Legislative Tracker on Education
Prichard Priority Coverage
Priority: Early Childhood
The Prichard Committee supports legislation and funding to raise participation and quality in early childhood programs, including:
- Include high-quality child care in the delivery mix for preschool services
- Raising CCAP and public preschool eligibility to at least 200% of the federal poverty level, while increasing per child funding/reimbursement (Big Bold Ask)
- Expanding HANDS, Kentucky’s home visiting program to support families with children under age 3
Big Bold Ask
funding increases over FY 2024
$251 Million for FY 2025
$347 Million for FY 2026 and later years
Legislative Tracker on Education
MONITORING
| Monitoring | Title | Sponsor | Background Information or Position |
| House Bill 17 | Remove the option for school districts to provide half-day kindergarten only. | Timmy Truett | Support so long as state funding for full day kindergarten continues in state budget. |
| House Bill 18 | Expands the dual credit scholarship to include two career and technical education courses, raises the tuition ceiling amount, and expands access to high school freshman and sophomores. | James Tipton | |
| House Bill 33 | Establishes the Innovative Teacher Education Grant Program to curtail teacher shortages. | James Tipton | Teaching Matters Most |
| House Bill 50 | Require the offices of boards of education to have a partisan primary or partisan election | Matt Lockett | Oppose – Rose v. Council for Better Education. Inc. (Ky. 1989) ruled that, “Common schools shall be monitored by the General Assembly to assure that they are operated with. . .no political influence.” See page 26, Item no. 6 HERE
Kentucky schools need local collaboration, not partisan politics |
| House Bill 145 | Establish the Commonwealth Education Continuum to encourage and support collaboration, information sharing, and a shared vision for increasing educational opportunity and achievement at all levels of Kentucky’s education system, prekindergarten through postsecondary education, to increase students’ access to degrees and credentials that lead to sustainable, competitive-wage careers | James Tipton | |
| House Bill 171 | Require completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form as a high school graduation requirement | Steve Riley | Opposed |
| HB 305 | Permit health care personnel, school personnel, social workers, child-care personnel, and long-term care personnel to participate in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) regardless of income eligibility guidelines. | Raymond | |
| HB 319 | Implement the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact; require exit surveys from school personnel leaving employment; require the Kentucky Department of Education to develop a system for reporting exit survey data; direct the Council on Postsecondary Education to develop a marketing program to promote the teaching profession. | Tipton | GA 2023 Support Letter
Delivered to Governor |
| HB30, HB120, and HB 177 | Address issues of health in schools and include provisions which are contrary to what have been deemed evidence-based health and mental health practices. | Letter from the Kentucky Coalition for Healthy Children | |
| Senate Bill 25 | Include achieving three hours of dual credit or qualifying for three hours of postsecondary articulated credit as a postsecondary readiness indicator. | Mike Wilson | Signed by Governor |
| Senate Bill 50 | Require the offices of boards of education to have a partisan primary or partisan election | D. Thayer | Oppose – Rose v. Council for Better Education. Inc. (Ky. 1989) ruled that, “Common schools shall be monitored by the General Assembly to assure that they are operated with. . .no political influence.” See page 26, Item no. 6 HERE
Kentucky schools need local collaboration, not partisan politics |
| SB 70 | Implement the performance-based professional development pilot project from the 2023-2024 school year | Givens | GA 2023 Support Letter
Signed by Governor |
| SB 107 | Establish the Board of Education Nomination Committee, set requirements for appointees, and term limitations. Require the commissioner of education to be subject to Senate confirmation, be subject to an annual review by the Kentucky Board of Education, and provide that the commissioner of education shall serve for a defined employment contract term not to exceed 4 years. | Wilson | Letter to Senator Wilson
Veto Overridden |
| SB 150 | Require specific parental notifications from public schools; require school districts to adopt specific procedures related to parental rights; limit authority of the Kentucky Board of Education and Kentucky Department of Education in relation to parental rights and a student’s use of pronouns; prohibit district or school policies with the intent of keeping student information confidential for parents; prohibit a school district from requiring school personnel or pupils to use pronouns for students that do not conform to that student’s biological sex | Wise | Letter from the Kentucky Coalition for Healthy Children
Veto Overridden |
| SB 156 | Establish a statewide reading research center; direct the center and the Kentucky Department of Education to establish annual goals and performance objectives; require KDE to make annual programming and funding recommendations for the center; require KDE to select the center through a competitive proposal process | West | GA 2023 Support Letter
Signed by Governor |
FOLLOWING
| Following | Title | Sponsor |
| House Bill 1 | The public income tax is lowered from 5% to 4.5%, and later to 4%. | Brandon Reed |
| House Bill 15 | Provides unpaid leave to provide for a child for a family member of an employee | Cherlynn Stevenson |
| House Bill 27 | Exempts “learning pods” from standards governing child care and family child care homes. | Felica Rayborn |
| House Bill 31 | Prevents the requirement of the COVID-19 vaccine to attend school. | S. McPherson |
| House Bill 32 | Allows school districts to hire classified staff without a high school diploma or equivalent if the district provides the opportunity for the applicant to obtain a high school equivalency diploma. | Kevin Jackson |
