What’s at risk for Kentucky after U.S. Department of Education’s latest, sudden move?
On the heels of U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon suddenly moving the deadline to spend Kentucky schools’ COVID funds, several projects benefiting schools are jeopardized, state officials say.
The new deadline of March 28, 2025 announced by the US Department of Education last Friday means the possible loss of at least $52 million.
Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher told superintendents a total of $4.3 million in federal funds had been identified and approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
It’s to provide “crucial” Kentucky K-12 education technology services up to March 2026 for all of the state’s public school students, teachers and staff in every K-12 school, school district office and the Kentucky Department of Education, Fletcher said.
The original deadline for spending money earmarked to help public school districts after the pandemic was March 28, 2026.
The year-earlier deadline aligns with President Trump’s move to dismantle the US Department of Education and Trump billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s plan to slash federal funding and reduce the size of government agencies.
The projects that are in jeopardy include:
▪ The application of new cyber-security software to protect school computers, the continuation of a professional learning program for teachers, and programs that tackle learning loss., according to Fletcher:
▪ The largest part of the $4.3 million is for the completion of a Kentucky K-12 cyber defense construction project that the Kentucky Department of Education started soon after the COVID pandemic began. It is due to be fully in place in 2026.
COVID resulted in a significant increase in attempted cyber attacks on Kentucky’s K-12 organizations, to the point that educational organizations are the No. 1 target of cyber criminals from around the world, Fletcher said.
Close to $900,000 of that $4.3 million was to pay for the online registration service for Kentucky’s K-12 students and their parents.
This service also automatically uploads K-12 student results from learning management systems like Google Classroom into the Kentucky Student Information System, which is used by students, families and teachers.
In addition, more than $100,000 was to pay for e-Transcripts services that are offered to all of Kentucky’s public school seniors to help with a faster, better and smooth transition from high school to post-secondary after their COVID years in high school.
This is a one-time payment.
Also at risk is the continuation of training through a program called Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling professional learning.
More than 6,000 educators have participated in the training, a comprehensive no-cost opportunity open to all K-5 public school educators.
In that program. Fletcher said, teachers gain knowledge to master the fundamentals of literacy instruction required to transform student learning and create a more vibrant experience for young readers.
Kentucky, Fletcher said, also has used COVID funding to implement programs through summer, before- and after-school initiatives to tackle learning loss and support the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, those experiencing homelessness and children in foster care in those schools identified as needing comprehensive support and improvement in the fall of 2022.
Retaining the March 2026 deadline is crucial for districts to complete construction projects and bus purchases, which already are under contract and cannot be easily canceled, Fletcher has said.
The Kentucky Department of Education is requesting that federal officials reconsider the March 28, 2025 letter and reinstate the March 2026 deadline expiration for COVID relief funds that was previously granted.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 2:17 PM.