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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky Bill Extends KEES Scholarships to Students Attending Noncertified Private High Schools Starting in 2026
Last action · April 15, 2026: recommitted to Appropriations & Revenue (H)Sponsors: Shane Baker and 7 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky HB 298 expands the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program to include students enrolled in noncertified private secondary schools beginning after June 30, 2026. The legislation establishes a GPA conversion scale using dual credit courses and Advanced Placement exams for students attending schools not certified by the Kentucky Board of Education.
Students attending noncertified private secondary schools gain eligibility for state-funded college scholarships for the first time, changing financial aid qualification rules for families outside the state's traditional public and certified private school system.
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 noncertified school students
Students attending uncertified private secondary schools become eligible to earn KEES scholarship awards and supplemental amounts based on equivalent GPA metrics starting in the 2026-2027 academic year.
Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority
The authority is responsible for reviewing base amounts, promulgating administrative regulations, receiving student records, and distributing scholarship funds to participating institutions.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for KEES scholarships under the new provisions for noncertified schools?
How is a grade point average calculated for a student attending a noncertified high school?
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
5 actions- Apr 15, 2026HouseCommitteerecommitted to Appropriations & Revenue (H)
- Mar 18, 2026HouseFloor2nd reading, to Rules
- Mar 17, 2026Housereported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
- Jan 16, 2026HouseCommitteeto Postsecondary Education (H)
- Jan 9, 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.
Expansion of State Financial Aid to Noncertified Schools
The legislation marks a significant policy change by extending the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship program from traditional public and certified private schools to noncertified private secondary schools.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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