Kentucky 2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee 2 R cosponsors

HB 649 — AN ACT relating to education.

Last action — returned to Primary and Secondary Education (H)

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 17, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 18% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    2 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (2 R).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Amend KRS 160.210 to require a county school district having reached an end-of-year enrollment of 25,000 or more students to add 2 board members appointed by the Auditor of Public Accounts; require the appointed members to reside in the district, hold bachelor's degrees, and have at least 5 years of finance experience; specify that appointed members shall not serve more than 2 consecutive terms; amend KRS 156.132 to authorize the commissioner of education to remove an appointed local board member for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence, or gross neglect of duty; amend KRS 160.160, 160.170, 160.180, and 160.190 to conform; EFFECTIVE, in part, January 1, 2027

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

4 changes Share ↗

Compared against the Kentucky Revised Statutes as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill amends existing law to establish changes in election divisions and board membership for large school districts, particularly in counties with a city of the first class, while also adding provisions for additional appointed board members based on student enrollment.

  • KRS 160.210

    five (5) divisions containing integral voting precincts and as equal in population insofar as is practicable. → five (5) divisions containing integral voting precincts and as equal in population insofar as is practicable. In counties containing a city of the first class wherein a merger pursuant to KRS 160.041 shall have been accomplished, there shall be seven (7) divisions as equal in population as practicable, with members elected from divisions.

    This change updates the structure of board member divisions for counties with a city of the first class to increase the divisions from five to seven.

  • KRS 160.210

    five (5) → seven (7)

    This adjustment specifies that large school districts now have seven divisions instead of five due to population equality considerations.

  • KRS 160.210

    upon recommendation of the chief state school officer, shall order the local board of education → upon recommendation of the chief state school officer, shall order the local board of education to make changes in school district divisions as are necessary to equalize population within the five (5) school divisions.

    Clarifies the process by which the Kentucky Board of Education can require changes in school district divisions to equalize population.

  • KRS 160.210

    two (2) → two (2) additional board members appointed by the Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts who: must reside in the school district; hold a bachelor's degree; and have five (5) or more years experience in the field of finance.

    This amendment establishes criteria for additional board members in large districts based on student enrollment.

Action History

  1. returned to Primary and Secondary Education (H)

  2. 2nd reading

  3. taken from Primary and Secondary Education (H)

  4. returned to Primary and Secondary Education (H)

  5. 1st reading

  6. taken from Primary and Secondary Education (H)

  7. to Primary and Secondary Education (H)

  8. to Committee on Committees (H)

  9. introduced in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 136 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (136)

136 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 136 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 649 do?
Amend KRS 160.210 to require a county school district having reached an end-of-year enrollment of 25,000 or more students to add 2 board members appointed by the Auditor of Public Accounts; require the appointed members to reside in the district, hold bachelor's degrees, and have at least 5 years of finance experience; specify that appointed members shall not serve more than 2 consecutive terms; amend KRS 156.132 to authorize the commissioner of education to remove an appointed local board member for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence, or gross neglect of duty; amend KRS 160.160, 160.170, 160.180, and 160.190 to conform; EFFECTIVE, in part, January 1, 2027
Who sponsors HB 649?
HB 649 is sponsored by Timmy Truett (Republican) and Scott Lewis (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 649?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 17, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 649?
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Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

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