Introduced January 8, 2026
HB257
Log in to followAN ACT relating to the education assessment and accountability system.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms; permit local school districts to develop and implement a local accountability system; require data publication on the local accountability system; require the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to provide technical assistance in the development of local accountability; permit KDE to incentivize local accountability; set the time frame for requiring local accountability in all local school districts; authorize the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate…
In effect since July 15, 2026
Acts from the 2026 Regular Session that don't carry an emergency clause or set their own effective date took effect 90 days after the session adjourned (Ky. Constitution § 55).
Plain-language summary
This bill changes how Kentucky measures school and student performance. It allows local school districts to create their own accountability systems alongside the state system, adds individual student growth and student engagement as official measures of school success, and removes certain requirements like specific writing assessments and school climate as a state indicator. It also requires schools to adopt a writing program policy and post it publicly. Who it may affect: students, parents, local school district administrators, teachers, and school-based decision making councils.
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Legislative History
Primary Sponsor
J.T. Payne
Representative · House District 011
Co-sponsors (9)
Timmy Truett
Representative · House District 089
Tina Bojanowski
Representative · House District 032
George Brown
Representative · House District 077
Beverly Chester-Burton
Representative · House District 044
Daniel Grossberg
Representative · House District 030
Kevin Jackson
Representative · House District 020
Scott Lewis
Representative · House District 014
Steve Riley
Representative · House District 023
James Tipton
Representative · House District 053
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