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Kentucky standards alignment

Designed for high school. Below is every Kentuckystandard these courses cover: the exact code, the standard's own words, and the lesson that covers it. Where we only cover part of a standard, it says so, and says which part.

13
standards mapped
7
fully covered
6
partially covered
1
frameworks

This list is filtered. Showing 13 standards in Social Studies, out of 19 mapped for Kentucky. Clear filters

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Read this before you rely on it

  • We mapped this ourselves. This alignment was done by Learn.WitUS against the published standards. It has not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by Kentucky's education authority or by anyone else.
  • Every code was fetched, then transcribed word for word. Each framework below shows the date its codes and text were retrieved from the publisher.
  • Standards get revised.A code can be renumbered or its wording changed without notice, and some states publish more than one live edition of the same document. Confirm anything you file against your own jurisdiction's current requirements, using the source links below.
  • We would rather claim less. Where the courses only partly cover a standard, this page says partially covered and explains the gap. Standards we considered and could not honestly claim are listed at the bottom, with the reasons.

Kentucky · Social Studies

Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies — High School Civics (C)

Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies, 2019 · High School Civics · Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) · retrieved 2026-07-19

Kentucky's High School Civics standards are the anchor for the Kentucky Civics flagship. The KAS for Social Studies (2019) is Kentucky's own inquiry/C3-based framework, and its Kentucky Government cluster (HS.C.KGO.1-3) names Kentucky's OWN constitution and government explicitly, giving the flagship's Kentucky-structure lessons a genuine home; the federal Civic and Political Institutions (HS.C.CP), Roles and Responsibilities (HS.C.RR), and Processes, Rules and Laws (HS.C.PR) clusters carry the general U.S. civics ladder, and the Using Evidence (HS.C.I.UE) inquiry strand is where the catalog's source-literacy method maps. Transcribed verbatim from the KDE 2019 Social Studies standards (see the file header for the provenance note). Codes are cited as HS.C.<strand>.<n> exactly as printed.

Read the source document →
  • HS.C.KGO.1

    Covered
    Explain how the Kentucky Constitution embodies the principles of rule of law, popular sovereignty, separation of powers and checks and balances.

    Covered by

    • · Kentucky Civics, Lesson 1 · A Commonwealth of odd-year elections and 120 counties
    • · Kentucky Civics, Lesson 2 · The executive and the General Assembly
    • · Kentucky Civics, Lesson 3 · How Kentucky picks its judges, and how a bill becomes law

    Note: This is the flagship's primary home: Kentucky's own government under its Constitution of 1891 — the large plural executive of separately elected officials, the General Assembly (100-member House, 38-member Senate) with a weak simple-majority-override veto, the nonpartisan elected judiciary, and lawmaking with no citizen initiative — is taught in depth from Kentucky's own sources.

  • HS.C.KGO.2

    Covered
    Compare Kentucky's government to other states and to the federal government.

    Covered by

    • · Kentucky Civics, Lesson 1 · A Commonwealth of odd-year elections and 120 counties
    • · Kentucky Civics, Lesson 2 · The executive and the General Assembly
    • · Kentucky Civics, Lesson 3 · How Kentucky picks its judges, and how a bill becomes law
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 1 · What is federalism, and why split power at all?
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 2 · Three kinds of power: enumerated, implied, reserved
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 3 · The enumerated powers: Article I, § 8 (the Necessary and Proper Clause)
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 6 · Concurrent powers: what both levels share
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 7 · McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): implied powers and supremacy

    Note: The course compares Kentucky to other states and the federal level throughout: odd-year statewide elections (like Virginia and New Jersey), the weak simple-majority veto override (like Tennessee, Alabama, and West Virginia), nonpartisan judicial elections (versus Alabama's partisan ones), 120 counties (third-most, versus Texas and Georgia), and no citizen initiative — set inside the federal enumerated/reserved-powers frame.

  • HS.C.KGO.3

    Covered
    Describe how active citizens can affect change in their communities and Kentucky.

