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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky establishes Adult Workforce Diploma Pilot Program for adults 21 and older
Last action · April 15, 2026: recommitted to Appropriations & Revenue (H)Sponsors: Robert Duvall and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky creates the Adult Workforce Diploma Pilot Program, administered by the Education and Labor Cabinet, to help residents aged 21 and older who lack a high school diploma earn one while building employability and career skills. The program funds approved program providers through milestone payments for credits, credentials, and diplomas, and includes performance standards and reporting requirements.
Adult Kentucky residents who never finished high school gain access to a structured diploma pathway with integrated career training, while approved educational providers receive state-funded milestone disbursements totaling up to $1,100 per diploma.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Adult residents at least 21 years of age without a high school diploma
Adult residents gain access to a structured diploma program, remediation, workforce credentials, and career placement services without paying tuition or state/federal fees.
Approved program providers
Approved educational entities receive state funding disbursements based on student milestone completions and must submit monthly invoices and annual performance reports.
Education and Labor Cabinet
The cabinet administers the program, manages the fund, reviews provider applications, issues milestone payments, and promulgates administrative regulations.
Key Facts
- The General Assembly establishes the Adult Workforce Diploma Pilot Program administered by the Education and Labor Cabinet for Kentucky residents at least twenty-one years of age who have not earned a high school diploma.
- A trust and agency account called the Adult Workforce Diploma Pilot Program fund is created to pay approved program providers, with unexpended funds carrying forward at the close of the fiscal year.
- Accredited providers must submit an application form to the Education and Labor Cabinet on or before August 15 of each year to be designated as an approved program provider.
- The Education and Labor Cabinet must approve qualifying providers by October 15 of each year, and approved providers must begin enrolling students by November 15 of each year.
Show all 9 facts
- Approved program providers receive milestone payments including $275 for each completed half unit of high school credit, employability skills certification, or workforce credential requiring less than 50 hours of training.
- Approved program providers receive $550 for each workforce credential requiring 50 to 100 hours of training, $825 for credentials requiring over 100 hours, and $1,100 for each earned high school diploma.
- Providers must submit monthly invoices by the tenth calendar day of each month, and the cabinet pays invoices in the order submitted until available monies are exhausted.
- Beginning July 1, 2027, the cabinet reviews provider data to ensure a minimum graduation rate of 50 percent beginning with the second cohort and an average student cost per graduate of $7,500 or less.
- The section expires on July 1, 2029, unless extended by an act of the General Assembly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to participate in the Adult Workforce Diploma Pilot Program?
How are educational providers paid under this program?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
9 actions- Apr 15, 2026HouseCommitteerecommitted to Appropriations & Revenue (H)
- Mar 26, 2026Housetaken from the Orders of the Day returned to Rules
- Mar 17, 2026Housefloor amendment (2) filed to Committee Substitute
- Mar 11, 2026Houseposted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 12 2026
- Mar 4, 2026Housefloor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute
- Feb 12, 2026HouseFloor2nd reading, to Rules
Show 3 earlier actions
- Feb 11, 2026Housereported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
- Feb 4, 2026HouseCommitteeto Primary and Secondary Education (H)
- Jan 28, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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