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AN ACT relating to the Kentucky educational excellence scholarship. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
ď˘Section 1. KRS 164.7879 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Kentucky educational excellence scholarship awards shall be based upon an 4
established base scholarship amount and an eligible high school student's grade 5
point average. The base scholarship amount for students attaining 6
(a) A grade point average of at least 2.5 for academic years[the] 1998-1999 7
through 2023-2024[ academic year] shall be as follows: 8
GPA Amount GPA Amount 9
2.50 $125.00 3.30 $325.00 10
2.60 $150.00 3.40 $350.00 11
2.70 $175.00 3.50 $375.00 12
2.75 $187.00 3.60 $400.00 13
2.80 $200.00 3.70 $425.00 14
2.90 $225.00 3.75 $437.00 15
3.00 $250.00 3.80 $450.00 16
3.10 $275.00 3.90 $475.00 17
3.20 $300.00 4.00 $500.00 18
3.25 $312.00 19
The authority shall review the base amount of the Kentucky educational excellence 20
scholarship each academic year and may promulgate an administrative regulation to 21
make adjustments after considering the availability of funds; and 22
(b) A grade point average of at least 3.0 beginning with the 2024-2025 23
academic year that shall be as follows: 24
GPA Amount GPA Amount 25
3.00 $264.00 3.60 $414.00 26
3.10 $289.00 3.70 $439.00 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 870
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3.20 $314.00 3.75 $451.00 1
3.25 $326.00 3.80 $464.00 2
3.30 $339.00 3.90 $489.00 3
3.40 $364.00 4.00 $514.00 4
3.50 $389.00 5
The authority shall review the base amount of the Kentucky educational 6
excellence scholarship each academic year and may promulgate an 7
administrative regulation to make adjustments after considering the availability 8
of funds. 9
(2) (a) The authority shall commit to provide to each eligible high school student the 10
base amount of the Kentucky educational excellence scholarship for each 11
academic year of high school study in the Kentucky educational excellence 12
scholarship curriculum that the high school student has attained at least a 13
3.0[2.5] grade point average. The award shall be based upon the eligible high 14
school student's grade point average at the close of each academic year. An 15
award attributable to a past academic year shall not be increased after the 16
award has been earned by an eligible high school student, regardless of any 17
subsequent increases made to the base amount of the Kentucky educational 18
excellence scholarship through the promulgation of an administrative 19
regulation by the authority. 20
(b) Notwithstanding the definitions of "eligible high school student" and "high 21
school" in KRS 164.7874, any high school student who maintains Kentucky 22
residency and completes the academic courses that are required for a 23
Kentucky educational excellence scholarship while participating in an 24
approved educational high school foreign exchange program or participating 25
in the United States Congressional Page School may apply his or her grade 26
point average for that academic year toward the base as described in 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 870
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paragraph (a) of this subsection. The grade point average shall be reported by 1
the student's Kentucky home high school, based on an official transcript from 2
the school that the student attended during the out-of-state educational 3
experience. The authority shall promulgate administrative regulations that 4
describe the approval process for the educational exchange programs that 5
qualify under this paragraph. The provisions in this paragraph shall likewise 6
apply to any Kentucky high school student who participated in an approved 7
educational exchange program or in a Congressional Page School since the 8
1998-99 school year and maintained his or her Kentucky residency 9
throughout. 10
(c) 1. Notwithstanding the definitions of "eligible high school student" and 11
"high school" in KRS 164.7874 and the requirement that a student 12
graduate from a Kentucky high school, a high school student who 13
completes the KEES curriculum while attending an accredited out-of-14
state high school or Department of Defense school may apply the grade 15
point average for any applicable academic year toward the base as 16
described in paragraph (a) of this subsection and shall also qualify for a 17
supplemental award under subsection (3) of this section when: 18
a. His or her custodial parent or guardian is in active service of the 19
Armed Forces of the United States; 20
b. The student attended an accredited out-of-state high school or a 21
Department of Defense school as a result of the custodial parent's 22
or guardian's military transfer outside of Kentucky; and 23
c. The student earned a KEES base amount at a Kentucky high 24
school prior to the custodial parent's or guardian's military transfer 25
outside of Kentucky. 26
2. The student or parent shall arrange for the out-of-state school to report 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 870
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the student's grade point average each academic year and the student's 1
highest ACT score to the authority as required under KRS 164.7885. 2
The authority shall promulgate administrative regulations implementing 3