    Covered by

    • · Kentucky Civics, Lesson 4 · Local government and how to take part
    • · US, State & Local Government, Lesson 8 · Where to show up and be heard, at every level
    • · US, State & Local Government, Lesson 5 · What LOCAL government handles (and why it VARIES)
    • · US, State & Local Government, Lesson 7 · The governments you forget: special districts & boards

    Note: Taught end to end and in Kentucky's own terms: registering and voting (photo ID with alternatives, expanded early voting, odd-year statewide races), showing up at the fiscal court, county judge/executive, city council, and school board, contacting the two Frankfort legislators during the short session, and running for local office.

  • HS.C.CP.1

    Covered
    Explain how the Constitution of the United States embodies the principles of rule of law, popular sovereignty, republicanism, federalism, separation of powers and checks and balances to promote general welfare.

    Covered by

    • · US Constitution 101, Lessons 2-9 · the Constitution analyzed article by article
    • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 2 · The Preamble: who, and why
    • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 6 · Separation of powers and checks & balances
    • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 7 · Federalism: state and federal power
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 1 · What is federalism, and why split power at all?

    Note: The Constitution's structural principles — the Preamble's purposes, the article-by-article design, separation of powers and checks and balances, and federalism — are taught directly.

  • HS.C.RR.1

    Covered
    Evaluate the civic responsibilities of individuals within a society.

    Covered by

    • · Citizenship & Naturalization Basics, Lesson 7 · Rights and responsibilities of citizenship
    • · Jury Duty & the Courts · the whole course (the citizen's side of the court system)

    Note: The responsibilities of citizenship — voting, obeying the law, paying taxes, and serving on a jury (jury service is an entire course) — are taught directly.

  • HS.C.PR.1

    Covered
    Analyze the role of the three branches of government in the lawmaking process.

    Covered by

    • · How a Bill Becomes Law (Federal) · the whole course, introduction to public law
    • · US Civics 101, Lesson 3 · How a bill becomes a law
    • · US Civics 101, Lesson 1 · Purpose of government and the three branches
    • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 6 · Separation of powers and checks & balances
    • · US Constitution 101, Lesson 7 · Federalism: state and federal power

    Note: How a bill becomes law and each branch's role in it — Congress drafting, the executive's veto and enforcement, and the judiciary's review — are taught end to end.

  • HS.C.I.UE.1

    Covered
    Evaluate the credibility of multiple sources representing a variety of perspectives relevant to compelling and/or supporting questions in civics.

    Covered by

    • · Ep 19 · Peer Review Versus Press Release
    • · Every course's Sources bibliography, with per-claim verification
    • · Ep 4 · Whose Voice Tells the Story, Beckford (1790) against Equiano (1789) and Mary Prince (1831) on the same plantation world
    • · Ep 3 · Two Ways of Seeing a Bean
    • · Ep 5 · Two Ways of Knowing
    • · Ep 18 · Whose Voice
    • · Ep 15 · Doubt Is Our Product
    • · Ep 20 · The Ban Against the Evidence (the UK banning khat against its own scientific advice)
    • · Ep 1 · Reading a Coffee Ad
    • · Ep 3 · Reading a Chocolate Ad
    • · Ep 8 · Reading a Craft Beer Label
    • · Ep 15 · Torches of Freedom
    • · Ep 16 · Reefer Madness and the Language of Fear
    • · Ep 18 · Just Say No

    Note: Evaluating sources of differing perspectives for credibility — the standard's exact skill — is the catalog's signature method: differing first-person accounts weighed against each other, claims tested for fallacy, and media read for what it omits.

  • HS.C.CP.2

    Partially covered
    Analyze legislative, executive and judicial branch decisions in terms of constitutionality and impact on citizens and states.

    Covered by

    • · US Civics 101, Lesson 1 · Purpose of government and the three branches
    • · US Civics 101, Lesson 4 · The courts and judicial review (Marbury v. Madison)
    • · The Supreme Court & the Judicial Branch, Lesson 5 · Writing the opinion: majority, concurrence, dissent, and precedent
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 2 · Three kinds of power: enumerated, implied, reserved
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 3 · The enumerated powers: Article I, § 8 (the Necessary and Proper Clause)
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 6 · Concurrent powers: what both levels share
    • · State vs Federal Power, Lesson 7 · McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): implied powers and supremacy

    What we do and don't cover: The three branches, judicial review through Marbury v. Madison, reliance on precedent, and the federal powers taxonomy are taught. The standard's fuller ask — analyzing a running body of branch decisions (the clarification names Berea College v. Kentucky and Brown v. Board) for constitutionality and impact over time — is broader than the catalog delivers, so this is partial.

