Dr. Jason Glass named Kentucky’s new Commissioner of Education

At a special meeting of the Kentucky Board of Education Friday, Dr. Jason Glass was named as the state’s new Commissioner of Education.

The special meeting was called to make the announcement after a search to fill the position has been ongoing over the last few months. The board voted Tuesday to enter contract negotiations with its selection after interviewing Glass and two other finalists: Julian Vasquez Heilig and Felicia Cumings Smith.

The post became open following Gov. Andy Beshear’s immediate reorganization of the state education board following his swearing-in last December. Beshear became the first Governor to use an executive order to completely overhaul the entity since the passage of the state’s landmark education reforms in 1990.

Kevin Brown, who served as general counsel for Jefferson County Public Schools, has served as interim commissioner since December when Wayne Lewis resigned the post following Beshear’s reorganization.

According to a release from the Department of Education, Glass has been serving as superintendent and chief learner for Jeffco Public Schools in the metro Denver area since 2017. Prior to that, he served as the superintendent of Eagle County Schools in Colorado and as Iowa’s Director of Education, serving as the chief state school officer from 2010 to 2013.

Glass was previously the senior director of human capital strategy with Battelle for Kids and has held district leadership posts in human resources and research and assessment, worked as vice president of Quality Ratings with Qualistar Early Learning, held several posts with the Colorado Department of Education; and worked as a university instructor while a graduate student at the University of Kentucky, teaching at UK and Georgetown College.

The Brandenburg, Kentucky native began his teaching career as a high school social studies teacher for Hazard Independent Schools. In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated him to the National Board for Education Sciences.

Glass will begin his new role in September.