Summary of HB 497 (2026 Regular Session, Kentucky)
Purpose
- The bill expands and clarifies state-funded postsecondary tuition waivers for veterans, public safety personnel, and certain youth in foster or juvenile justice systems, and extends eligibility concepts to additional categories and longer timeframes in some cases.
Scope and main themes
- Creates and/or adjusts tuition waiver provisions for:
- Spouses and children of disabled veterans, POWs, missing in action, or 100% service-connected disabled veterans.
- Surviving spouses and children of law enforcement officers, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel who die or are disabled in the line of duty.
- Foster or adopted children involved with state adoption/juvenile services systems.
- Applies to state-supported colleges, universities, community colleges, and vocational training institutions in Kentucky.
Key provisions and changes
1) 164.515 (veterans and disabled service members’ families)
- Eligibility: Spouse, child, stepchild, or orphan of a permanently and totally disabled National Guard/Reserve member, disabled war veteran, 100% service-connected disabled veteran, POW, or missing in action individual.
- Benefit: Tuition and mandatory fees waived for up to 128 undergraduate credit hours (or up to 45 months for vocational programs, as applicable) at state-supported institutions.
- Qualifications: The veteran/servicemember must have disability ratings by VA/DoD, and the family relationship must be documented (birth/adoption/marriage). Residency in Kentucky is required for the service member; survivorship cases reference applicable records.
- Extension: If the beneficiary’s academic path is delayed by military service or related duties, the eligibility period can be extended by the number of years/terms of service, rounded up to the next year.
2) 164.284 (general elderly student waiver)
- Old provision: Any resident aged 65+ could enroll in state institutions with waiver of tuition for up to 8 credit hours per semester, subject to capacity.
- Change: Retains the 8-credit-hour per semester limit and need-based requirement via FAFSA; institutions may deny admission if classes are full or extra units are required.
- Note: The amendment preserves need-based FAFSA verification and credits against tuition/fees with grants applied first.
3) 164.2841 (surviving spouses and children of public safety personnel)
- Eligibility: Surviving spouse (no remarriage) and surviving child or stepchild under 26 of a law enforcement officer, firefighter/volunteer firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel killed in active service or who died due to service-connected disability.
- Benefit: Tuition and mandatory fees waived for up to 128 undergraduate credit hours.
- Documentation: Requires proof of parent-child/spousal relationships and service-related death/disability from the relevant agencies; allows certification from multiple applicable agencies.
- Extensions: Eligibility can extend by the number of terms the student was unable to enroll due to service obligations, with the same 128-credit-hour cap.
4) 164.2842 (similar provisions for disabled personnel families)
- Mirrors 164.2841 expansions for surviving spouses/children of disabled personnel, with identical credit-hour caps and extension mechanics.
- Includes medical evidence provisions if formal disability certification is unavailable.
5) 164.507 (deceased veterans’ families)
- Eligibility: Nonremarried surviving spouse and surviving child/stepchild under 26 of a deceased veteran who died in active duty or from service-connected disability, with Kentucky residency or marriage to a Kentucky resident.
- Benefit: 128 credit hours of tuition/fees, subject to the same 5-year termination window and extension mechanics per active duty/service periods.
- Documentation: Requires proof of service and death cause via designated agencies; requires FAFSA for need determination.
6) 164.2847 (foster/adopted children)
- Eligibility: Kentucky foster or adopted child under 26 with qualifying familial circumstances (e.g., state adoption assistance, Cabinet for Health and Family Services custody, independent living placement, or Cabinet custody on 18th birthday).
- Benefits: Tuition and mandatory fees waived for up to 128 credit hours; caps apply to cost of tuition for Kentucky residents if out-of-state.
- Juvenile Justice participants: Similar waiver provisions for DJJ foster children, with program-specific eligibility criteria and recommendations.
- Financial aid: FAFSA required; waiver cannot exceed the total cost of attendance after applying other aid; scholarships may reduce or offset incidental expenses as specified.
7) Reporting and restrictions
- The Council on Postsecondary Education must report nonidentifying graduation-rate data for waiver participants by Nov. 30 each year.
- Provisions do not guarantee admission or enrollment, do not require room/board waivers, and do not bar institutions from seeking other forms of aid (loans excepted).
Who is affected
- Eligible dependents of disabled military personnel and veterans.
- Surviving spouses and children of public safety officers who die or are disabled in the line of duty.
- Foster or adopted children connected to state adoption/juvenile services and those in DJJ custody seeking tuition waivers.
- Eligible low-income elderly students (65+) subject to capacity constraints and FAFSA-based needs.
Timeline and implementation
- Provisions are effective upon enactment; certain sections reference existing caps (128 credit hours, 36 months) and extension rules tied to service dates.
- Annual reporting by the Council on Postsecondary Education is required.
Notes
- The bill includes an amendment form (HB 497/HCS 1) with technical edits and refinements to certain sections; the core policy remains the broad expansion and alignment of tuition waiver eligibility for veterans, public safety personnel families, and foster/adopted/Juvenile Justice cases.
Overall impact
- Expands access to state-supported higher education for numerous categories with a consistent 128-credit-hour cap, while tying eligibility to verifiable service, status, and residency. It emphasizes extending benefits for service-related interruptions and for families of those who served or died in the line of duty.