| House Bill 35 | Require school districts to provide full day preschool to all eligible 3- and 4-year-olds. | Josie Raymond |
| House Bill 41 | Develop a foster care student toolkit to provide resources and information to assist school personnel in addressing the unique educational needs of foster children. | Timmy Truett |
| House Bill 82 | Require rather than allow local boards of education to develop policy on dyslexia and require postsecondary institutions offering teacher preparation programs to include instruction on dyslexia . | Tina Bojanowski |
| House Bill 85 | Allow a student who attends an out-of-state high school or Department of Defense school due to a parent’s military transfer to earn a KEES award if the student earned a base amount in a previous year at a Kentucky high school. | William Lawrence |
| House Bill 88 | Appropriate General Fund moneys to provide for universal preschool for all four-year-olds | Derrick Graham |
| House Bill 91 | Appropriation to support the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s Talent Pipeline Management Program | Derrick Graham |
| House Bill 92 | Require that a parent or guardian be permitted to opt a student of any public school requirement for medical devices and procedures, and treatments. | J. Calloway |
| House Bill 99 | Require the Kentucky Department of Education to create a professional development training schedule for certified personnel; require each local district to implement the schedule; require an additional day to be added to the school calendar if required training cannot be completed in a single calendar day. | Jason Nemes |
| House Bill 101 | Prohibit administrative regulations of the Kentucky Board of Education from requiring students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend school. | Jennifer Decker |
| House Bill 119 | Authorize participation in a public school interscholastic extracurricular activity by an at-home private school student. | Ryan Dotson |
| House Bill 126 | Amend various sections of KRS Chapter 161 to remove provisions of HB 258 enacted during the 2021 Regular Session that created and adjusted benefits for individuals who become members of the Teachers’ Retirement System on or after January 1, 2022; provide that these members shall be eligible for the benefits applicable to members who entered the system immediately prior to January 1, 2022 | Cherylynn Stevenson |
| House Bill 136 | Amend various sections of KRS Chapter 161 to remove provisions of HB 258 enacted during the 2021 Regular Session that created and adjusted benefits for individuals who become members of the Teachers’ Retirement System on or after January 1, 2022; provide that these members shall be eligible for the benefits applicable to members who entered the system immediately prior to January 1, 2022 | William Lawrence |
| HB 137 | Allow a student, staff, or faculty member to opt out of a postsecondary school’s immunization policy for specific reasons | Maddox |
| HB 138 | No longer prohibit the carrying of concealed deadly weapons in schools | Maddox |
| HB 139 | Require an institution to adopt a policy to not restrict off-campus speech; extend free speech protections to the public; provide that student religious and political organizations shall be afforded equal access to facilities; provide that authority vested with a student organization to distribute student organization funding shall be contingent on viewpoint-neutral distribution of those funds | Maddox |
| HB 158 | Remove the requirement that a teacher or employee submit an affidavit to take sick and personal leave. | Timoney |
| HB 161 | Require each local school board to include at least one student representative. | Willner |
| HB 165 | Clean-up legislation from last year’s HB 499, the employee child-care assistance bill. The change will require a report from the Cabinet in 2023 rather than 2024. It also allows a child care provider to terminate a contract created pursuant to the program. | Heavrin |
| HB 168 | Prohibit public postsecondary education institution from engaging in certain activities with foreign countries of concern; require public postsecondary education institutions to submit certain agreements with foreign countries of concern to appropriate federal agencies for review and notice; require all postsecondary institutions, affiliated corporations, and associated organizations to submit semiannual reports to the Council on Postsecondary Education and the Auditor of Public Accounts for gifts of $50,000 or more from foreign sources | Williams |
| HB 173 | Establish specific parental rights as related to public schools; require public schools to adopt policies to protect those rights | Calloway |
| HB 174 | Propose to create a new section of the Constitution of Kentucky to authorize the General Assembly to provide for the educational costs of elementary and secondary school students outside of the public school system. | Calloway |
| HB 177 | Establish specific rights of parents, with some limitations; provide that specific governmental employees shall not encourage or coerce a child to withhold information from a parent | Baker |
| HB 189 | Remove the transfer of net lottery revenues to the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development | Banta |
| HB 203 | Require public middle and high school curriculum to include instruction on the history of racism. | Swann |
| HB 216 | Establish the employer student loan repayment tax credit | Kulkarni |
| HB 227 | Establish a school fiscal impact statement to evaluate the potential costs that would be incurred by school districts and other parts of the common school system by passing certain legislation | Bauman |
| HB 241 | Clarify the evidence requirements for exemption from compulsory attendance due to physical or mental conditions. | Bray |
| HB 242 | Establish an attendance threshold for citizen members of the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity; establish reporting requirements for appointments and reappointments | Timoney |
| HB 259 | Changes to state budget processes | Petrie |
