The Kentucky Local Superintendents Advisory Council met on Nov. 22, approving changes to the Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies. Photo by Toni Konz Tatman, Kentucky Department of Education
The Kentucky Local Superintendents Advisory Council approved changes to 704 KAR 8:060, the Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies, during its Nov. 22 meeting. The changes include incorporating a list of fundamental documents and speeches into the middle and high school standards, per the requirements of KRS 158.196.
The documents that must be taught include:
- The Mayflower Compact
- The Declaration of Independence
- The Constitution of the United States
- The Federalist No. 1 (Alexander Hamilton)
- The Federalist Nos. 10 and 51 (James Madison)
- The June 8, 1789, speech on amendments to the Constitution of the United States by James Madison
- The first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States, also known as the Bill of Rights
- The 1796 Farewell Address by George Washington
- The U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803)
- The Monroe Doctrine by James Monroe
- What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? speech by Frederick Douglass
- The U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857)
- Final Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln
- The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
- Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States by Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- The Sept. 18, 1895, Atlanta Exposition Address by Booker T. Washington
- Of Booker T. Washington and Others by W.E.B. DuBois
- The U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
- The Aug. 31, 1910, New Nationalism speech by Theodore Roosevelt
- The Jan. 11, 1944, State of the Union Address by Franklin D. Roosevelt
- The U.S. Supreme Court opinions in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
- Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
- The Aug. 28, 1963, I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr.
- A Time for Choosing by Ronald Reagan
The legislation does not prohibit districts from including other documents as part of the local social studies curriculum. Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason E. Glass stressed the importance of adding other documents to add context.
The regulation will be presented to the Kentucky Board of Education for approval in December and, if approved, will go into effect for the 2023-2024 school year when the regulatory process is complete.
School Funding
Several Kentucky school districts have had to close down for days recently due to students, teachers and staff being sick with multiple illnesses, including COVID-19, the flu and RSV. Glass said that due to the impact this has had on school attendance numbers, lawmakers should consider another step to stabilize school funding that currently is dependent on average daily attendance.
“I think we should look at what’s the easiest and most simple way to account for students’ average enrollment and use the number moving forward,” he said. “But that will be another conversation for us to have with our associations and legislators when the session gets going.”
Lawrence County Schools Superintendent and LSAC Chair Robbie Fletcher noted a concern based on prior conversations with lawmakers that a shift to enrollment figures, as opposed to actual attendance, could result in some districts losing money. He recommended discussing a hold-harmless provision to prevent that from occurring.
In other business, the council:
- Approved proposed amendments to 704 KAR 3:303, which moved academic standards for science to 704 KAR 8:120 and labeled them as “KY Academic Standards (KAS) for Science.”
- Approved proposed amendments to 707 KAR 1:002 to broaden the definitions of hearing impaired or visually impaired learners who qualify for special education to align with federal regulations.
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