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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky legislature relieves school districts of unauthorized reporting and limits state data mandates
Last action · March 12, 2026: received in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)Sponsor: Shane Baker
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky restricts the state Department of Education from demanding reporting components not explicitly required by state or federal law, while repealing minimum requirements for summer learning camps and declaring an emergency effective July 1, 2026.
School districts gain regulatory relief by eliminating non-statutory data collection and components, while specific federal and state-funded reports remain mandatory.
- The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the state legislature responsible for enacting laws governing public education. context
- School district reporting mandates in Kentucky dictate the administrative and planning documents schools must submit annually to state education authorities. 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.
school districts
School districts are relieved from completing non-statutory comprehensive improvement plan components and administrative reporting mandates.
Kentucky Department of Education
The department is prohibited from requiring reporting components that lack explicit statutory or federal backing.
school council members
School council members are subject to training requirements, background checks, and nondisclosure rules.
Key Facts
- The Kentucky Department of Education and Kentucky Board of Education are barred from requiring school improvement plan or district improvement plan components not expressly required by federal law or state statute.
- Components of administrative regulation 703 KAR 5:225 imposing reporting requirements not expressly required by federal or state law are declared null and void.
- The statute explicitly permits the Department of Education to require specific operational, federal, and state-funded reports, including 21st Century Community Learning Center reports, Perkins Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment, and pupil transportation forms.
- KRS 158.867, detailing minimum requirements for summer learning camps at schools with certain Title I programs, is repealed.
Show all 7 facts
- School councils in schools with 8% or more minority students must have at least one minority member, with special election procedures outlined if needed.
- Criminal background checks and clear child abuse or neglect checks are mandated for new hires, student teachers, school council parent members, and certain adult volunteers or service providers.
- Superintendents may transfer school employees charged with felonies to another position at the same rate of pay to prevent disruption of educational processes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What reports are schools still required to submit under this bill?
What reporting requirements are eliminated by the legislation?
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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- Mar 12, 2026SenateIntroducedreceived in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)
- Mar 11, 2026HouseFloor3rd reading, passed 94-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (1)
- Mar 9, 2026Houseposted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, March 10 2026
- Mar 5, 2026HouseFloor2nd reading, to Rules
- Mar 4, 2026Housereported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute
- Feb 25, 2026HouseCommitteeto Primary and Secondary Education (H)
Show 1 earlier action
- Feb 18, 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
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Reduction of Administrative Mandates
The measure systematically curtails the regulatory authority of the Kentucky Department of Education by restricting data collections to explicit statutory mandates.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 80)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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