  • HS.C.CP.4

    Partially covered
    Evaluate how the U.S. judicial system is designed to uphold equality before the law, due process and inalienable rights.

    Covered by

    • · The Supreme Court & the Judicial Branch, Lesson 1 · The federal judiciary: from district courts to the Supreme Court
    • · The Supreme Court & the Judicial Branch, Lesson 7 · Checks on the Court
    • · Know Your Rights, Lessons 2-5 · speech, religion, press, assembly, including at school and online
    • · Know Your Rights, Lessons 6-8 · the 4th Amendment: searches, stops, and your digital life
    • · Know Your Rights, Lesson 2 · Freedom of speech: what's protected, and what isn't
    • · Know Your Rights, Lesson 5 · Speech and religion at school, and online
    • · Know Your Rights, Lesson 7 · Police stops, reasonable suspicion, and your privacy
    • · The Bill of Rights: Know Your Rights, Lesson 1 · What is the Bill of Rights?

    What we do and don't cover: The judiciary's structure, the Bill of Rights, and landmark cases with their limits (Tinker, Mapp, Terry, T.L.O.) are taught as applicable rules. The single evaluation the standard asks for — how the system as a whole is designed to uphold equality, due process, and inalienable rights — is assembled across courses rather than delivered as one graded analysis, so this is partial.

  • HS.C.RR.2

    Partially covered
    Explain how active citizens can affect the lawmaking process locally, nationally and internationally.

    Covered by

    • · How a Bill Becomes Law, Lesson 8 · Tracking a bill and making your voice heard
    • · US, State & Local Government, Lesson 8 · Where to show up and be heard, at every level
    • · Kentucky Civics, Lesson 4 · Local government and how to take part

    What we do and don't cover: Affecting lawmaking locally and nationally — tracking a live bill, being heard on it, and showing up at the level where an issue is decided — is taught as practice. The standard's 'internationally' reach is not covered, so this is partial.

  • HS.C.CV.3

    Partially covered
    Analyze the impact of the efforts of individuals and reform movements on the expansion of civil rights and liberties locally, nationally and internationally.

    Covered by

    • · The History of Unions, Lesson 4 · Two ideas about who a union is for: the Knights and the AFL
    • · The History of Unions, Lesson 5 · Haymarket, 1886
    • · The History of Unions, Lesson 6 · Homestead, Pullman, and the weapon that actually broke strikes
    • · The History of Unions, Lesson 16 · The colour bar: unions' own history of exclusion
    • · The History of Unions, Lesson 17 · Randolph to Memphis: the labor half of the civil-rights movement
    • · The Great Migration, Lesson 11 · Politics & civil rights

    What we do and don't cover: The reform movements the standard's clarification names — the labor movement and the civil-rights movement — are taught in depth (the Gilded-Age unions, the labor-and-civil-rights alliance, the Great Migration's civil-rights politics). The standard's 'internationally' scope and its formal civics-inquiry framing are not the courses' focus, so this is partial.

  • HS.C.I.UE.2

    Partially covered
    Gather information and evidence from credible sources representing a variety of perspectives relevant to compelling and/or supporting questions in civics.

    Covered by

    • · Ep 1 · Assignment, Option B, climate-vulnerability report, 3+ peer-reviewed sources, APA bibliography
    • · Ep 1 · Assignment, Option D, primary-source research paper with an APA bibliography
    • · Ep 1 · Assignment, Option B, 3+ peer-reviewed sources and an APA bibliography
    • · Ep 1 · Assignment, Option C, interview ethics: informed consent, right to review

    What we do and don't cover: Gathering evidence from credible, varied sources is taught and practiced in the Coffee research project, which is the one episode currently shipping a graded research assignment, so this is partial.

  • HS.C.I.UE.3

    Partially covered
    Use appropriate evidence to construct and revise claims and counterclaims relevant to compelling and/or supporting questions in civics.

