The Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies is designed to promote the development of knowledge and skills that will produce Kentucky graduates who are civically engaged, socially responsible and culturally aware. These standards guide student exploration of the relationships and interactions among individuals and groups at local, state, national and international levels through the disciplines of civics, economics, geography and history and the inquiry practices of questioning, investigating, using evidence and communicating conclusions. The standards are designed to include a breadth of knowledge, not as isolated facts to be simply memorized, but as useable knowledge to be integrated into an understanding of the world.

Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies 

Note: KAS for Social Studies does not prescribe courses like K-8. JCPS Social Studies teachers elected to implement disciplinary standards across US History, World History, and Living Civics Courses. Disciplinary standards are bundled with inquiry practices. 

Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies - Legal Basis (p 7-9)

HB 535 (2024) Civic Literacy Requirement

House Bill (HB) 535 (2024) amends KRS 158.141 to require, beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2025-2026 academic year, the successful completion of a one-half (1/2) credit course in civic literacy or a civics test in order to graduate with a regular diploma from a Kentucky public high school. This requirement also applies to students participating in the Early Graduation Program (EGP) established under KRS 158.142.

• Considerations for Implementing HB 535 (2024) Civic Literacy Requirement

KRS 156.160 Promulgation of administrative regulations by the Kentucky Board of Education 

With the advice of the Local Superintendents Advisory Council (LSAC), the KBE shall promulgate administrative regulations establishing standards that public school districts shall meet in student, program, service and operational performance. These regulations shall comply with the expected outcomes for students and schools set forth in KRS 158:6451. 

704 KAR 3:305 Minimum high school graduation requirements 

This administrative regulation establishes the minimum high school graduation requirements necessary for entitlement to a public high school diploma. 

KRS 158.141 Passing grade on civics test required for high school graduation 

Beginning in July 2018, a student must pass a civics test composed of 100 questions in order to graduate from a public high school with a regular diploma. Each local board of education will be expected to prepare or approve an exam that must be composed of questions from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services test. Students are required to score 60% or higher and may retake the exam as many times as deemed necessary to pass the test. 

KRS 156.160 Promulgation of administrative regulations by the Kentucky Board of Education 

HB 128 (2018) states that all public middle and high school’s curriculum shall include instruction on the Holocaust and other cases of genocide, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, that a court of competent jurisdiction, whether a court in the United States of in the International Court of Justice, has determined to have been committed by applying rigorous standards of due process 

KRS 158.6450 Instruction in voter registration and election procedures 

Knowledge of procedures for voter registration and participation in elections is essential for all Kentucky students to acquire the capacities established in KRS 158.645(2) and (4). Instruction in election procedures is consistent with the goals of responsible citizenship established in KRS 158.6451. Every secondary school shall provide students in the twelfth grade information on: 

• how to register to vote; 

• how to vote in an election using a ballot; and, 

• how to vote using an absentee ballot. 

A school may provide this information through classroom activities, written materials, electronic communication, Internet resources, participation in mock elections and other methods identified by the principal after consulting with teachers 

KRS 156.162 School council or governing body authorized to display historical and nonreligious artifacts, monuments, symbols and texts in conjunction with course of study 

In 2017, the Kentucky General Assembly passed HB 128 which, amended KRS 156.162 to permit a School-Based Decision Making Council (SBDM) to offer an elective high school social studies course and required the KDE to develop course standards on the Hebrew Scriptures, Old Testament of the Bible; the New Testament of the Bible; or a combination of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament of the Bible. 

KRS 158.075 Veterans Days observance in public schools 

On Veterans Day, or one (1) of the five (5) school days preceding Veterans Day, one (1) class or instructional period shall be devoted to the observance of Veterans Day. Students shall assemble in one (1) or more groups, as decided by the school principal, to attend the Veterans Day program. The program shall be approved by the principal and, at a minimum, shall consist of a teacher and a veteran speaking on the meaning of Veterans Day. To develop a Veterans Day program, Kentucky public schools are encouraged to seek advice from the Kentucky Department of Veterans' Affairs and veterans' service organizations, including but not limited to the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars 

KRS 158.183 Prohibited acts by students, Rights of students, Duties of local board of 

Click link for in-depth listing of student rights. 

KRS 158.195 Display of national motto in public elementary and secondary schools, reading and posting in public schools of texts and documents on American history and heritage.

(1) (a) Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, local boards shall require each public elementary and secondary school to display the national motto of the United States, "In God We Trust," in a prominent location in the school.

(b) The display required in paragraph (a) of this subsection may take the form of but is not limited to a mounted plaque or student artwork.

(c) For purposes of this section, "prominent location" means a school entryway, cafeteria, or common area where students are likely to see the national motto.

(2) Local boards may allow any teacher or administrator in a public school district of the Commonwealth to read or post in a public school building, classroom, or event any excerpts or portions of: the national motto; the national anthem; the pledge of allegiance; the preamble to the Kentucky Constitution; the Declaration of Independence; the Mayflower Compact; the writings, speeches, documents, and proclamations of the founding fathers and presidents of the United States; United States Supreme Court decisions; and acts of the United States Congress including the published text of the Congressional Record. There shall be no content-base censorship of American history or heritage in the Commonwealth based on religious references in these writings, documents, and records.

Section 111 of Division J of Pub. L. 108-447, the ''Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005,'' Dec. 8, 2004; 118 Stat. 2809, 3344-45 (Section 111). Constitution Day 

Pursuant to legislation passed by Congress, educational institutions receiving Federal funding are required to hold an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution on September 17 of each year. 

704 KAR 8:060 Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies 

Senate Bill 1 (2017) calls for the KDE to implement a process for establishing new, as well as reviewing all approved academic standards and aligned assessments beginning in the 2017-18 school year. The current schedule calls for content areas to be reviewed each year and every six years thereafter on a rotating basis. The KDE collects public comment and input on all of the draft standards for 30 days prior to finalization. Senate Bill 1 (2017) called for content standards that 

• Focus on critical knowledge, skills and capacities needed for success in the global economy; 

• Result in fewer but more in-depth standards to facilitate mastery learning; 

• Communicate expectations more clearly and concisely to teachers, parents, students and citizens; 

• Are based on evidence-based research; 

• Consider international benchmarks; and 

• Ensure the standards are aligned from elementary to high school to postsecondary education so students can be successful at each education level. 

704 KAR 8:060 adopts into law the Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies. Standards Creation Process Per Senate 

Bill 1 (2017), the Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies was entirely conceived and written by teams of Kentucky educators. The Social Studies Advisory Panel (AP) was composed of 24 teachers, three public post-secondary professors from institutions of higher education and four community members. The function of the AP was to review and revise the standards and make recommendations for changes to a Review and Development Committee (RDC). The Social Studies RDC was composed of six teachers, four public post-secondary professors from institutions of higher education and three community members. The function of the RDC was to review the work and findings from the AP and make recommendations to revise or replace existing standards. The team was selected based on their expertise in the area of social studies, including those with a specialty in the disciplines of social studies. When choosing writers, the selection committee considered state-wide representation for public elementary, middle and high school teachers as well as higher education instructors and community members.