Kentucky students begin their Individual Learning Plan (ILP) early. Under 704 KAR 3:305, development of the plan is established within the first 90 days of the sixth grade year, with a focus on career exploration and related postsecondary education and training needs. Districts support it with an advising and guidance process throughout the middle and high schools, and the plan is reviewed at least annually by the student, parents and school officials.

The challenge: a plan without exploration

Kentucky places the ILP inside a district advising and guidance process, so each district shapes how the plan works day to day. That process works best when students have seen enough options to have something real to write down. A student who has never explored a trade, a campus or a branch of service will struggle to bring much to an annual review.

What students tell us

Across the 13th Year™ network, students are most open early, and their options narrow as graduation gets closer:

  • 32%of 9th graders are weighing more than one path after high school. By 12th grade, 16% are.
  • 53%of 9th graders are interested in more than one career field, compared with 33% of seniors.
  • 11%of 9th graders say they are not sure yet what comes next. Only 2% of seniors say so.
  • 23%of students planning on college are also considering another path, such as the skilled trades, the military, work or a business of their own.

For planning, that means the most valuable exploration happens in the first years of high school, while students are still open to what they find.

Figures come from more than 3,800 responses students submitted at 13th Year™ kiosks and school links across the 13th Year™ network in 2026, not only Kentucky schools. Students could choose more than one answer, and some responded more than once.

Dual enrollment

Dual enrollment in Kentucky

Kentucky funds dual credit through the Dual Credit Scholarship Program, established in KRS 164.786 and administered by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) in consultation with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and the Kentucky Department of Education. The Council on Postsecondary Education also sets a statewide dual credit policy for public and participating institutions and secondary schools. To qualify for the scholarship, a student must be a Kentucky resident enrolled in grade 11 or 12 at a Kentucky public or private high school or Kentucky home school. The scholarship pays tuition for a limited number of eligible dual credit courses at participating Kentucky institutions, and home-schooled students apply directly to KHEAA.

Students who explore careers and majors early, for example through daily exploration on a 13th Year™ kiosk, can use their limited Dual Credit Scholarship courses on classes that count toward a clear goal.

Official program information: Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA); dual credit policy coordinated by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education →

What students need before the planning meeting

The most productive planning conversations happen when a student walks in with something to talk about: a career they read about, a program that surprised them, a question about the military or an apprenticeship. That kind of curiosity comes from exposure, and exposure works best when it is frequent, self-directed and part of the school day.

Practical ways to build exploration into the year

  • Start exploration with the plan. The ILP begins in sixth grade with a career exploration focus. Give students regular, low-pressure ways to look at colleges, skilled trades, military service and careers so the plan grows as their interests do.
  • Feed the annual review. The ILP is reviewed at least annually by the student, parents and school officials. Ask students to bring two or three options they explored on their own so the conversation starts with their interests.
  • Connect exploration to advising. Kentucky asks districts to run an advising and guidance process throughout the middle and high schools. Use what students explore independently as a starting point for those advising conversations.
  • Make exploration self-serve. Let students explore on their own time, so counselor time goes to the conversations that need it.

Where the Student Pathway System™ goes

13th Year™ places an interactive college and career kiosk in a school's hallway, a modern guidance resource students use before, during and after school. Students can explore colleges, skilled trades, military service, scholarships and careers on their own time, then bring what they find to their ILP. It supports, and does not replace, Kentucky's ILP process and school counselors.

For administrators, the questions are usually privacy and workload. The 13th Year™ platform is FERPA aligned and designed with student privacy considerations in mind. It does not access the high school's student information system, and no student data is sold. Kiosks come at no cost to the school, and 13th Year™ delivers, installs and supports every kiosk, so it is built to support your counselors, not burden them.

See how 13th Year™ supports Kentucky high schools, or request a kiosk for your school.