KentuckySB 22026 Regular SessionSenateWALLET

AN ACT relating to school administrators and declaring an emergency.

Sponsored By: Julie Raque Adams (Republican)

Signed by Governor

Education, Elementary And SecondaryEducation, Finance

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

12 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 1 costs, 6 mixed.

Limits and transparency on district leader pay

Beginning July 1, 2026, new superintendent contracts cannot grant a higher percent raise than the district gives classroom teachers. Administrator raises also cannot exceed teacher percentage raises, unless tied to a major job change or a uniform raise for that job group; the commissioner may grant waivers. Each district must post and send every superintendent contract or amendment within 30 days, and the state publishes and keeps them for at least ten school years.

Three-year turnaround and stronger oversight

Schools identified for comprehensive support follow a three-year turnaround plan. The superintendent leads the plan with a local board–approved team and fully implements it by the first full school day after identification. The Board sets yearly exit rules, and if a school shows no annual improvement for two years or fails to exit in three, the commissioner orders a stronger intervention. The superintendent may remove the principal after two straight years in targeted or comprehensive status. Only one comprehensive audit is required unless a school stays or returns to comprehensive status; the department reviews resources in districts with many identified schools, may recommend providers, and sends audit red flags to the Office of Education Accountability. A local board may restore a school council two years after a school exits comprehensive status.

Tuition relief for some nonresident students

Districts still do not count most nonresident students for funding. But they may count nonresident students admitted under the district’s nonresident policy, and students whose parent works for the district. Districts may waive tuition for these students.

Freeze on new school reporting rules

Starting June 27, 2025, the state board may not add new reporting requirements for public schools or districts unless state law or federal law clearly authorizes it.

Schools can hire noncertified coaches

Districts may hire nonteaching, noncertified adults as coaches. They must be at least 21, be high school graduates, and pass a criminal background check. Rules will set training and other post-hire requirements, and boards may add extra requirements.

Stronger teaching tools in struggling schools

Teachers in comprehensive support schools receive required training on evidence-based reading and math instruction. District leaders must adopt evidence-based curricula and use high-quality materials that the state verifies match Kentucky standards.

Education board can lease TV facilities

The state board may lease land and buildings to support educational television and related instruction facilities. Leases can align with the two-year budget cycle and be renewed. The board may contract with public agencies to run the facilities, and contracts must bar political propaganda and commercial ads. The board may use gifts, matching funds, and appropriations to pay rent and operating costs.

No school logos in student NIL deals

Student-athletes cannot use school property or school trademarks, uniforms, or copyrights to earn money from name, image, and likeness. Schools also may not grant those rights. The state will issue rules to enforce this ban.

Sports physicals and abuse-report warnings

Students who want to play school sports must get a medical exam each year from an approved health professional. Athletic consent forms must tell athletes they can report abuse to any adult and explain Kentucky’s duty-to-report law. Coach and administrator training must include how to report abuse, and schools may not adopt rules that block these reports.

New age, grade, and transfer rules

Students in grades 7–8 can play most high school sports; the board may limit or ban them from varsity soccer, football, or boys/coed lacrosse if they have not finished 8th grade. A student who turns 19 before August 1 is ineligible; turning 19 on or after August 1 allows play for that school year, with a limited exception for some students with IEP histories. A student who transfers to a nonresident district after starting 9th grade and playing varsity becomes ineligible for one year.

Girls’ teams and sex-based eligibility rules

Schools must label teams for grades 6–12 as Boys, Coed, or Girls. A student’s sex for sports is based on the original birth certificate or a sworn affidavit by the health professional who did the annual exam. Girls-designated sports are not open to male students, and schools are protected from complaints for keeping separate female teams.

New rules for school sports leagues

If a high school sponsors an activity similar to a scholarship sport, it must sponsor the scholarship sport. The athletics group must add two nonpublic school representatives to its board of control, one from regions 1–8 and one from regions 9–16, with staggered terms. Member schools may play nonmember at-home private schools that follow eligibility rules, but those nonmember schools cannot join sanctioned conferences or tournaments or receive state awards.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Julie Raque Adams
Republican • Senate

Cosponsors

Donald Douglas
Republican • Senate
Lindsey Tichenor
Republican • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 164 • No: 4

Senate vote • 3/20/2026

passed

Yes: 36 • No: 0

House vote • 3/19/2026

3rd reading, passed

Yes: 90 • No: 4

Senate vote • 2/9/2026