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SB 83 Kentucky Senate · 2025 Regular Session

AN ACT relating to KEES scholarships for students attending noncertified schools.

Summary
Amend KRS 164.7874 to include an equivalent score on the Classic Learning Test as a KEES supplemental amount; define "eligible noncertified school graduate"; amend definitions of "KEES award," "KEES award maximum," and " KEES base amount" for an eligible noncertified school graduate; amend KRS 164.7879 to establish an equivalent grade point average for eligible noncertified school graduates based on the graduate's ACT score; amend KRS 164.7881 and 164.7884 to conform.
Issues: ✓ EducationSupports EducationExpands KEES scholarship access to noncertified school graduates by including CLT scores as equivalent to ACT, increasing educational funding access for diverse school types.92% confidence
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Feb 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 4, 2025 Last action Feb 26, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Current/Final · 5 edits
MODERATE
This bill amends the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) statute to expand eligibility for students attending noncertified private schools and clarifies definitions for scholarship recipients. The changes include updating the definition of 'Eligible noncertified school graduate' to include students graduating from Kentucky nonpublic secondary schools not certified by the Kentucky Board of Education, while maintaining existing requirements for public school students.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of KEES eligibility to include graduates of noncertified private schools in Kentucky, whereas previously the scholarship was primarily focused on students attending certified public schools or specific private academies.
ELIGIBILITY

Added new definition for 'Eligible noncertified school graduate' to include students graduating from Kentucky nonpublic secondary schools not certified by the Kentucky Board of Education starting in the 2025-2026 academic year.

DEFINITION

Updated the definition of 'High school' to include private, parochial, or church schools in Kentucky that have been certified by the Kentucky Board of Education as voluntarily complying with curriculum, certification, and textbook standards.

Reorganized and renumbered statutory definitions from Section 1, shifting from 13 definitions to 14 definitions with updated numbering to accommodate new categories.

FISCAL

Modified the KEES award calculation to specify that eligible noncertified school graduates receive the KEES base amount described in Section 2 multiplied by four, plus any supplemental amount.

TIMELINE

Established a specific start date for noncertified school graduate eligibility beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 25, 2025

How they voted

42–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 43
Feb 25, 2025
D Democratic6
6 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican37
36 Yea 1
97% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
9
Key actions
2
Committee
4
Feb 26, 2025
Committee
to Committee on Committees (H)
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
3rd reading, passed 37-0 with Committee Substitute (1)
upper
Feb 20, 2025
Upper · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
upper
Feb 6, 2025
Committee
to Education (S)
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Committee
to Committee on Committees (S)
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Introduced
introduced in Senate
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.