KentuckyHB 7272026 Regular SessionHouseWALLET

AN ACT relating to education and declaring an emergency.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

32 provisions identified: 16 benefits, 8 costs, 8 mixed.

Stronger special education services and diploma

School districts must provide or arrange special education programs for eligible resident children and youth. The State Board sets rules for classes, eligibility, curriculum, class sizes, and teacher caseloads. If a special‑education teacher serves students in different disability groups, the majority group sets the caseload cap. Students with IEPs who cannot take the regular statewide test can earn an alternative high school diploma through an approved alternate assessment and course of study.

Faster ways to renew teacher certificate

If your Kentucky teaching certificate has expired, you can get a new five-year certificate. You qualify after meeting EPSB rules and finishing six graduate credit hours. Or, one time, a local superintendent can waive the coursework and you still get a five-year certificate. In both cases, you must meet all other EPSB eligibility rules.

More support for at-risk preschool

The state funds preschool for eligible children through district grants. Funds are based on the average number served on December 1 and March 1 of the prior year: ages 3–4 with disabilities and at‑risk four‑year‑olds (free‑lunch eligible). Programs must plan no more than one adult for every 10 children. Programs must also provide breakfast or lunch.

Pay rules for certified school staff

Certified and equivalent school staff get an annual percentage raise at least equal to other K–12 teachers. The salary schedule is computed every year and sent to the Governor for approval. The law sets the process but not exact pay amounts.

Preschool for at-risk four-year-olds

Each school district must offer a developmentally appropriate half‑day preschool for every child who is four years old by August 1 and is identified as at risk of educational failure.

Limits on special-education class sizes and caseloads

The law sets statewide caps for special‑education class sizes by disability. Examples: autism max 8, hearing impairment max 6, and learning disability K–5 max 10 and grades 6–12 max 15. A class may add up to two students if a paraprofessional is present. If a class has mixed disabilities, use the majority’s category to pick the cap. Teacher caseloads are also capped by exceptionality and for the collaborative model (K–5 max 15; grades 6–12 max 20). School speech‑language pathologists follow the caseload limits in KRS 334A.190. The Kentucky Department of Education must approve local supervisors of special‑education facilities.

School staff must self-report abuse finding

Every certified and classified school employee must tell the superintendent if the state Cabinet found they abused or neglected a child and that finding was final. If an employee does not report this, they can be dismissed or terminated.

New rules for career and technical staff

The commissioner of education is the appointing authority for Office of Career and Technical Education personnel and can delegate in writing; local hires need the commissioner’s confirmation. The state board sets personnel rules for specified CTE central‑office and state‑operated vocational staff, and staff who move to or from the state personnel system keep accrued annual, compensatory, and sick leave. A state‑operated vocational center cannot cut funding for or abolish a teaching position during a school year when students are enrolled. The Department of Education also manages the Kentucky FFA Leadership Training Center.

Safer, faster school hiring rules

New hires, student teachers, nonfaculty coaches, SBDM parent members, and adults with regular access to students must pass state and national criminal checks and a child abuse/neglect check. Some people are exempt, such as employees hired before June 27, 2019, certain recently transferred certified staff with prior checks, and some student teachers. Fingerprints must be taken on the Kentucky State Police card and sent to the FBI, and agencies can charge only actual processing costs. Superintendents can make probationary hires after July 31 or mid‑year while checks are pending, but jobs end if disqualifying results arrive. Superintendents cannot hire violent or sex offenders or people with an administrative child‑abuse finding. For urgent vacancies, districts can seek a fast waiver; the chief state school officer must answer within two working days and must approve the person before appointment.

New tools to manage school funds and property

After certified property assessments change, a district can request extra state aid when the change cuts at least 1% of its net general fund for the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky allotment as of March 1. Any aid is capped at the net loss of state funds, requires district documentation, and depends on available funds. A school board can sell or transfer property to another public agency without bidding if the price meets or exceeds fair market value, set by an independent appraisal or a national valuation guide. The Department of Education can accept public or private donations to support special‑education and preschool duties in law.

New course options and student records

If your school offers American Sign Language, it counts for foreign language credit. ROTC can count for the high school PE requirement. Valid individual test scores must appear on student transcripts after approval by the state advisory committee. The state creates a student ID system tied to Social Security numbers and issues alternate IDs when an SSN is not given. Local boards must create a diploma seal or certificate for students who meet local workplace‑ethics indicators.

Early graduates count in school funding

When the state sets two‑year school funding, it must include students who graduate early in the average daily attendance estimate.

Faster state action on district waivers

The state board must consider a waiver at a regular meeting within 30 calendar days after the superintendent submits it, following a local board vote. Waivers for facility projects do not expire unless the board sets an expiration when granting them.

Five-year school tech plan and phones

The Education Department creates a five‑year technology plan for schools and starts each stage once approved. The plan must be approved by the State Board and the Legislative Research Commission. It must include a telephone in every classroom. Local boards can seek a reevaluation if a district plan breaks state rules, and the chief state school officer can require a new plan before facility offers.

Holocaust lessons and cursive by 2025

All public middle and high schools must teach about the Holocaust and other genocides that courts have determined occurred. Starting in the 2025–2026 school year, all elementary schools must teach cursive so students are proficient by the end of grade five.

Local workplace-ethics planning for schools

Every odd‑numbered year, local boards work with workforce and economic groups to set workplace‑ethics indicators for middle and high school students. The law ends earlier state‑level reporting on these local indicators.

One site for all school jobs

The state runs one website for public school and charter jobs. Districts must post every opening with open and close dates. You can make a universal application and apply to many districts online. The Department keeps listings current and sends an annual KEPS report to lawmakers by October 1.

