Kentucky’s Pre-K Pilot Now Covers 5 Districts, with 160 New Seats in Dawson Springs
Gov. Andy Beshear added the Dawson Springs Independent School District to Kentucky’s “Pre-K for All” pilot program, bringing the total to five participating school districts statewide. About 160 children will be enrolled in Dawson Springs, a Hopkins County town still rebuilding after a December 2021 tornado outbreak leveled much of it.
The five districts now in the pilot are Dawson Springs Independent, Franklin County Schools, Glasgow Independent Schools in Barren County, Rockcastle County Schools, and Robertson County Schools. Each district was added in phases as the pilot expanded from its original launch.
Only 48% of Kentucky Kids Are Ready to Learn When They Start Kindergarten
The urgency behind the pilot is blunt. A fall 2025 report from Beshear’s Pre-K for All Advisory Committee found that barely half of Kentucky’s children are prepared for kindergarten when they arrive.
48% of Kentucky children are ready to learn when they reach kindergarten, according to the Pre-K for All Advisory Committee’s fall 2025 report.
That figure means more than half of Kentucky kids start school already behind in foundational skills. Dawson Springs Schools superintendent Lenny Whalen said the consequences show up immediately in classrooms.
“That’s 160 kids less likely to be chronically absent or have behavior issues. We’re looking to have a stronger kindergarten, have stronger reading and math skills, and be more likely to graduate high school and possibly go into college or other skilled trades.”
Lenny Whalen, Superintendent, Dawson Springs Independent School District
What the Advisory Committee Recommended
Beshear signed an executive order in June 2025 creating the Pre-K for All Advisory Committee to study a path to universal pre-kindergarten in Kentucky. After several months of meetings, the committee recommended phasing in expanded access over multiple years rather than moving to a statewide mandate at once. The pilot program is the first step in that phased approach.
Kentucky does not yet have a universal pre-K law. The pilot operates through executive action, which means its continuation depends on sustained political and budgetary support from the governor’s office and the state legislature.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your Kentucky state representative and senator at (502) 564-8100 and ask them to fund a legislative expansion of pre-K access in the 2026 session. Tell them you want a line-item budget appropriation, not just a pilot.
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Contact the Kentucky Department of Education at (502) 564-3421 and ask how your school district can apply to join the Pre-K for All pilot. Early application matters: Dawson Springs was added after direct community engagement.
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Email the Pre-K for All Advisory Committee through the Governor’s office at governor.beshear@ky.gov and request the committee’s full fall 2025 report be made publicly available online so advocates in other districts can use the data.
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Share the 48% kindergarten-readiness statistic with your local school board. Board members set budget priorities; data from the state’s own committee carries weight in those conversations.
Sources
- UNLV expands preschool capacity with new early childhood education campus — Nevada Current (2026-08-07)
Kentucky Lantern: Beshear Expands Pre-K Pilot Program to Dawson Springs School District Kentucky Governor’s Office: Executive Order Establishing Pre-K for All Advisory Committee, June 2025 KFF: State Pre-K Policy and Funding Landscape, 2025