Bill > HB376

This bill, known as the Kentucky Student Tuition Protection and Accountability Act, aims to regulate tuition increases at public postsecondary education institutions in Kentucky. It amends existing law to prohibit the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), the state agency responsible for overseeing public higher education, from raising tuition and mandatory student fees by more than 5% annually for Kentucky resident students and 7% annually for non-Kentucky resident students, unless approved by the General Assembly. For students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs at the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky, and comprehensive universities, tuition and mandatory student fees will be frozen for four consecutive years of continuous enrollment, meaning a student maintains at least part-time registration each fall and spring semester. If a student fails to maintain continuous enrollment or graduates, their tuition and fees will revert to the rate for incoming students in the same program. Institutions must notify students at least four months before any tuition or fee increase that would affect them, and any tuition or fee hikes must be determined by the CPE and approved by a governing board by March 1st of the preceding academic year. The Act defines "mandatory student fee" as any fee assessed to all students that is not tuition, such as activity or technology fees, and "continuous enrollment" as maintaining at least part-time registration during the fall and spring semesters each academic year. This legislation is set to take effect on July 1, 2029.

Budget and Finance

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb376.html