Stricter rules for class-size waivers

A superintendent asking to raise class size must explain why and give a plan to reduce it before next school year. The state board reviews each request within 45 business days and either revokes it or approves it for the rest of the year. A district cannot get exemptions for more classes than those enrolling 20% of students in primary and grades 4–8. For special education, no exemption can be granted if it would keep any student from meeting their IEP in the least restrictive setting.

Stronger oversight of CTE and testing

The Department of Education investigates how Career and Technical Education staffing laws are enforced. It can act on petitions from citizens, taxpayers, or other interested parties, and when asked by the legislature or Governor, and must report findings. Starting January 1, 2027, the Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee appoints members in January of odd-numbered years to two-year terms. The Senate President and House Speaker each name a co-chair, and any vacancy is filled within 30 days.

Test scores not required to graduate

The Board cannot require postsecondary‑readiness indicators or minimum statewide test scores as part of the minimum high‑school graduation requirements.

Eye and dental exams for new students

For a child’s first year in public school, public preschool, or Head Start, you must give proof of a vision exam by January 1 if the child is age 3–6. For five‑ and six‑year‑olds, you must also submit a dental screening or exam by January 1. If a non‑dentist screening finds a possible problem, the child must be referred to a licensed dentist. These checks can mean out‑of‑pocket costs.

Limits on hiring relatives and board seats

Districts face strict anti‑nepotism rules. Superintendents cannot hire board members’ relatives, and their own relatives generally may work only if they were qualified district employees for at least 36 months before the superintendent took office. A superintendent’s spouse cannot supervise certified or classified staff, and principals cannot employ relatives in their school. Otherwise ineligible relatives may work only as substitutes without extra benefits or contract accrual. School board candidates must be at least 24, be a Kentucky citizen for 3 years before the election, be a voter in the district, and show 12th‑grade completion or a high‑school equivalency with the nominating petition. Board members cannot hold another elective office at the same time. For these rules, “relative” means father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, son, or daughter.

Stronger truancy fines and penalties

Parents or guardians who intentionally break school attendance laws face a $100 fine for the first offense and $250 for the second. Later offenses are Class B misdemeanors. School officers who ignore attendance duties can be fined $25–$50 and may be removed or lose certificates. Other non‑parents who violate the law can be fined $50–$200, jailed up to 60 days, or both. False swearing brings at least a $50 fine and officer removal. Courts can cancel fines if attendance is corrected for the full term. Net fine proceeds go to the local school fund.

Fines for breaking school food rules

If a school breaks competitive food rules, the first fine is at least one week of competitive‑food revenue. Later violations cost at least one month’s revenue. Five or more violations in six months trigger a six‑month ban on competitive food sales. Fines go to the district’s food service fund.

More state education reporting in 2026

Beginning July 1, 2026, a legislative subcommittee can let the Education Department or State Board temporarily require new reports while the legislature is out of session. That temporary power ends when the next regular session adjourns. Also starting July 1, 2026, the Department and Board may require many listed reports even if not in statute, such as funding, transportation, staff, and program‑monitoring reports. Districts may face more reporting work, and no new funding is provided.

Required training hours for school boards

School board members must complete yearly in‑service training. If you were in office on December 31, 2014: 0–3 years’ service requires 12 hours, 4–7 years requires 8 hours, and 8+ years requires 4 hours, with set ethics, open‑meetings, and finance topics. If your service began on or after January 1, 2015: you need 12 hours a year for your first 0–8 years, then 8 hours a year after that, with required topics and an early superintendent‑evaluation hour.

Summer learning laws end July 2026

On July 1, 2026, state laws on summer learning programs and the teachers’ computer purchase program are repealed. This ends those statutes and may reduce program options and guidance for districts and teachers.

Teacher certificate fees fund oversight

The Education Professional Standards Board can use certificate fee money to pay for issuing certificates, discipline cases, and the statewide educator job system. The law does not raise fees now.

New makeup of state education board

The Kentucky Board of Education now has 11 voting members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Two state officials sit as nonvoting members. The board also appoints a nonvoting teacher and a nonvoting public high school student, chosen on a rotating basis from the seven Supreme Court districts. Each nonvoting member serves one year, and the board sets the selection process.

New rules for state education board

Voting members appointed on or after June 29, 2021 must reflect sex balance where possible, party proportions from voter rolls, and racial minority levels from the latest Census. Appointees cannot be professional educators while serving. Members can be removed only under KRS 63.080, and the board cannot be reorganized by the Governor. Nonvoting student and teacher members chosen before the act’s effective date keep serving until June 30, 2027; after that, new selection rules apply.

School tech funds need local match

The Department of Education develops the statewide technology master plan and recommends district plans for approval. A district is “eligible” if it has over $100,000 in unmet facility needs or qualifies for education‑technology funding. To receive School Facilities Construction Commission technology funds, a district must match the state amount dollar for dollar each biennium.

Stronger ethics and budget steps for school boards

Each local school board elects a chair and vice chair for terms up to two years. After the vote, the board meets with the superintendent and finance officer to review budget duties; this review does not count toward annual training hours. The Office of Education Accountability investigates alleged misconduct by current board members and refers cases to the Attorney General when needed. Anyone elected after July 13, 1990 cannot serve on a district board if a relative works for that district, with a narrow grandfather rule for members in office on that date.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Steve Riley
Republican • House

Cosponsors

Kevin Jackson
Republican • House
Scott Lewis
Republican • House

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 214 • No: 13

House vote • 4/15/2026

passed

Yes: 82 • No: 13

Senate vote • 3/31/2026

3rd reading, passed

Yes: 38 • No: 0

House vote • 3/11/2026