The General Assembly’s Newest Budget Plan: Analysis

On April 1, the Kentucky House and Senate approved the budget shown in the House Bill 500 Free Conference Committee Report and sent the bill to Governor Beshear. We released our first statement the next day, and we can now share more complete analysis.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

The FCCR budget restores most child care line items but omits a critical child care line item and decreases the HANDS home visiting program funding, along with flat funding for state preschool. As noted in our April 2 statement, the Prichard Committee urges the General Assembly in its final days (April 14 and 15) to find a way to restore the $28 million annual line item for child care provider reimbursements.

Here’s our report with dollar amounts and comparisons to past funding.

P-12 LEARNING

The SEEK guarantee will receive added state dollars, as will state contributions to teacher retirement, school employee health care, and Tier 1 added funding. School transportation will not receive an increase and will not have the full funding specified in state law.

The FCCR Budget also eliminated the line-item funding for Numeracy Counts work to strengthen mathematics teaching and learning and for students’ Advanced Placement fees on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Prichard Committee also calls for end-of-session efforts to restore those Numeracy and AP dollars.

Again, here’s our full report on past and proposed funding for P-12 line items.

POSTSECONDARY

Overall, higher education received reduced General Fund support, including cuts to most institutions and no increase to the Postsecondary Performance Fund. The Kentucky Community and Technical College System particularly needs added resources given its enrollment growth and its cornerstone role in building economic mobility. Accordingly, the Prichard Committee calls for final efforts to restore KCTCS to at least its FY 2026 funding level.

And here’s our postsecondary report with funding detail and an added chart on General Fund support for financial aid through the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority.