{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-158.142","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 158.142","heading":"Early high school graduation program -- Requirements -- Early","body":"Graduation Scholarship Certificate -- Award from early graduation\nscholarship trust fund.\n(1) Beginning with the 2014 -2015 school year, a public school student may complete\nan ea rly high school graduation program and qualify for an Early Graduation\nScholarship Certificate for use at a Kentucky public two (2) year community and\ntechnical college or a Kentucky four (4) year public or nonprofit, independent\ninstitution that is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, if\nconditions specified in this section are met.\n(2) Each student desiring to complete an early graduation program shall indicate to the\nsecondary school principal his or her intent prior to the beg inning of grade nine (9)\nor as soon thereafter as the intent is known. The intent shall be indicated on a form\nprovided by the Kentucky Department of Education and signed by the parent.\n(3) For early graduation in accordance with this section, a student sh all successfully\ncomplete the requirements for early high school graduation as established in\nadministrative regulation by the Kentucky Board of Education.\n(4) The Kentucky Board of Education or a local board of education shall not impose\ngraduation requir ements that would prohibit a student who is pursuing an early\ngraduation program as described in this section from finishing high school in less\nthan four (4) years.\n(5) Students pursuing early graduation may take two (2) high school English courses in\nan academic year.\n(6) Students pursuing early graduation may complete selected courses at the middle\nschool level. Each school district is encouraged to provide access to all middle\nschool students to English I and Algebra I courses for high school credit. Ac cess\nmay be provided by each middle school offering the course on -site or by the district\nproviding transportation for students to a central location within the district, to a\nneighboring school within the district, or to a neighboring school district. The\ndistrict may also provide access for the student to take these courses online based on\nthe local board of education policy.\n(7) (a) In addition to the regular high school diploma, a student who completes a\nprogram of study that meets the requirements of s ubsection (3) of this section\nshall receive an Early Graduation Scholarship Certificate signed by the high\nschool principal and district superintendent.\n(b) A student who earns an Early Graduation Scholarship Certificate shall be\neligible for a scholarship  award to be used at an institution described in\nsubsection (1) of this section. The award amount shall be equal to one -half\n(1/2) of the state portion of the average statewide per pupil guaranteed base\nfunding level as described in KRS 157.360 for the yea r in which the student\ngraduates.\n(c) The student shall be eligible for the scholarship award only for the next\nacademic year following early graduation.\n(d) Each public high school shall report all Early Graduation Scholarship\nCertificate recipients by July 1 for the previous academic year to the Kentucky\nHigher Education Assistance Authority.\n(e) Each postsecondary institution described in subsection (1) of this section shall\nnotify the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority of students with\nan Early Graduation Scholarship Certificate who enroll in the institution. The\nauthority shall disburse the award amount described in paragraph (b) of this\nsubsection from the early graduation trust fund established by KRS 164.7892.","path":["KRS Chapter 158"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52627","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:04Z","sha256":"1ee8c97d93ef38b6ac3ee275d294719b3ce0c61f6ea5e8cfee47e7fe300e63b5","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-158.1415","next":"us-ky/krs-158.143"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}