Create new sections of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms; prohibit a school district, public school, or cooperative board from providing differential treatment or benefits on the basis of an individual's religion, race, sex, color, or national origin; prohibit the Kentucky Department of Education, a school district, a public school, or a cooperative board from expending any resources on diversity, equity, and inclusion; prohibit the department, a school district, a public school, or a cooperative board from soliciting statements on an applicant's experience with or views on religion, race, sex, color, or national origin, from providing differential treatment or benefits to an individual based on the individual's participation in diversity, equity, and inclusion training, and from disseminating or profiting from any research, work product, or material that promotes or justifies discriminatory concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion; establish exclusions; authorize the Attorney General to bring an action for a writ of mandamus to compel the department, a school district, a public school or a cooperative board to comply; create a cause of action to permit a qualified individual to file a civil action against a the department, a school district, a cooperative board, or a public school for injunctive relief arising from a violation of this Act; permit recovery of monetary damages for a willful and intentional violation; waive sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunity; prohibit retaliation; require each public school district and cooperative board to provide the State Treasurer the name, job title, duty station, and compensation information of each employee of the school district or cooperative board each month for publication; amend KRS 161.030 to require certain certification applicants to complete an approved professional development program on Kentucky education law; amend KRS 158.4416 and 158.4414 to conform; amend KRS 160.380 to remove language requiting targeted minority recruitment; amend various KRS sections to conform; repeal KRS 156.500 and 161.165; require school districts and cooperative boards to follow designated procedures when implementing this Act including termination or transfer of certain employees; require the Kentucky Department of Education to eliminate the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and follow designated procedures when implementing this Act including termination or transfer of certain employees; EFFECTIVE, in part, February 1, 2027; EMERGENCY.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis resolution (SR 271) is a ceremonial Senate expression of support recognizing Ashton Feldhaus for her appointment as head women's basketball coach at Morehead State University. It formally congratulates her on the appointment and expresses the Senate's goodwill for her future coaching endeavors. The resolution has no legal effect or policy changes - it solely serves as a formal acknowledgment from the Kentucky Senate. It was introduced and adopted by the Senate on March 27, 2025.
Maddy summarySCR 90 is a ceremonial resolution recognizing Lexington-Fayette County's 250th anniversary of founding, with no new policies or funding. It formally celebrates the county's historical milestones - such as its 1775 founding, early institutions like Transylvania University (1780), and its role as the "Horse Capital of the World" - without altering laws or affecting residents. The resolution has no direct policy impact; it is purely commemorative, as stated in its text and Section 1. This procedural bill was adopted by voice vote in February 2025.
Maddy summaryThis resolution symbolically honors Senator Aaron Reed as the first Navy SEAL to serve in the Kentucky Senate. It recognizes his 22-year military career as a Navy SEAL - including combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan - and his subsequent service as a local entrepreneur and state senator representing District 7. The resolution formally expresses the Senate's appreciation for his leadership and military background, directing the Clerk to provide him a copy as a token of recognition. It does not create new laws or affect any policies.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 13A to nullify two administrative regulations relating to Medicaid services after those administrative regulations were found deficient during the 2024 legislative interim; EMERGENCY.
Maddy summarySB 2 prohibits the use of public funds (state/local government money) in Kentucky correctional facilities for hormone treatments or surgeries related to gender reassignment. It defines "cosmetic service or elective procedure" to include cross-sex hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery, and bans funding for these except in rare cases where stopping treatment would cause immediate physical harm to an inmate. The law directly affects incarcerated individuals in Kentucky state and local correctional facilities by restricting access to these medical treatments using taxpayer money. It became law without the Governor's signature on March 27, 2025, after passing the legislature. The bill does not affect medical care unrelated to gender transition or private funding.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 156 to establish a procedure for a local board of education to submit a waiver request to the Kentucky Board of Education to waive a statute or administrative regulation; set the terms and limitations of a waivers; authorize the identification of schools of innovation and establish parameters for the status; establish procedures for the renewal of approved waivers; provide the conditions and procedure for rescinding waivers by the state board; authorize the promulgation of administrative regulations to adopt necessary forms and procedures to process waiver requests; amend various sections to conform; repeal KRS 156.108 and 160.107; provide that the Act may be cited as the School Innovation Act.
Amend KRS 156.070 to require child dependency, neglect, and abuse information to be included in any interscholastic athletics participation consent form; require any training for interscholastic athletics administrators and coaches to include information about mandatory reporting duties for child dependency, neglect, and abuse.
Maddy summarySCR 43 is a concurrent resolution expressing Kentucky's support for the Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB) Crisis Recovery Support Network. It recognizes this network as a resource Kentucky schools, districts, and colleges can access for long-term counseling support after crises like natural disasters, school shootings, or other emergencies. The network, coordinated by SREB, will deploy specialized counselors to assist communities in recovery over an extended period, with SREB covering costs for the first two years of counselor training and deployment. The resolution does not create new laws but formally endorses Kentucky's participation in this regional support system.
Amend KRS 237.109 to lower the age requirement for carrying a concealed and deadly weapon from 21 to 18; amend KRS 237.110 to conform; make technical corrections.