the requirements in this paragraph, including: 4
a. The documentation that the parent shall submit to the authority 5
establishing the student's eligibility for the scholarship; and 6
b. The assurances that an out-of-state institution shall submit to the 7
authority for submission of the student grade point average. 8
3. The provisions in this paragraph shall apply to the 2001-2002 school 9
year and thereafter. 10
(d) Beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year, a student who meets the 11
Kentucky core academic standards for high school graduation established in 12
administrative regulation and graduates after completing three (3) years of 13
high school shall receive a Kentucky educational excellence scholarship 14
award equivalent to completing high school in four (4) years. The award shall 15
be determined by dividing the total actual KEES scholarship earned under 16
subsection (1) of this section by three (3) and multiplying that number by four 17
(4). The resulting number shall be the annual award the student is eligible for 18
under subsection (1) of this section. 19
(3) (a) The authority shall commit to provide to each eligible high school student 20
graduating from high school before June 30, 1999, and achieving a score of at 21
least 15 on the American College Test, a supplemental award for the award 22
period beginning in the fall of 1999, based on the eligible high school 23
student's highest ACT score attained by the date of graduation from high 24
school. The amount of the supplemental award shall be determined as follows: 25
ACT Annual ACT Annual 26
Score Bonus Score Bonus 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 870
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15 $21 22 $171 1
16 $43 23 $193 2
17 $64 24 $214 3
18 $86 25 $236 4
19 $107 26 $257 5
20 $129 27 $279 6
21 $150 28 or above $300 7
Subsequent supplemental awards for eligible high school students graduating 8
before June 30, 1999, shall be determined in accordance with the provisions 9
of paragraph (b) of this subsection. 10
(b) The authority shall commit to provide to each eligible high school student 11
upon achievement after June 30, 1999, of an ACT score of at least 15 on the 12
American College Test a supplemental award based on the eligible high 13
school student's highest ACT score attained by the date of graduation from 14
high school. The amount of the supplemental award shall be determined as 15
follows: 16
ACT ACT 17
Score Amount Score Amount 18
15 $36 22 $286 19
16 $71 23 $321 20
17 $107 24 $357 21
18 $143 25 $393 22
19 $179 26 $428 23
20 $214 27 $464 24
21 $250 28 and above $500 25
The authority shall review the base amount of the supplemental award 26
beginning with the 2001-2002 academic year and each academic year 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 870
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thereafter and may promulgate an administrative regulation to make 1
adjustments after considering the availability of funds. 2
(c) Beginning with the 2008-2009 academic year, the authority shall commit to 3
provide a supplemental award for achievement on examinations for Advanced 4
Placement or International Baccalaureate as defined in KRS 164.002 to an 5
eligible high school student whose family was eligible for free or reduced-6
price lunch for any year during high school enrollment. 7
1. The supplemental award for AP examination scores are as follows: 8
a. Two hundred dollars ($200) for each score of three (3); 9
b. Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each score of four (4); and 10
c. Three hundred dollars ($300) for each score of five (5). 11
2. The supplemental award for IB examination scores are as follows: 12
a. Two hundred dollars ($200) for each score of five (5); 13
b. Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each score of six (6); and 14
c. Three hundred dollars ($300) for each score of seven (7). 15
(d) Beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year, the authority shall commit to 16
provide a supplemental award for achievement on examinations for 17
Cambridge Advanced International as defined in KRS 164.002 to an eligible 18
high school student whose family was eligible for free or reduced-priced 19
lunch for any year during high school enrollment. The supplemental award for 20
Cambridge Advanced International examination scores are as follows: 21
1. Two hundred dollars ($200) for each score of "e"; 22
2. Two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each score of "c" or "d"; and 23
3. Three hundred dollars ($300) for each score of "a*", "a", or "b". 24
(e) The authority shall promulgate administrative regulations establishing the 25
eligibility criteria and procedures for making a supplemental award to 26
Kentucky residents who are citizens, nationals, or permanent residents of the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 870
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United States and who graduate from a nonpublic secondary school not 1
certified by the Kentucky Board of Education and Kentucky residents who are 2
citizens, nationals, or permanent residents of the United States and who obtain 3
a High School Equivalency Diploma within five (5) years of their high school 4
graduating class, and students under subsection (2)(c) of this section who do 5
not attend an accredited high school. 6