Efforts to Expand KEES Funding to Homeschoolers

FRANKFORT, KY. (November 1, 2023) – Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, was joined by Laura Edwards, a certified teacher and homeschooling mother of six, along with Rep. Steve Rawlings, R-Burlington, and others during Wednesday’s Interim Joint Committee (IJC) on Education meeting. One of the key topics of discussion centered around expanding funding opportunities for homeschool students under the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program. 

According to testimony, there are approximately 60,000 homeschooled students in Kentucky, approximately 20,000 of whom are high school students.

KEES provides money to high school students largely based on their grades and ACT scores, but homeschooled students do not have a traditional GPA, so as much as 80 percent of the money isn’t available for them.

KEES awards range from $125 per school year for a student with a 2.50 GPA to $500 for a 4.0 GPA. The ACT bonus ranges from $36 annually for a score of 15 to $500 for a score of 28 or better. That means high school students who carry a 4.0 GPA for all four years and earn a 28 on the ACT, can earn up to $2,500 per year for college, while home school students are limited to the ACT bonus of $500 per year.

Schickel has championed the efforts to expand this funding to homeschool students. He has pointed out the growing homeschooled population and that data shows that homeschooled children are on average some of the best-prepared students for college in the state.

He sponsored Senate Bill 24 in the 2023 Legislative Session, which would have allowed families who homeschool their children to access more KEES money. 

“My previous bill would have opened more access to KEES money in the manner that traditional students have,” Schickel said. “Specifically, the transcript part of the KEES money, and it provided a testing mechanism.”

The Senate passed Senate Bill 24 by a large margin with bipartisan support, but it was unsuccessful in the House of Representatives.

Rawlings will lead this effort by initiating the measure in the House during the upcoming 2024 Legislative Session. Senate Education Chair Steve West, R-Paris, will carry the measure in the state Senate.

“This has been well-vetted in this committee and has had bipartisan support, but I hope the 2024 Session is the year we can do it,” Schickel added.

Lawmakers appropriated a total of $243 million in the 2022-23 state budget. The General Assembly will take up the next biennial budget in the upcoming session, which begins on January 2.

Schickel, Rawlings, fellow lawmakers, and homeschool families hope to further expand KEES funding to more Kentucky students.