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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky creates robotics competition fund and selection committee for schools and nonprofits
Last action · February 12, 2026: received in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)Sponsors: Chris Lewis and 12 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky establishes the robotics competition fund and the Robotics Funding Selection Committee to award grants to student robotics teams and competition hosts. The measure sets up a trust account in the State Treasury, requires 25% matching funds from applicants, and directs the Kentucky Department of Education to promulgate rules by April 1, 2027.
School robotics teams and event organizers across Kentucky gain access to state grant money for equipment, travel, and competition costs, provided they secure matching funds and meet safety requirements.
- The General Assembly is the legislative branch of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. context
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.
Eligible robotics teams
Student teams in grades seven through twelve can apply for grants to pay for coach stipends, equipment, and competition expenses.
Competition sponsors
Nonprofit organizations facilitating competitions can apply for infrastructure and operational grants capped at $200,000 over five years.
Team coaches
Coaches are eligible for stipends from grant awards and must submit to criminal background and child abuse checks.
Key Facts
- Establishes a trust and agency account in the State Treasury called the robotics competition fund, fed by state appropriations, gifts, grants, and private funds.
- Creates the 5-member Robotics Funding Selection Committee with representatives from postsecondary education, technical colleges, workforce boards, career education, and the science and technology corporation.
- Limits administrative costs for the Department of Education to 5 percent of available funds or $75,000, whichever is less, each fiscal year.
- Requires eligible robotics team grant applicants to provide proof of at least a 25 percent match of the requested amount in monetary or in-kind contributions.
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- Caps competition sponsor grant awards at a maximum of $200,000 during a five-year period.
- Requires the Department of Education to promulgate administrative regulations by April 1, 2027, based on committee recommendations.
- Mandates that competition sponsors carry adequate liability insurance and provide a facility-specific emergency action plan and an ADA accommodation plan.
- Requires all team coaches to submit to state and federal criminal background checks and a clear child abuse and neglect check within the past three years.
- Prohibits eligible schools or qualified robotics organizations from restricting or withholding designated team coach stipends.
- Directs the Department of Education to submit an annual report on fund income and expenditures to the Legislative Research Commission starting August 1, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to receive a grant from the robotics competition fund?
What expenses are covered by the grants?
Is a financial match required to get a grant?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House · in the Senate.
Procedural history
7 actions- Feb 12, 2026SenateIntroducedreceived in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)
- Feb 11, 2026HouseFloor3rd reading, passed 91-0
- Feb 10, 2026Houseposted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, February 11 2026
- Feb 5, 2026HouseFloor2nd reading, to Rules
- Feb 4, 2026Housereported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
- Jan 14, 2026HouseCommitteeto Primary and Secondary Education (H)
Show 1 earlier action
- Jan 7, 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
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of Dedicated Robotics Funding
Kentucky is creating a dedicated treasury fund and selection committee specifically directed at supporting advanced manufacturing and competitive robotics in K-12 education.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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