Fayette County Public Schools salary schedule: how teachers move to a higher rank

TeacherPayGuide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Fayette County Public Schools. This guide summarizes the district's published documents as read on November 12, 2026; those documents and the district's human resources office decide your placement. It is general information, not legal or employment advice. Disclaimer · Report an error

How is the Fayette County teacher salary schedule organized?

The 2026–27 Salary Schedule was approved on May 27, 2026 and took effect July 1, 2026. It "reflects 0% increase from the 2025–26 Salary Schedule," so the grid is the same as last year's. It is posted on the district's budget and financial planning page.

The six levels run across the top, each for a 189-day year, and steps run from 0 to 30 down the side. Following KRS 157.320, a teacher employed at least 140 days in a school year, and teaching the equivalent of at least 70 full days, is credited with a year of experience. New hires receive up to twenty years of credit for teaching outside Fayette County in an accredited school. If the "Rank 3.2" style labels are unfamiliar, our guide to salary lane names explains how ranks map to the BA+ and MA+ labels used elsewhere.

Which units count toward a Fayette County level change?

The schedule separates the levels the district pays for from the ranks the state certifies.

• AB+15 (Rank 3.2): an official transcript of 15 graduate hours and a current Kentucky teaching certificate on file.
• MA (Rank 2.1): an official degree-awarded transcript and a Rank 2 certificate. Rank 2 means "a thirty-two hour planned Fifth Year Program or a Master's Degree accepted by Education Professional Standards Board."
• MA+15 (Rank 2.2): an official transcript of 15 graduate hours above the master's and a current Rank 2 certificate.
• MA+30 (Rank 1.1): transcripts of the Rank 1 graduate hours, or an added master's, and a Rank 1 certificate. Rank 1 is "a thirty-hour planned program approved by the institution attended and accepted by the Education Professional Standards Board."
• Doctoral (Rank 1.2): a degree-awarded transcript and a Rank 1 certificate.

The plus-15 rule is the one most teachers use between ranks: "The increase in salary for each 'plus 15' level is based on graduate semester hours of training and such semester hours cannot be a part of the requirements for the previous degree or rank. Transcripts must indicate that the additional 15 hours were outside of the degree or rank. Graduate coursework completed at the same time as your Masters or degree program will not be considered for the 'plus 15'."

Worked example without dollars: a teacher with a master's and a Rank 2 certificate who completes 15 graduate semester hours after the degree, all finished before September 15, moves from Rank 2.1 to Rank 2.2 for that school year. Moving on to Rank 1.1 takes an EPSB-accepted Rank 1 program, not just 15 more hours. Our page on master's degrees versus credits covers the trade-off.

Does Fayette County require approval before you take a course?

The salary schedule does not describe a district pre-approval form for plus-15 hours. It lists the documents HR needs after the work is done, and it says "Rank compensated will be determined by EPSB." For a rank change, the approval that matters is the university's planned program and the EPSB's acceptance; under the schedule, a Rank 1 program must be "approved by the institution attended and accepted by" the EPSB.

For hours aimed at a plus-15 level, the safest record is a written answer from the Department of Human Resources before you enroll, naming the course and the transcript it will produce. Our will my district accept it checklist lists the questions to ask.

When are transcripts due, and when does the new level take effect?

The schedule's "Education Credit for Salary Calculations" section sets the dates. Credits or a rank change "must be completed prior to September 15th of the current school year," with documents submitted to the Department of Human Resources "by the last day of school before the winter break of the current school year." Graduate hours toward AB+15 or MA+15 "effective after September 15" pay from the beginning of the next school year.

Rank changes add a state step. A Rank 2 or Rank 1 certificate must carry an EPSB effective date of September 15 or earlier to raise pay in the current year, and the schedule says the Division of Teacher Certification sets that date from program and assessment completion and the date the rank application is submitted in the EPSB KECS system. "Applications submitted after September 15 will not qualify for a rank increase for the current year." Salary notices go out before winter break; the schedule says it is the employee's responsibility to provide documentation, and underpayments from district errors are corrected for at most two school years. See transcript deadlines for timing a summer course.

Do the same units count toward Kentucky certificate renewal?

Often, if they fit a planned program. Under 16 KAR 2:010, the first five-year renewal of a professional certificate takes either at least 15 semester hours of graduate credit applicable to the fifth-year approved program of preparation, or the continuing education option in 16 KAR 8:030; the second takes either completion of that fifth-year program or the continuing education option. The 15-hour and fifth-year routes line up with Fayette's AB+15 and Rank 2 levels, so one set of graduate hours can serve both if each office accepts it.

Hours outside a planned program can still raise pay at a plus-15 level while doing nothing for renewal, or the reverse. The Kentucky renewal section has the state rules, and renewal credit versus salary credit explains the difference.

Where can Fayette County teachers earn graduate-level units?

Every district, Fayette County included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: a column move, a stipend, license renewal or an added endorsement. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Fayette County's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.

Before you enroll: Fayette County pays each "plus 15" level on "graduate semester hours of training" that are not part of a previous degree or rank, and the transcript must show the 15 hours were outside the degree (2026–27 Salary Schedule). Units from the providers below are non-degree, so ask the Department of Human Resources in writing whether a course will count toward AB+15 or MA+15 before you enroll. Rank 2 and Rank 1 need a planned program or degree accepted by the EPSB, which these units do not provide on their own.

Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts

With those rules in hand, compare providers on the same points. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:

• Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
• Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
• CE Credits Online: self-paced, 180 days, units through Valley City State, Augustana, Adams State or Cal Poly Humboldt; from $449 for 3 credits (price notes)
• Connected Classroom Courses: self-paced, letter grade, units through CSU Pueblo; $389 + university fee for 3 credits (price notes)
• Upward Teachers: self-paced, 1 to 6 months, letter grade, units through UMass Global; $240 sale for 3 credits (price notes)
• VESi: self-paced online, 2- or 3-unit courses on special-needs instruction, units through University of the Pacific; $444 for 3 credits (price notes)

The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean Fayette County has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.

Sources

1. 2026–27 Salary Schedule, approved May 27, 2026, effective July 1, 2026, Fayette County Public Schools. Checked November 12, 2026
2. Budget and Financial Planning, Fayette County Public Schools. Checked November 12, 2026
3. 16 KAR 2:010, Kentucky teaching certificates, Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Checked November 12, 2026

Reviewed November 12, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error