Committee advances kindergarten readiness incentive pilot program bill February 17, 2026 Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, testifies Tuesday on Senate Bill 191 to the Senate Families and Children Committee. A high-res version can be found here. FRANKFORT — The Senate Families and Children Com mittee unanimously passed a bill Tuesday to seeks to gauge the effectiveness of using financial incentives to encourage kindergarten readiness. The measure – Senate Bill 191 – calls on the University of Kentucky to establish and operate the Kentucky Kindergarten Readiness Performance-Based Child Care Incentive Pilot Program from the beginning of 2027 until July 2029. The program would award one-time, $2,000 payments to early education providers, child-care providers and low-income parents who adequately prepare children for kindergarten. One major goal of the effort is to determine if such financial incentives help boost the rates of kindergarten readiness. Bill sponsor and Committee Chair, Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, said SB 191 is a new concept for early childhood education and he expects that the legislation will evolve. “I do want to stress this is a pilot program,” he said. “The University of Kentucky College of Education has agreed to take this on as a project, and they are excited about this project. And it will encompass a three-year period where we will assess the contents of this bill and check out the proof of concept to see if it is a viable concept.” Under SB 191, UK would determine how best to assess applicants, award funds, and evaluate the impact of performance-based incentives. Type I and II child care centers, state-regulated early education providers, certified child care homes, and parents who qualify for certain child care subsidies could be eligible for financial awards if they meet the requirements of the program. The university would report findings and data from the pilot to the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Legislative Research Commission in October 2029. Carroll said the pilot program could lead to the expansion of services across Kentucky. “We heard time and time again how important kindergarten readiness is for our children,” he said. “We know that we have about a 50% kindergarten readiness rate in the commonwealth, a little bit higher around 60% for those kids who go to child care centers.” Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, called the legislation bold and innovative and asked if interested parties would have to register with the pilot program to be eligible. Carroll said UK is working through details to identify providers and families that will participate in the project. “It’s going to have to encompass enough numbers to make sure that we get a true reading out of it,” he said. Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, said if there is $2 million set aside for the project, it’s possible there would be approximately 10,000 children participating. She asked if families must qualify as low income to participate. Carroll said families would have to qualify and prove they are eligible for child care. “That’s the threshold. Again, this is a pilot project, and I expect that there will be ideas that come along the way that are better than what I have,” he said. Senate Minority Caucus Chair Reginald L. Thomas, D-Lexington, said he favors diversity concerning the pilot project, and he said learning begins early in a child’s life. “Everyone here on this committee dais knows I’ve been a strong proponent of universal pre-K, and obviously, this is a step in that direction. I do applaud you for bringing this,” he said. Sen. Matthew Deneen, R-Elizabethtown, said he had some fiscal concerns and asked how many 3- and 4-year-old children in Kentucky would be potentially eligible for the project. Carroll said the legislature isn’t committing to anything other than completing the pilot project and analyzing the data. “When this is over, then we as a legislature will take a look at that data, and we will decide if the outcomes of that would justify opening this up throughout the entire state,” Carroll said. The post Committee advances kindergarten readiness incentive pilot program bill appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less