| HB 269 | Allow parental depression screenings to be claimed as a service for the child as part of the Early and Periodic, Diagnostic and Treatment benefit and require the Kentucky Children’s Insurance Program to cover parental depression screenings. | Wilner |
| HB 274 | Require the Health Access Nurturing Development Services (HANDS) program to provide educational information about maternal and postpartum depression | Burke |
| HB 288 | Prohibit a public school district or public charter school from entering a nondisclosure agreement relating to misconduct involving a minor or student; require school district applicants to disclose being the subject of any allegations or investigations in the previous 12 months and consent to a reference check; require school districts to conduct reference checks; require nonpublic and public school districts to disclose any allegations or investigations related to abusive conduct of applicants | Tipton |
| HB 289 | Provide a merger process for contiguous school districts; require an insolvent district to be merged with a contiguous school district | Tipton |
| HB 293 | Prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity | Herron |
| HB 306 | Require child care centers are tested for radon. | Raymond |
| HB 316 | Permit non-voting teacher representatives on local school boards. | Bojanowski |
| HB 318 | Establish Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) eligibility at 200% FPL | Laferty |
| HB 327 | Require African history instruction in certain middle and high school world history and civilization courses; require Native American history instruction in certain middle and high school United States history courses | Herron |
| HB 365 | Require each local school board and public charter school board to annually review and revise its trauma-informed approach plan; require each local board to submit the plan as part of its comprehensive district improvement plan to the Kentucky Department of Education. | Wilner |
| HB 387 | Organizes the newly created committees on Children & Families and Health Services | Heavrin |
| HB 389 | Require superintendents and public charter school boards to adopt a common comprehensive reading program that is determined by the department to be reliable, valid, and aligned to required reading and writing standards. | Banta |
| HB 390 | Establish the Student Teacher Stipend Program; define eligibility for the program; direct the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority to administer the program; provide an award of up to $8000 to an eligible student teachers. | Banta |
| HB 406 | Provide that a parent member on a screening committee shall not be employed by the school district; require greater minority representation on a screening committee in a school district with a minority student population of 50 percent or greater. | Chester-Burton |
| HB 412 | Extend the expiration of KEES eligibility from five to eight years from high school graduation. | Stevenson |
| HB 435 | Require teachers to be compensated for noninstructional planning time within their school day during which they are required to supervise or instruct students; expand the program eligibility of the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program to include a program that leads to a bachelor’s degree in education in a critical shortage area. | Bojanowski |
| HB 474 | Require African history instruction in certain middle and high school world history and civilization courses; require Native American history instruction in certain middle and high school United States history courses | Brown |
| HB 504 | Transition the school funding model from using average daily attendance to average daily membership. | Tipton |
| HB 553 | Amend the 2022-2024 Executive Branch biennial budget to remove excess General Fund support for the actuarial cost of sick leave benefits for new retirees under the Teachers’ Retirement System. | Petrie |
| Senate Bills | ||
| Senate Bill 22 | Change the public high school nonvoting student member to a voting member of the Kentucky Board of Education; add an at-large member to the board; require at least two of the members to have a child enrolled in public school | Reginald Thomas |
| Senate Bill 24 | Include an equivalent score on the Classic Learning Test as a KEES supplemental amount | J. Schickel |
| SB 49 | To address teacher shortages, this would expand from 2 to 4 years the provisional time period under Option 6 & 7 of the alternative certification process. | Carpenter |
| SB 54 | Combines KEES scholarships for proprietary schools bill with a couple of other KEES clean-up items. Companion to HB 85. | Carpenter |
| SB 102 | Make legislative findings and declarations on the rights of parents as it relates to public schools and establish a standard to protect those rights; require public schools to establish a process to receive complaints of violations; create a cause of action for violations and establish limitations; establish specific parental rights as related to public schools; require public schools to adopt policies to protect those rights; require the Kentucky Department of Education to eliminate administrative regulations in violation and develop recommended policies to public schools for compliance | Tichenor |
| SB 169 | Relating to public-private partnerships, to redefine “local government” to include local school district; and grant a local board of education the authority to enter into public-private partnerships on behalf of a local school district. | Wise |
| SB 202 | Provide a local school board the option to place a student in an alternative program or setting in lieu of expulsion. | West |
| SB 236 | Specify that a local board of education cannot appoint the superintendent as secretary to the board. | Southworth |
| SB 247 | Require eligible students to have the option to remain in the same school when changing residence within the same school district; define “eligible student”; require the school district to provide transportation to the school from the student’s new residence. | Givens |
| SB 270 | Make June 19, also known as “Juneteenth National Freedom Day,” a state holiday for state employees. | Neal |