became law.

The standards written by teams of Kentucky teachers outline the minimum knowledge and skills Kentucky students should learn at each grade level.

For more information on the standards revision process, visit the Kentucky Academic Standards Revision Process webpage. Contact the standards team at standards@education.ky.gov with any questions regarding the newly adopted standards or the standards revision process.

Kentucky Department of Education

Media Contact: Jessica Fletcher

Chief Communications Officer

Office: (502) 564-2000, ext. 4611

Cell: (502) 229-1915

Jessica.Fletcher@education.ky.gov