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HB 497 Kentucky House · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT relating to postsecondary tuition waivers.

Summary
Amend KRS 164.515 to make the amount of tuition waived for the spouse or child of designated permanently disabled veterans a last-dollar scholarship that shall not exceed the cost of tuition and mandatory fees less any state or federal grants; amend KRS 164.2841 to make the amount tuition waived for the survivor of police officer, firefighter, or volunteer firefighter killed in line of duty last-dollar scholarship that shall not exceed the cost of tuition and mandatory fees less any state or federal grants; amend KRS 164.2842 to make the amount of tuition waived for the survivor of police officer, firefighter, or volunteer firefighter permanently and totally disabled in line of duty a last-dollar scholarship that shall not exceed the cost of tuition and mandatory fees less any state or federal grants; amend KRS 164.507 to make the amount of tuition waived for the non-married spouse or child of a deceased veteran a last-dollar scholarship that shall not exceed the cost of tuition and mandatory fees less any state or federal grants; amend KRS 164.020 to delete the tuition waiver for employees and faculty of state and locally operated secondary area technology center staff.
Issues: ✓ EducationSupports EducationProvides last-dollar tuition scholarships for veterans' families and first responders' survivors, expanding higher education access through financial aid95% confidence ✓ VeteransSupports VeteransDirectly provides tuition waivers for spouses/children of permanently disabled veterans, expanding educational benefits for veterans' families.95% confidence
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 28, 2026 Last action Feb 26, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Current/Final · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill significantly expands tuition waiver eligibility for families of disabled veterans and active-duty service members by clarifying that benefits apply to spouses, children, stepchildren, and orphans regardless of the veteran's age or wartime service. It also extends the age limit for children to receive waivers based on the total years their parent served in the military, ensuring families are not penalized for long-term service. Additionally, the bill updates the statute for retired or deceased law enforcement and firefighters, broadening the definition of 'duty-related' to include injuries sustained during training.
Scope change
The scope of the bill was expanded to explicitly include stepchildren and orphans as eligible dependents for tuition waivers, and the age restrictions for children were modified to allow extensions based on the parent's total years of service.
ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility criteria were updated to explicitly include stepchildren and orphans alongside spouses and children for tuition waivers, ensuring broader family coverage.

The age limit for children to receive tuition waivers was changed from a strict cutoff to an extension mechanism; the limit is now extended by the total number of years the parent served in the military.

The definition of 'duty-related injury' for law enforcement and firefighter tuition waivers was broadened to include injuries sustained during training, not just active service.

REQUIREMENT

Requirements for service members were clarified to specify that discharge must be under 'honorable conditions' and that residency requirements apply specifically to National Guard members.

Floor votes · House Feb 25, 2026

How they voted

62–21
Passed · 22 other
Total votes 105
Feb 25, 2026
D Democratic21
1 Yea 19 Nay 1
90% Nay
R Republican84
61 Yea 2 Nay 21
72% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
12
Key actions
2
Committee
4
Amendments
3
Feb 26, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (S)
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
3rd reading, passed 56-36 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (3)
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Introduced
floor amendment (3) filed to Committee Substitute
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Introduced
floor amendment (2) filed to Committee Substitute
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Introduced
floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
to Postsecondary Education (H)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (H)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Introduced
introduced in House
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.