Education

passed · Kentucky · House Mar 18, 2026

HB 685: AN ACT relating to professional credentials.

HB 685 requires Kentucky's Education Professional Standards Board to issue 5-year teaching certificates to new teachers who pass required assessments. This directly affects new educators and those seeking additional certification in Kentucky public schools, as it mandates successful completion of field-specific tests before receiving a professional certificate. Key provisions include: (1) a 5-year professional certificate after passing assessments, (2) conditional certificates for one year if assessments are failed (with mentoring support), and (3) temporary certificates for out-of-state teachers with less than two years' experience. The bill standardizes certification timelines and assessment requirements without altering existing fee structures or minority recruitment data collection.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationMandates teacher assessments for certification, strengthening educator qualifications and ensuring qualified teachers in Kentucky public schools.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Teachers Testing & Assessment

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in committee · Kentucky · Senate Feb 26, 2026

SB 256: AN ACT relating to interscholastic athletics.

Amend KRS 156.070 to require the Kentucky Board of Education or any agency designated to manage interscholastic athletics to train administrators and coaches on how to prevent suicide.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationRequires suicide prevention training for school athletics staff, enhancing student safety within K-12 educational programs. Directly addresses student well-being as part of education policy.85% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareMandates suicide prevention training for school staff, directly supporting mental health services per bill's focus on mental health and public health.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Mental Health

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in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 11, 2026

HB 560: AN ACT relating to funding school districts that have a high percentage of tax-exempt property.

Amend KRS 45.021 to require the Finance and Administration Cabinet to contract with each local board of education of a district that has 65% or more in tax-exempt real property and that does not receive financial relief from other sources for the tax revenue lost from the tax-exempt property, to provide for recoupment to the board of at least 25% of the local board of education's lost tax revenue from the tax-exempt properties.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill mandates recoupment of tax revenue lost by school districts due to tax-exempt property, directly supporting budget stability for education funding.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationRecoups 25% of lost tax revenue for school districts with high tax-exempt property, directly addressing funding stability for K-12 education.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Property Tax State Budget Tax Incentives School Funding

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passed · Kentucky · Senate Feb 13, 2026

SR 81: A RESOLUTION urging the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) to recognize girls flag football as an official sport for its member schools.

This resolution urges the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) to recognize girls flag football as an official sport for member schools. It directly affects high school girls in Kentucky who currently participate in unsanctioned pilot programs or the growing Kentucky Girls High School Flag Football Association (KGHSFFA), which expanded from 12 to 24 teams in two years. The resolution cites that 88 KHSAA member schools expressed interest in fielding teams if sanctioned, and notes 17 states have already recognized the sport. The Senate formally encourages KHSAA to take this step, but the resolution itself has no legal force and does not mandate any action.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill expands educational access by urging official recognition of girls' flag football, enabling 88 schools to sanction teams and supporting student athletic programs within K-12 education.95% confidence

Sub-Topics K-12 Education

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in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 26, 2026

HB 681: AN ACT relating to postsecondary education.

Amend KRS 164.020 to direct the Council on Postsecondary Education to postpone the approval of any new program at a state postsecondary educational institution if the institution has not met its equal educational opportunity goals; amend KRS 164.011, 164.131, 164.321, 164.821, and 335B.010 to conform; repeal KRS 164.2894, 164.2895, 164.2896, 164.2897, 164.2898. 164.2899, and 335B.035; provide that the Act may be cited as the Restoration of Postsecondary Inclusion and Student Success Programs Act.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationRequires institutions to meet equal educational opportunity goals before new programs, advancing equity and inclusion in higher education per bill's title and language.95% confidence

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in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 20, 2026

HB 635: AN ACT relating to education and declaring an emergency.

Amend KRS 158.070 to permit a local board of education to amend its school calendar by adding time to the school day to reach the required 1,062 hours of instructional time; for the 2025-2026 school year, allow local school districts to make up days missed by adding instructional time to student attendance days; notwithstand the requirement for the student instructional year to have 170 student attendance days; allow waiver of up to 5 student attendance days if a school district is unable to provide the required 1,062 hours of instruction by June 10, 2026; require a local board of education seeking to revise its calendar to submit a plan for approval to the Department of Education; allow instructional time made up and days waived to count as employee contracted days; provide that districts that used 10 or fewer nontraditional instruction days and choose not to use any waived days shall have the district's average daily attendance calculated by deducting 5 low attendance days in addition to the 5 days deducted under KRS 157.320(2); EFFECTIVE, in part, July 1, 2026; EMERGENCY.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationAllows flexible calendar adjustments to meet instructional hour requirements, ensuring educational continuity without mandating additional attendance days.90% confidence

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passed · Kentucky · Senate Apr 15, 2026

SJR 54: A JOINT RESOLUTION directing the Department for Libraries and Archives and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to cooperate in exploring ways to increase enrollment in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program.

Direct the Department for Libraries and Archives and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to cooperate in exploring ways to increase enrollment in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Program; direct the department and the cabinet to submit a report on the progress of identifying ways of increasing enrollment in the program to the Governor and the Legislative Research Commission by November 1, 2026.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationDirects state agencies to increase enrollment in Imagination Library, a free book program for children, enhancing early literacy access and educational opportunity for K-12 students.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Libraries

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in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 29, 2026

HB 461: AN ACT relating to human sexuality instruction in public schools.

Amend KRS 158.1415 to exclude puberty instruction from the prohibition of human sexuality instruction for students in the fifth grade and below; make human sexuality instruction opt-out for parents instead of opt-in.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill removes prohibition on puberty instruction for grades 5 and below and changes parental opt-in to opt-out, expanding curriculum access in K-12 education.90% confidence

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passed · Kentucky · House Feb 12, 2026

HB 44: AN ACT relating to robotics.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms; establish the robotics competition fund; establish the Robotics Funding Selection Committee to award grants from the fund to eligible robotics teams competition sponsors; establish committee membership, duties, and set terms; require the Kentucky Department of Education to promulgate administrative regulations to establish procedures for grant applications and distribution of awards by April 1, 2027; set requirements for grant applications; require annual report by August 1 to Legislative Research Commission; provide for initial staggering of appointments; require the committee to hold its first meeting by October 15, 2026; provide that the Act may be cited as the Advanced Manufacturing Through Robotics Education Act.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationCreates robotics competition fund with grants for K-12 teams, directly funding educational STEM programs through new appropriations and committee oversight.95% confidence ✓ TechnologySupports TechnologyFunds robotics education via competitive grants, promoting tech skills development in schools under Science and Technology subject.95% confidence

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in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 14, 2026

HB 156: AN ACT relating to intranasal epinephrine.

Amend KRS 158.832 to include intranasal epinephrine to list of medications used to treat anaphylaxis; amend KRS 158.836 to include intranasal epinephrine as permissible for schools to keep.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationAllows schools to stock intranasal epinephrine for anaphylaxis treatment, enhancing student safety in K-12 educational settings per Education subject classification.85% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareAmends school policies to allow intranasal epinephrine for anaphylaxis treatment, improving emergency access to critical healthcare for students.95% confidence

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