---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to education."
description: "Create a new section of KRS Chapter 151B to require no less than 85% of general fund appropriations to the Office of Adult Education to be used for programs fulfilling the adult education mission and goals of the office; amend KRS 151B.403 to require a qualifying test to obtain a High School Equivalency Diploma to offer a written or paper test administration."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2026RS"
identifier: "HB 826"
citation: "Kentucky HB 826 (2026RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Education", "Elementary And Secondary", "Education", "Vocational", "State Agencies", "Workforce"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["B. Chester-Burton", "J. Tipton", "S. Stalker"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 30
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2026-03-03T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2026-04-23T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6d520b1f-2e09-44cd-8ab8-677bf3ef01a9"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb826.html"
source_hash: "2c1ba5a12e3a081f78bc74f21e98c3b10a0da36904d0eae88aa2a160862d4570"
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 HB 826 (2026RS) — AN ACT relating to education.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 151B to require no less than 85% of general fund appropriations to the Office of Adult Education to be used for programs fulfilling the adult education mission and goals of the office; amend KRS 151B.403 to require a qualifying test to obtain a High School Equivalency Diploma to offer a written or paper test administration.

## 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/26RS/hb826/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 197** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0197.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb826/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- CONSENT PASSAGE OF HB 826 w/ SCS 1, SCA 1 (T) — **38–0** (pass) · lower
- Final Passage — **89–4** (pass) · lower
- Pass — **94–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- B. Chester-Burton — primary (person)
- J. Tipton — primary (person)
- S. Stalker — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in House `introduction`
- **2026-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-10T04:00:00+00:00** to Postsecondary Education (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Postsecondary Education (H)
- **2026-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** 1st reading `reading-1`
- **2026-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Postsecondary Education (H)
- **2026-03-17T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 2nd reading, to Rules `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-18T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 19 2026
- **2026-03-19T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 94-0 `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-03-20T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2026-03-20T04:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Committee on Committees (S)
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** 1st reading `reading-1`
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Committee on Committees (S)
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Committee on Committees (S)
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading `reading-2`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Committee on Committees (S)
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** to Education (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) as a consent bill `committee-passage`
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Wednesday, April 15 2026
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 38-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** to Rules (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** House concurred in Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** passed 89-4 `passage`
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-04-15T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2026-04-23T04:00:00+00:00** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 197) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/6d520b1f-2e09-44cd-8ab8-677bf3ef01a9`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).