Final countdown for Kentucky’s social studies standards comments

The deadline to file written comments about the proposed changes to Kentucky’s social studies standards is fast approaching (March 31, 2019). I am hopeful that with the legislative session ending, people who care about things like history, civics, geography and more will take the time to comment on the currently rather vacuous standards that – are you ready for this – never even mention many notable historical figures like Abraham Lincoln (we kid you not) or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., just to mention two incredible examples.

The standards document, as approved by the Kentucky Board of Education in February, is available here. It is essentially the same as the document being used for the comment period (which isn’t online).If you think every child in Kentucky deserves to learn about Lincoln, King, James Madison, both president Roosevelts and a host of others, you need to let Frankfort know.

Since time is short, the best plan now is to e-mail your comments to:Deanna.Durrett@education.ky.govSubmitting by postal service is probably pretty iffy now, but a hand-delivery could be made before close of business on Friday to:

Deanna Durrett, General Legal Counsel Kentucky Department of Education300 Sower Blvd., 5th Floor Frankfort, KY 40601Also, all the comments must be reconsidered by the Kentucky Board of Education, which will probably happen during their April 10, 2019 meeting in Ashland, KY. You can contact board members here:

Kentucky Board of Education c/o Kentucky Department of Education501 Mero Street Frankfort, KY 40601Individual board member e-mail addresses are found here.

I have already submitted my comments, and you can find them here.