Kentucky legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Kentucky HB717: AN ACT relating to health education.
Status: In committee, March 3, 2026
Repeal and reenact KRS 158.1415 to require each school district to provide healthy relationship education instruction to all public school students; establish minimum requirements for the instruction; establish minimum requirements for the healthy relationship curricula and instructional materials; prohibit a school or school district from restricting the ability of an instructor to answer a question related to the instruction; require that a school make the healthy relationship curricula and instructional materials available upon the request of a parent or guardian and establish a procedure for a parent or guardian to opt a student out of the instruction; require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations necessary to implement, administer, and enforce this section; require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations requiring that each school district submit a report on healthy relationship instruction in the district biennially; require the Kentucky Department of Education to maintain a list of recommended healthy relationship curricula and instructional materials; permit a parent or guardian to file an enforcement action in Circuit Court; provide that the Act may be cited as the Education for Healthy Youth Act.
What the bill says
An act relating to health education.
From the introduced text:
AN ACT relating to health education. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: SECTION 1. KRS 158.1415 IS REPEALED AND REENACTED TO READ AS FOLLOWS: (1) As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise: (a) "Age and developmentally appropriate" means topics, messages, and teaching methods suitable for children of a particular age, age group, or developmental level based on the cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral capacities of most students at that age level; (b) "Characteristics of effective programs" means the aspects of evidencebased programs, including development, content, and implementation of such programs, that: 1. Have been shown to be effective in terms of increasing knowledge, clarifying values and attitudes, increasing skills, and impacting behavior; and 2. Are widely recognized by leading medical and public health agencies to be effective in changing behaviors that lead to sexually transmitted infections and diseases, unintended pregnancy, and dating violence and sexual assault among young people; (c) "Consent" means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in interpersonal, physical, or sexual activity; (d) "Culturally appropriate" means materials and instruction that respond to culturally diverse individuals, families, and communities in an inclusive, respectful, and effective manner and includes materials and instruction that are inclusive of race, ethnicity, languages, cultural UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR (f) "Gender expression" means the …
Sponsors
- Lisa Willner (D, HD-035) · primary sponsor
Latest actions
- : to Primary and Secondary Education (H)
- : to Committee on Committees (H)
- : introduced in House
Subjects: State Agencies, Short Titles And Popular Names, Education, Elementary And Secondary, Reports Mandated, Children And Minors, Boards And Commissions, Administrative Regulations And Proceedings
Common questions
- What is HB717?
- HB717 is a bill in the Kentucky Legislature (2026 Regular Session): AN ACT relating to health education.
- What does HB717 do?
- In its own words: An act relating to health education.
- What is the status of HB717?
- In committee as of March 3, 2026. Latest action: to Primary and Secondary Education (H) (March 3, 2026).
- Who sponsored HB717?
- Lisa Willner (D, HD-035).
- Where is the official record for HB717?
- On the Kentucky Legislature website: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26rs/hb717.html
Source: official Kentucky record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.