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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky HB 875 allows nonpublic school students to play public school sports under set conditions
Last action · March 11, 2026: to Primary and Secondary Education (H)Sponsor: Rebecca Raymer
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky HB 875 allows students enrolled in nonpublic or home-school settings to participate in at their assigned local public school, provided they meet specific academic, fee, and behavioral standards. students must register their intent to participate before the first instructional day of the semester and are subject to the same physical, age, and transfer rules as public school students.
Expands extracurricular sports access for private and home-schooled students by requiring public school districts to permit their participation, while shifting transportation responsibilities to the student's family.
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.
Nonpublic school students
Gain eligibility to participate in public school interscholastic athletics subject to meeting academic, fee, and registration requirements.
Public school districts
Must permit eligible nonpublic school students to try out and participate in school athletic teams without discrimination.
Parents and guardians of nonpublic school students
Must provide appropriate academic documentation, pay applicable fees, register intent by the semester deadline, and arrange student transportation.
Key Facts
- Nonpublic school students become eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics at the public school assigned to their residential attendance area.
- Participation requires paying the same activity fees, following the same code of conduct, and meeting the same academic standards as public school students.
- Appropriate documentation for academic eligibility includes standardized test results, a student work portfolio showing grade-level performance, or prior school records.
- Nonpublic school students must register their intent to participate with the school district prior to the first instructional day of the semester.
Show all 9 facts
- Students must comply with the same physical examination, immunization, insurance, age, and semester eligibility requirements as other athletes.
- Families are responsible for transporting participating nonpublic school students, though students may use existing school transportation if it incurs no additional district expenses.
- Public schools are prohibited from discriminating against otherwise eligible nonpublic school students when selecting team members.
- Participation is classified as a privilege rather than a right, and the measure does not create a private cause of action against school districts, officials, or the department.
- The legislation does not grant public schools, school districts, or the department any regulatory authority or supervision over a nonpublic school student's broader educational program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can private or home-schooled students play sports at their local public school?
What documentation is required to prove a nonpublic student meets academic standards?
Who is responsible for transporting the nonpublic student to practices and games?
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 · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Mar 11, 2026HouseCommitteeto Primary and Secondary Education (H)
- Mar 4, 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 55)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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