---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to parental rights."
description: "Amend KRS 199.011 to define \"disability\"; amend KRS 199.471 to establish that no petition for placement or adoption of children shall be denied on the sole basis of a disability of the adoptive applicant and enhance procedures for determination of placement or adoption; amend KRS 199.473 to require the secretary review any refusal of a placement of a child due to a disability; that targeted adaptive or support services be offered; and that the cabinet retain all documentation for two years; amend KRS 625.050 to establish that no petition for involuntary termination of parental rights shall be ordered on the sole basis of a disability of the parent; amend KRS 625.090 regarding procedures for an involuntary termination of parental rights involving a parent with a disability."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2025RS"
identifier: "SB 26"
citation: "Kentucky SB 26 (2025RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Children and Minors", "Civil Procedure", "Courts", "Circuit", "Courts", "District", "Courts", "Family", "Disabilities and the Disabled", "Parental Rights", "State Agencies"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 21
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-01-07T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2025-03-18T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a0b8a544-5302-4c5d-ae73-00b004e5aa1b"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/25RS/sb26.html"
source_hash: "456db4c75cce86147937771db831e39f971cd71aad3cc20285a05d289299fb5c"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ky"]
---

# Kentucky SB 26 (2025RS) — AN ACT relating to parental rights.

Amend KRS 199.011 to define "disability"; amend KRS 199.471 to establish that no petition for placement or adoption of children shall be denied on the sole basis of a disability of the adoptive applicant and enhance procedures for determination of placement or adoption; amend KRS 199.473 to require the secretary review any refusal of a placement of a child due to a disability; that targeted adaptive or support services be offered; and that the cabinet retain all documentation for two years; amend KRS 625.050 to establish that no petition for involuntary termination of parental rights shall be ordered on the sole basis of a disability of the parent; amend KRS 625.090 regarding procedures for an involuntary termination of parental rights involving a parent with a disability.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/25RS/sb26/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 26** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/25RS/documents/0026.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/25RS/sb26/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- Final Passage — **97–0** (pass) · upper
- PASS SB 26 W/ sfa1 — **37–0** (pass) · upper

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-01-07T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2025-01-07T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2025-01-09T05:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (S) `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-06T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-07T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2025-02-07T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, February 12, 2025
- **2025-02-12T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed `amendment-introduction`
- **2025-02-12T05:00:00+00:00** passed over and retained in the Orders of the Day `passage`
- **2025-02-13T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 37-0 with Floor Amendment (1) `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-02-14T05:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2025-02-14T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-25T05:00:00+00:00** to Families & Children (H) `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-27T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-28T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2025-03-04T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, March 05, 2025
- **2025-03-11T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 97-0 `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-03-11T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2025-03-11T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2025-03-11T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2025-03-11T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2025-03-18T04:00:00+00:00** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 26) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a0b8a544-5302-4c5d-ae73-00b004e5aa1b`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).