KENTUCKY — On this week’s “In Focus Kentucky” program, we’re looking at K-12 public education in the Commonwealth.

The 2024-2025 academic school year started in August for thousands of students across Kentucky’s 171 school districts, which include 120 public school districts and 51 independent districts. These districts serve 1,484 public schools and 634,424 students in grades preschool through 12th.

During this segment, Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Demetrus Liggins shares that students in his district are outperforming the national average in reading and math, which is a point of excitement.

Also in this conversation, Liggins explains that while the majority of schools in the county offer 100% free breakfast and lunch to all students due to qualifying under federal regulations, his goal for Fayette County is to increase the number of campuses eligible for the Community Eligibility Provision program, recognizing that hunger can hinder a child’s ability to learn. 52 schools in Fayette County Public Schools participate in CEP, which means all students receive free meals regardless of family income.

You can watch the full 'In Focus Kentucky' segment in the player above.