Rep. Kevin Jackson

Amend KRS 156.160 to require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations for an alternate high school diploma and a modified high school diploma; specify requirements for alternate and modified high school diplomas; create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to require the Department of Workforce Development to identify, compile, and publish a list of employers willing to employ individuals possessing an alternate high school diploma; amend KRS 158.140, 164.787, and 164.7882 to conform.

Amend KRS 508.025 to expand assault in the third degree to include causing or attempting to cause physical injury to a healthcare provider in a jail, penitentiary, or local or state correctional or detention facility; amend KRS 65.1591 to add jailers, deputy jailers, and correctional officers employed by a local detention center, local correctional facility, or regional jail to the list of public safety employees eligible to participate in a peer support counseling program.

Amend KRS 217.127 to define "charitable food donor" as a nonprofit or religious organization that is recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or home-based processor, which produces food for distribution to a homeless shelter or to individuals displaced due to a declared natural disaster; exempt a charitable food donor from the licensing requirements of KRS 217.005 to 217.215 and application of State Plumbing Code requirements; amend KRS 217.218 to conform; amend KRS 411.241 to exempt a nonprofit or religious organization that is recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or a home-based processor from civil or criminal liability arising from the production or donation of food to a homeless shelter or to individuals displaced due to a declared natural disaster.

Amend KRS 439.3401 to provide that a violent offender who has received a life sentence and has not been sentenced to 35 years without probation or parole or imprisonment for life without the benefit of probation or parole shall not be released on probation or parole until he or she has served at least 30 years; amend KRS 439.3406 to prohibit a person who has been convicted of a Class B felony or a person who is a violent offender who has been unanimously denied discretionary parole from qualifying for mandatory reentry supervisions; provide that the Department of Corrections shall provide an annual report on the results of the mandatory reentry supervision program to the Legislative Research Commission by February 1 of each year; amend KRS 504.150 to require a treating professional for a defendant who has received a sentence of guilty but mentally ill to file a petition for involuntary hospitalization under KRS Chapter 202A or 202B; amend KRS 532.025 to provide that if a defendant has been found guilty of intentional murder, the jury or court does not have to find any aggravating circumstance to sentence a defendant to imprisonment for life without benefit of probation or parole or imprisonment for life without benefit of probation or parole for 35 years; amend KRS 532.030 to enhance the sentence of imprisonment for life without benefit of probation or parole for 25 years to 35 years; amend KRS 532.110 to provide that sentences of a defendant convicted of 2 or more capital offenses, Class A felonies, Class B felonies, or a combination of those offenses or 2 or more violent offenses involving 2 or more victims shall run consecutively; amend various KRS sections to conform; repeal KRS 504.020 and 504.030; provide that the Act may be cited as Logan's Law.

Maddy summaryThis bill is a House resolution that officially designates May 2026 as Mental Health Month in Kentucky. It calls on citizens, government agencies, businesses, and schools to increase awareness and understanding of mental health during that month. The resolution does not create new laws or funding but serves as a symbolic declaration to promote mental wellness and community support. It directs the House Clerk to send a copy of the resolution to Representative Lisa Willner for record-keeping purposes.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to require school districts that elect to provide health care services through a school nurse to bill the school-based Medicaid program for medically necessary services provided to a student enrolled in Medicaid; establish requirements for third-party Medicaid billing vendors contracted by school districts; permit school nurses to receive preventative dental services training from the Department for Public Health; permit the school district to bill the school-based Medicaid program for preventative dental services that are within a school nurse's scope of practice.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to allow school districts to implement a wearable panic alert system; establish system criteria; require the Department of Education to provide a list of approved wearable panic alert systems; require the Center for School Safety to establish the Wearable Panic Alert Grant Program; amend KRS 158.446 to allow the Center for School Safety to distribute wearable panic alert grants using funds appropriated in the biennial budget to support school safety; provide that the Act may be cited as Alyssa's Law.

Maddy summaryHB 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.

Amend KRS 157.220 to require the Kentucky Department of Education to promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with the maximum class sizes and caseloads specified for exceptional children and youth; make technical corrections; amend KRS 157.200 to define "caseload" and "special classes"; amend KRS 157.230, 157.3175, and 159.990 to conform.

Amend KRS 158.307 to define "dysgraphia"; require the department to annually update the dyslexia toolkit; require the toolkit to include guidance on dysgraphia and strategies and other resources to be used for students displaying dyslexia and dysgraphia; require universal screeners and diagnostic tools be approved by the department; require each district to use evidence-based instructional strategies to provide intervention services; require school districts to report data to the department; amend KRS 164.304 to require postsecondary institutions offering teacher preparation programs include instruction on the application and implementation of a multitiered system of supports by the 2027-2028 school year.