Blueprint Legislative Priority

Increase Student Safety

House Bill 1 would increase student safety in Kentucky schools by increasing students’ access to behavioral health services, fostering supportive learning environments, and utilizing proven strategies to address physical safety.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet here.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Establish Supports for Kinship and Fictive Caregivers

House Bill 2 would establish the development of supportive services for kinship and fictive kin caregivers, including, but not limited to, monetary and respite supports. It would also establish a reporting mechanism to track and analyze data on relative and fictive kin caregiver placements.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Make School Campuses Tobacco-Free

House Bill 11 would help kids grow into healthy adults by enacting a statewide, comprehensive tobacco-free school campus policy.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet here.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Begin Aligning State Law with Federal Family First Prevention Services Act

House Bill 158 would take steps to align state law with the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, including modifying background checks for child serving agencies. It would also establish a bill of rights for children in foster care.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet here.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Increase Student Safety

Senate Bill 1 would increase student safety in Kentucky schools by increasing students’ access to behavioral health services, fostering supportive learning environments, and utilizing proven strategies to address physical safety.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet here.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Respond Effectively to Children Who Get in Trouble

Senate Bill 20 would improve the effectiveness of the youth justice system by holding youth accountable in ways that gets them back on track and builds safer communities.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet here.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Make School Campuses Tobacco-Free

Senate Bill 27 would help kids grow into healthy adults by enacting a statewide, comprehensive tobacco-free school campus policy.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet here.

Summary

House Bill 48 would establish six weeks of paid maternity leave for new mothers who have worked at larger companies for at least a year. Paid maternity leave after the birth of a child lessens the risk of pediatric abusive head trauma and contributes to the healthy development of infants and toddlers.

Summary

House Bill 88 would establish a goal of increasing physical activity of students in kindergarten through grade five to 20 minutes per day.

Summary

House Bill 89 would add four new members to the External Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Panel and require the panel to report to the Child Welfare Oversight and Advisory Committee.

Summary

House Bill 101 would strengthen statutes regarding the investigation and prosecution of child abuse.

Summary

House Bill 102 would remove the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse incidences.

Summary

House Bill 103 would remove the clergy-penitent exemption to require clergy to report suspected child abuse.

Summary

House Bill 104 would strengthen statutes regarding the prosecution of child sexual abuse.

Summary

House Bill 105 would strengthen statutes regarding the prosecution of child sexual abuse cases that cross multiple jurisdictions.

Summary

House Bill 142 would require vision examinations upon a student’s enrollment to kindergarten and grade six.

Summary

House Bill 149 would require a person who suspects an employee of a child maltreatment reporting entity, including the local or state police departments, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, or the County or Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, of child abuse or neglect to report to the employee’s superior, as well as to another reporting entity.

Summary

House Bill 202 would protect children by ending the use of physical punishment, such as paddling, shaking, or spanking, in public schools.

Summary

House Bill 209 would establish minimum requirements of placing drinking fountains and water bottle filling stations in newly constructed school buildings.

Summary

House Bill 378 would support both the education and health of children who have experienced homelessness by allowing flexibility towards earning high school credits and a high school diploma and granting the ability to access to their birth certificate.

Summary

Senate Bill 8 would ensure students have educators who work effectively and safely with children by implementing a balanced process for reviewing cases when teachers are fired, suspended, or reprimanded, and would also protect teacher confidentiality when a teacher needs to take a leave of absence.

Summary

Senate Bill 15 would clarify background check requirements of adults working in schools to keep kids safe and relieve administrative burden.

Summary

Senate Bill 18 would ensure expectant mothers have reasonable accommodations made at work that allow them to support their families, have a safe pregnancy, and support breastfeeding.

Summary

Senate Bill 31 would ensure children in out-of-home care, like foster care, have frequent and ongoing interaction with their siblings in other out-of-home care placements, which better aligns state law with the federal Family First Prevention Services Act.

Summary

Senate Bill 53 would establish a program to support relative and fictive kin caregivers who have temporary or permanent custody of a child. Funding within the state budget would still be necessary.

Summary

Senate Bill 218 would promote awareness around harms of e-cigarette use and establish an anonymous reporting mechanism for students to report concerns about tobacco use, including vaping, in schools.