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AN ACT relating to student financial aid. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 164.767 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) No loan guarantee shall be approved, nor any loan, grant, scholarship, recognition 4
award, work-study reimbursement, or other form of financial aid shall be disbursed, 5
under programs authorized by KRS 164.740 to 164.790[164.785], to any student 6
who is an inmate or who is incarcerated in a penal institution unless funds have first 7
been provided to all other eligible students who have applied in accordance with the 8
administrative regulations of the authority. 9
(2) The Department of Corrections and any person or organization responsible for the 10
supervision or operation of a penal institution shall cooperate with the authority and 11
participating institutions in providing information to them to identify applicants 12
who are inmates at or incarcerated in a penal institution. 13
(3) A person shall not be eligible for any program authorized under KRS 164.740 to 14
164.790 if he or she: 15
(a) Is a violent offender as defined in KRS 439.3401; or 16
(b) Has been convicted of a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor as 17
defined in KRS 17.500. 18
(4) A person shall not be eligible for any program authorized under KRS 164.740 to 19
164.790 while incarcerated in a penal institution for a conviction of: 20
(a) Aggravated trafficking in a controlled substance under KRS 218A.142; 21
(b) A second or subsequent offense of trafficking in a controlled substance 22
under KRS 218A.1412 or 218A.1413; or 23
(c) Importing heroin, carfentanil, fentanyl, or fentanyl derivatives under 24
218A.1410. 25
(5) The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority shall promulgate 26
administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to implement the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1952
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requirements of this section. 1
Section 2. KRS 164.7874 is amended to read as follows: 2
As used in KRS 164.7871 to 164.7885: 3
(1) "Academic term" means a semester or other time period specified in an 4
administrative regulation promulgated by the authority; 5
(2) "Academic year" means a period consisting of at least the minimum school term, as 6
defined in KRS 158.070; 7
(3) "ACT score" means the composite score achieved on the American College Test at 8
a national test site on a national test date or the college admissions examination 9
administered statewide under KRS 158.6453(5)(b)5. if the exam is the ACT, or an 10
equivalent score, as determined by the authority, on the SAT administered by the 11
College Board, Inc.; 12
(4) "Authority" means the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority; 13
(5) "Award period" means the fall and spring consecutive academic terms within one 14
(1) academic year; 15
(6) "Council" means the Council on Postsecondary Education created under KRS 16
164.011; 17
(7) "Eligible high school student" means any person who: 18
(a) Is a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States and Kentucky 19
resident; 20
(b) Was enrolled after July 1, 1998: 21
1. In a Kentucky high school for at least one hundred forty (140) days of 22
the minimum school term unless exempted by the authority's executive 23
director upon documentation of extreme hardship, while meeting the 24
KEES curriculum requirements, and was enrolled in a Kentucky high 25
school at the end of the academic year; 26
2. In a Kentucky high school for the fall academic term of the senior year 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1952
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and who: 1
a. Was enrolled during the entire academic term; 2
b. Completed the high school's graduation requirements during the 3
fall academic term; and 4
c. Was not enrolled in a secondary school during any other academic 5
term of that academic year; or 6
3. In the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, the 7
Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, or in high 8
school at a model and practice school under KRS 164.380 while meeting 9
the Kentucky educational excellence scholarship curriculum 10
requirements; and 11
(c) Has a grade point average of 2.5 or above at the end of any academic year 12
beginning after July 1, 1998, or at the end of the fall academic term for a 13
student eligible under paragraph (b) 2. of this subsection;[ and 14
(d) Is not a convicted felon;] 15
(8) "Eligible postsecondary student" means a citizen, national, or permanent resident of 16
the United States and Kentucky resident, as determined by the participating 17
institution in accordance with criteria established by the council for the purposes of 18
admission and tuition assessment, who: 19
(a) Earned a KEES award; 20
(b) Has the required postsecondary GPA and credit hours required under KRS 21
164.7881; 22
(c) Has remaining semesters of eligibility under KRS 164.7881; and 23
(d) Is enrolled in a participating institution as a part-time or full-time student;[ 24
and 25
(e) Is not a convicted felon;] 26
(9) "Full-time student" means a student enrolled in a postsecondary program of study 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1952
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that meets the full-time student requirements of the participating institution in 1
which the student is enrolled; 2
(10) "Grade point average" or "GPA" means the grade point average earned by an 3
eligible student and reported by the high school or participating institution in which 4
the student was enrolled based on a scale of 4.0 or its equivalent if the high school 5
or participating institution that the student attends does not use the 4.0 grade scale; 6
(11) "High school" means any Kentucky public high school, the Gatton Academy of 7
Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, the Craft Academy for Excellence in 8
Science and Mathematics, a high school of a model and practice school under KRS 9
164.380, and any private, parochial, or church school located in Kentucky that has 10
been certified by the Kentucky Board of Education as voluntarily complying with 11
curriculum, certification, and textbook standards established by the Kentucky Board 12
of Education under KRS 156.160; 13
(12) "KEES" or "Kentucky educational excellence scholarship" means a scholarship 14
provided under KRS 164.7871 to 164.7885; 15
(13) "KEES award" means: 16
(a) For an eligible high school student, the sum of the KEES base amount for 17
each academic year of high school plus any KEES supplemental amount, as 18
adjusted pursuant to KRS 164.7881; and 19
(b) For a student eligible under KRS 164.7879(3)(e), the KEES supplemental 20
amount as adjusted pursuant to KRS 164.7881; 21
(14) "KEES award maximum" means the sum of the KEES base amount earned in each 22
academic year of high school plus any KEES supplemental amount earned; 23
(15) "KEES base amount" or "base amount" means the amount earned by an eligible 24
high school student based on the student's GPA pursuant to KRS 164.7879; 25
(16) "KEES curriculum" means five (5) courses of study, except for students who meet 26
the criteria of subsection (7)(b)2. of this section, in an academic year as determined 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1952
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in accordance with an administrative regulation promulgated by the authority; 1
(17) "KEES supplemental amount" means the amount earned by an eligible student 2
based on the student's ACT score pursuant to KRS 164.7879; 3
(18) "KEES trust fund" means the Wallace G. Wilkinson Kentucky educational 4
excellence scholarship trust fund; 5
(19) "On track to graduate" means the number of cumulative credit hours earned as 6
compared to the number of hours determined by the postsecondary education 7
institution as necessary to complete a bachelor's degree by the end of eight (8) 8
academic terms or ten (10) academic terms if a student is enrolled in an 9
undergraduate program that requires five (5) years of study; 10
(20) "Participating institution" means an "institution" as defined in KRS 164.001 that is 11
eligible to participate in the federal Pell Grant program, executes a contract with the 12
authority on terms the authority deems necessary or appropriate for the 13
administration of its programs, and: 14
(a) 1. Is publicly operated; 15
2. Is licensed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and has operated for at 16
least ten (10) years, offers an associate or baccalaureate degree program 17
of study not comprised solely of sectarian instruction, and admits as 18
regular students only high school graduates, recipients of a High School 19
Equivalency Diploma, or students transferring from another accredited 20
degree granting institution; or 21
3. Is designated by the authority as an approved out-of-state institution that 22
offers a degree program in a field of study that is not offered at any 23
institution in the Commonwealth; and 24
(b) Continues to commit financial resources to student financial assistance 25
programs; and 26
(21) "Part-time student" means a student enrolled in a postsecondary program of study 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1952
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who does not meet the full-time student requirements of the participating institution 1
in which the student is enrolled and who is enrolled for at least six (6) credit hours, 2
or the equivalent for an institution that does not use credit hours. 3