Virtual & Online Schooling:

• Kentucky opened its first statewide online virtual school - Kentucky Virtual Academy - in August 2023. The school, affiliated with Cloverport Independent School District, serves students grades K-11 regardless of the student’s district of residence. Other online options are not available.

• Logan County Schools and Owsley County Schools are members of Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools. The League of Innovative Schools is a national network of school leaders in 150 districts in 38 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation.

Digital Learning Resources:

• The Kansas DOE provides resources on technology planning, tools for educators, and information on equitable access through the Kansas Partnership for Accessible Technology.

• The Kentucky Digital Learning Guidelines help districts and schools implement digital learning, with more than 600 Digital Learning Coaches supporting districts in technology access, offering training, resources, and guidelines.

• Curious about your district’s internet access? ConnectK-12 provides state- and district-specific information on access to the recommended bandwidth speeds and monthly internet costs. 

Career & Technical and/or Work-based Education:

• Kentucky’s DOE promotes Career & Technical Education, offering a variety of program areas. Students can utilize an Individual Learning Plan as an option to graduate with CTE credits.

• Under Reg. 305, students can earn course credits through internships, cooperative learning, workplace learning, or other supervised school or community-based learning.

• According to CTE K-12 Funding, Kentucky appropriates funds for CTE to state-operated area technology centers (ATCs), as well as locally-operated technical centers and comprehensive high schools, with funds distributed as supplementary funds to all locally-operated schools.

Personalized, Competency- and/or Mastery-based Learning:

• Multiple personalized learning pilots are currently operating in the state. Local Laboratories of Learning (L3s) pairs the Kentucky Department of Education, the Center for Innovation in Education (C!E), and the Kentucky Board of Education to pilot a new assessment and accountability system within districts. Three cohorts have launched since 2021 and 17 districts have participated. 

• The Kentucky Competency Education & Assessment Consortium has districts across the state using competency-based instruction and assessments to provide another pathway to graduation. Further, Scaling Gold Standard PBL Kentucky - a Project-Based Learning program in collaboration with PBLWorks - “aims to scale high quality project-based learning to one-third of Kentucky’s public schools” through training. 

• In 2023, KY’s Department of Education also launched United We Learn to “[bring] about deep and authentic learning experiences for all students.” One of the initiatives has been to develop a “Portrait of a Learner,” which 47 districts have already designed.

Innovation Schools, Zones, and/or Districts:

• In 2012, Kentucky’s general assembly passed HB 37, creating the Districts of Innovation. The program allows districts to apply for flexibility from certain statutory mandates and gives school leaders an entryway into promoting student-centered, personalized learning in their schools. Kentucky also has the Transformation Network, which offers educators professional development and opportunities for collaboration.

Other Initiatives of Note:

• Seven Kentucky school districts are collaborating in a two year pilot with the XQ Institute, Kentucky Center for Mathematics (KCM), Whiteboard Advisors, and the Kentucky Department of Education to integrate student micro-credentials into Algebra I programs.