As used in KRS § 164.7871 to KRS § 164.7885:
(1) “Academic term” means a semester or other time period specified in an administrative regulation promulgated by the authority;
(2) “Academic year” means a period consisting of at least the minimum school term, as defined in KRS § 158.070;
(3) “ACT score” means the composite score achieved on the American College Test at a national test site on a national test date or the college admissions examination administered statewide under KRS § 158.6453(5)(b)5. if the exam is the ACT, or an equivalent score, as determined by the authority, on the SAT administered by the College Board, Inc.;
(4) “Authority” means the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority;
(5) “Award period” means the fall and spring consecutive academic terms within one
(1) academic year;
(6) “Council” means the Council on Postsecondary Education created under KRS
164.011;
(7) “Eligible high school student” means any person who:
(a) Is a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States and Kentucky resident;
(b) Was enrolled after July 1, 1998:
1. In a Kentucky high school for at least one hundred forty (140) days of the minimum school term unless exempted by the authority’s executive director upon documentation of extreme hardship, while meeting the KEES curriculum requirements, and was enrolled in a Kentucky high school at the end of the academic year;
2. In a Kentucky high school for the fall academic term of the senior year and who:
a. Was enrolled during the entire academic term;
b. Completed the high school’s graduation requirements during the fall academic term; and
c. Was not enrolled in a secondary school during any other academic term of that academic year; or
3. In the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, the Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, or in high school at a model and practice school under KRS § 164.380 while meeting the Kentucky educational excellence scholarship curriculum requirements;
(c) Has a grade point average of 2.5 or above at the end of any academic year beginning after July 1, 1998, or at the end of the fall academic term for a student eligible under paragraph (b) 2. of this subsection; and
(d) Is not a convicted felon;
(8) “Eligible postsecondary student” means a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States and Kentucky resident, as determined by the participating institution in accordance with criteria established by the council for the purposes of admission and tuition assessment, who:
(a) Earned a KEES award;
(b) Has the required postsecondary GPA and credit hours required under KRS
164.7881;
(c) Has remaining semesters of eligibility under KRS § 164.7881;
(d) Is enrolled in a participating institution as a part-time or full-time student; and
(e) Is not a convicted felon;
(9) “Full-time student” means a student enrolled in a postsecondary program of study that meets the full-time student requirements of the participating institution in which the student is enrolled;
(10) “Grade point average” or “GPA” means the grade point average earned by an eligible student and reported by the high school or participating institution in which the student was enrolled based on a scale of 4.0 or its equivalent if the high school or participating institution that the student attends does not use the 4.0 grade scale;
(11) “High school” means any Kentucky public high school, the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, the Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a high school of a model and practice school under KRS
164.380, and any private, parochial, or church school located in Kentucky that has been certified by the Kentucky Board of Education as voluntarily complying with curriculum, certification, and textbook standards established by the Kentucky Board of Education under KRS § 156.160;
(12) “KEES” or “Kentucky educational excellence scholarship” means a scholarship provided under KRS § 164.7871 to KRS § 164.7885;
(13) “KEES award” means:
(a) For an eligible high school student, the sum of the KEES base amount for each academic year of high school plus any KEES supplemental amount, as adjusted pursuant to KRS § 164.7881; and
(b) For a student eligible under KRS § 164.7879(3)(e), the KEES supplemental amount as adjusted pursuant to KRS § 164.7881;
(14) “KEES award maximum” means the sum of the KEES base amount earned in each academic year of high school plus any KEES supplemental amount earned;
(15) “KEES base amount” or “base amount” means the amount earned by an eligible high school student based on the student’s GPA pursuant to KRS § 164.7879;
(16) “KEES curriculum” means five (5) courses of study, except for students who meet the criteria of subsection (7)(b)2. of this section, in an academic year as determined in accordance with an administrative regulation promulgated by the authority;
(17) “KEES supplemental amount” means the amount earned by an eligible student based on the student’s ACT score pursuant to KRS § 164.7879;
(18) “KEES trust fund” means the Wallace G. Wilkinson Kentucky educational
excellence scholarship trust fund;
(19) “On track to graduate” means the number of cumulative credit hours earned as compared to the number of hours determined by the postsecondary education institution as necessary to complete a bachelor’s degree by the end of eight (8) academic terms or ten (10) academic terms if a student is enrolled in an undergraduate program that requires five (5) years of study;
(20) “Participating institution” means an “institution” as defined in KRS § 164.001 that is eligible to participate in the federal Pell Grant program, executes a contract with the authority on terms the authority deems necessary or appropriate for the administration of its programs, and:
(a) 1. Is publicly operated;
2. Is licensed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and has operated for at least ten (10) years, offers an associate or baccalaureate degree program of study not comprised solely of sectarian instruction, and admits as regular students only high school graduates, recipients of a High School Equivalency Diploma, or students transferring from another accredited degree granting institution; or
3. Is designated by the authority as an approved out-of-state institution that offers a degree program in a field of study that is not offered at any institution in the Commonwealth; and
(b) Continues to commit financial resources to student financial assistance programs; and
(21) “Part-time student” means a student enrolled in a postsecondary program of study who does not meet the full-time student requirements of the participating institution in which the student is enrolled and who is enrolled for at least six (6) credit hours, or the equivalent for an institution that does not use credit hours.
Effective: July 15, 2020
History: Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 66, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2020. — Amended
2019 Ky. Acts ch. 186, sec. 1, effective June 27, 2019. — Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 63, sec. 22, effective June 29, 2017; and ch. 156, sec. 15, effective April 10,
2017. — Amended 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 136, sec. 8, effective July 15, 2016. — Amended
2015 Ky. Acts ch. 15, sec. 3, effective June 24, 2015; and ch. 112, sec. 3, effective
April 2, 2015. — Amended 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 101, sec. 14, effective March 25, 2009.
— Amended 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 134, sec. 22, effective July 15, 2008; and ch. 137, sec.
1, effective July 15, 2008. — Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 117, sec. 1, effective June
20, 2005. — Amended 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 115, sec. 4, effective June 24, 2003; and ch.
180, sec. 8, effective June 24, 2003. — Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 51, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2002. — Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 13, sec. 1, effective July 14,
2000; ch. 198, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000; and ch. 382, sec. 11, effective July 14,
2000. — Created 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 575, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998.
Legislative Research Commission Note (3/25/2009). In subsection (3) of this statute, a reference to “KRS § 158.6453(12)(a)3.” has been changed to read “KRS
158.6453(11)(a)3.” When Section 2 of 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 101 [KRS § 158.6453] was renumbered, the reference to subsection (12) of KRS § 158.6453 in subsection (3) of this statute was not changed. The Reviser of Statutes has made a conforming change under the authority of KRS § 7.136.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2008). A reference to “KRS
164.7879(3)(c)” in subsection (13)(b) of this statute has been changed in codification to “KRS § 164.7879(3)(d)” by the Reviser of Statutes under the authority of KRS
7.136(1) to reflect the insertion of a new paragraph in KRS § 164.7879(3) and change the designation of succeeding paragraphs in 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 134, sec. 23.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/2000). This section was amended by
2000 Ky. Acts chs. 13, 198, and 382. Where these Acts are not in conflict, they have been codified together. Where a conflict exists, Acts ch. 198, which was last enacted by the General Assembly, prevails under KRS § 446.250.