    Covered by

    • · Ep 1 · Assignment, Option D, a 1,200-1,500 word research paper with a required counterargument section
    • · Ep 15 · Doubt Is Our Product
    • · Ep 19 · Peer Review Versus Press Release
    • · Ep 20 · The Ban Against the Evidence (the UK banning khat against its own scientific advice)

    What we do and don't cover: Constructing and revising claims from evidence is taught, and the Coffee project's argument paper runs it as a graded task, but only that episode currently ships the assignment, so this is partial.

What we don't claim

A standards page is only worth reading if the omissions are honest too. We looked at these and left them out:

  • Mathematics — nothing. This catalog does no mathematics instruction, so it meets no Kentucky Academic Standards for Mathematics standard.
  • English/Language Arts — Kentucky's OWN post-Common-Core standards: deferred. Kentucky replaced its earlier Common Core adoption with its own Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing (2019), a post-Common-Core revision under Kentucky's own organization. The shared Common Core ELA mapping this catalog uses in Common Core states does NOT apply in Kentucky. The catalog's ELA-literacy strengths — evaluating an author's point of view and evidence, analyzing rhetoric, and sustained research with citation — would map to Kentucky's own reading and writing standards, but transcribing and verifying those verbatim is deferred this pass (verbatim-or-nothing) and published here rather than claimed unverified.
  • Science — one partial claim, via the shared NGSS file. Kentucky was an NGSS lead state and adopted the NGSS verbatim as the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science, so our one honest science claim — HS-ESS3-1, partial — comes through the shared NGSS mapping with the limit stated on the entry (verified against Kentucky's own Earth Space Science course standards). There is no laboratory work, investigation, or modelling in this catalog, and we will not claim more.
  • Kentucky's own state structure is taught more fully than HS.C.KGO.1-3 capture. The Kentucky Government cluster (HS.C.KGO.1-3) is the flagship's home, but Kentucky's most distinctive facts — the odd-numbered-year statewide election cycle, the comparatively WEAK gubernatorial veto (a simple-majority override), the fully nonpartisan elected judiciary with 8-year Supreme Court terms, the 120 counties (third-most of any state) and Louisville Metro consolidation, and the ABSENCE of a citizen initiative (amendments proposed by a three-fifths General Assembly vote and ratified by voters) — are folded into those three indicators rather than each having a code of its own.
  • The founding-philosophy and political-science Civics indicators we checked and rejected. HS.C.CP.3 (comparing forms of government and how each maintains order and interacts within the international community), HS.C.CV.1 (how classical republicanism, natural rights philosophy, and English common law influenced the Founders), HS.C.CV.2 (the abstract expansion of civic virtues, democratic principles, and human rights influencing individuals and groups), HS.C.PR.2 (the role of elections, bureaucracy, political parties, interest groups, and media in shaping public policy — our media literacy is consumer/source literacy, not political-media analysis), and HS.C.PR.4 (comparing the domestic and foreign policies of the United States and other countries) — the courses do not genuinely teach these, or teach them too thinly to claim, so we do not claim them.
  • The civics inquiry PRACTICES we did not claim (only the 'Using Evidence' strand is claimed). The KAS civics standards weave the C3 inquiry practices through the discipline: HS.C.I.Q.1-2 (generating compelling and supporting questions) and HS.C.I.CC.1-3 (engaging in civil discussion and reaching consensus, constructing arguments and public communications, and proposing a solution or action plan). These are run as classroom inquiry the catalog does not deliver as graded work, so we do not claim them. The one inquiry strand where the catalog genuinely delivers — Using Evidence (HS.C.I.UE.1-3: evaluating source credibility, gathering evidence, and constructing and revising claims) — is claimed above.
  • Kentucky's other Social Studies disciplines — Economics, Geography, and History — deferred. The KAS for Social Studies (2019) also carries high-school Economics, Geography, and U.S./World History disciplines. The catalog's commodity, colonial, labor, civil-rights, and Cold-War history and its commodity economics WOULD map to those strands, as they do in other states, but we mapped the High School Civics strand this pass and defer the rest rather than cite text we did not transcribe this pass (verbatim-or-nothing).

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