Education

Repeal and reenact KRS 158.1415 to require each school district to provide healthy relationship education instruction to all public school students; establish minimum requirements for the instruction; establish minimum requirements for the healthy relationship curricula and instructional materials; prohibit a school or school district from restricting the ability of an instructor to answer a question related to the instruction; require that a school make the healthy relationship curricula and instructional materials available upon the request of a parent or guardian and establish a procedure for a parent or guardian to opt a student out of the instruction; require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations necessary to implement, administer, and enforce this section; require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations requiring that each school district submit a report on healthy relationship instruction in the district biennially; require the Kentucky Department of Education to maintain a list of recommended healthy relationship curricula and instructional materials; permit a parent or guardian to file an enforcement action in Circuit Court; provide that the Act may be cited as the Education for Healthy Youth Act.

Amend KRS 158.1415 to remove provisions related to parental rights and courses, curriculums, or programs on human sexuality; provide for a process for parents to opt out of their child receiving instruction on the subject of human sexuality; amend KRS 158.191 to remove language limiting Kentucky Board of Education or Department of Education policies regarding student confidential information and the use of pronouns; require a local school district to use pronouns for students upon a request from a parent along with a note from a medical provider diagnosing the child with gender dysphoria; remove language concerning parental consent for well-being questionnaires or assessments or a health screening; amend KRS 158.189 to make findings about children and young adults desiring individual privacy; require a school to provide an accommodation to any student who requests an area of individual privacy in restrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms, regardless of biological sex or gender identity; require school officials to provide an accommodation for individual privacy for children whose gender is different from his or her biological sex and who have a note from a medical provider diagnosing the child with gender dysphoria; permit alternate accommodations upon the parent's request; amend KRS 311.372 to prohibit surgical or medical treatment of a child under the age of 18 years for gender dysphoria, and any nonsurgical medical treatment without the consent of the child's parent or legal guardian; require that the provision of nonsurgical medical treatment to a child under the age of 18 years apply only to a child with a medical diagnosis from a mental health care provider and by a trained and experienced health care provider in collaboration with a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist using only appropriate nonsurgical medical treatments approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for adolescents and that meet evidence-based medical standards.

SB 234 creates a program to help Kentucky certified teachers purchase personal computers. The Kentucky Board of Education would secure discounted computer prices through competitive bidding and arrange vendor-provided training. This bill directly affects all certified teachers in Kentucky public schools by providing financial assistance and technical support for personal computer use. The official abstract mentions gender-neutral language, but the bill text itself contains no gendered terms requiring amendment (current language uses "his or her," which is already standard). The bill was introduced in the Senate on February 24, 2026.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 610 to establish a pilot program to be known as the Supporting Opportunities for Accountability and Restoration Program for children who are truant; require the pilot program to be established in no less than 10 public school districts; establish the responsive interventions to support and empower teams; establish criteria for participation and procedure for the program; create a new section of KRS Chapter 159 to establish the duties of the director of pupil personnel in school districts that are participating in the pilot program; amend KRS 159.140 to conform; create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to require schools to collect certain data relating to habitual truancy and require the Kentucky Department of Education to annually report data relating to habitual truancy to the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the Interim Joint Committee on Education and the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary; amend KRS 610.030 to require the use of an evidence-based family screening tool to identify family strengths, needs, and risks; create family diversion plans and require a child's parent to participate; amend KRS 605.030 to require a court-designated worker to coordinate the pilot program in the school districts that participate; amend KRS 17.125 to allow responsive interventions to support and empower teams to access information on juveniles involved with the juvenile justice system; amend KRS 600.020 to amend the definition of "habitual truant" and define "Supporting Opportunities for Accountability and Restoration Program" or "SOAR Program" and "Responsive Interventions to Support and Empower Teams" or "RISE teams"; create a new section of KRS Chapter 630 to provide that a child who is alleged to be a status offender, adjudicated a status offender, or is a status offender alleged or found to have violated a valid court order shall not be detained in a secure detention facility until the child is at least 16 years old; amend various sections to conform; repeal KRS 630.100.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 336 to define terms; establish the Kentucky FLOW Program and specify eligible participants, activities, and uses of funds; establish the Kentucky FLOW Program fund; appropriate $1,347,500 in each fiscal year from the General Fund to the Kentucky FLOW Program fund; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY, effective, July 1, 2026.

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.

Provide 10 additional disaster relief student attendance days to provide instruction using alternate settings; allow local school districts to make up days missed by adding instructional time to student attendance days; require local boards of education seeking to revise its calendar to submit a plan for approval to the Department of Education; allow instructional time made up to count as employee contracted days; EMERGENCY.

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.

Direct the Kentucky Department of Education to submit a list of resources that are provided to families during the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process and recommendations for possible additional family supports to the Legislative Research Commission by December 1, 2026.

Amend KRS 162.055 to allow public school property to be utilized for employee housing; create a new section of KRS Chapter 162 to allow school boards or school district finance corporations to use property currently owned or newly leased to provide housing options for employees upon a determination that the use of land serves the educational purposes of the school district; make technical changes.