# KDE briefs superintendents on major education legislation, exam changes **Published:** 2026-05-27T20:04:56.000Z **Source:** [Kentucky Teacher](http://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/kde-briefs-superintendents-on-major-education-legislation-exam-changes FRANKFORT, Ky. — [Representatives with the Kentucky Department of Education provided information to superintendents on several pieces of legislation that passed during the 2026 regular session](http://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/), including sweeping changes to the state's assessment and accountability systems during a webcast on May 12. [House Bill 257 encourages districts to work more closely with their communities to establish priorities for their schools through locally developed indicators of quality, also called local accountability systems](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/leadership/commissioners-comments/2026/05/reimagined-assessment-and-accountability-is-here/), to help ensure all students have access to vibrant learning experiences. Shara Savage, director of KDE's Division of Assessment and Accountability Support, explained that HB 257 won't affect spring 2026 testing and fall data reporting for school year 2025-2026. However, several notable changes will take effect in 2027. [State testing will no longer include editing and mechanics, on-demand writing or the school climate survey](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/). [A variety of accountability changes will occur in the 2026-2027 school year as well, including new indicators – chronic absenteeism, individual student growth – and the removal of change](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/) as a metric. [The bill includes a one-time payment to offset costs incurred by local school districts in the development of locally developed indicators of quality of up to $15,000](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/leadership/commissioners-comments/2026/05/reimagined-assessment-and-accountability-is-here/). The webcast also addressed significant uncertainty surrounding Kentucky's college admissions exam. [The General Assembly approved Senate Bill 197 on the final day of the legislative session, which included a section related to Kentucky's college entrance exam that would have placed limitations on the use of general funds and required a new procurement for a college entrance exam for the 2026–2027 school year](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/). [Gov. Andy Beshear used his line-item veto power to eliminate the reference to the limitation on the use of general funds but did not veto the reference to a new competitive procurement process, therefore, KDE will be required to begin a new procurement for the state-provided college entrance exam to be implemented in the 2026-2027 school year](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/). [Stafford explained how this means there will be uncertainty with the college entrance exam for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year and how KDE is working with the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet to repeat the competitive procurement process](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/). Kentucky currently administers the [SAT, which the state switched to beginning in spring 2026 after replacing ACT as the testing provider](https://www.lex18.com/news/covering-kentucky/kentucky-switches-to-sat-as-state-funded-college-admissions-exam-starting-spring-2026). Additionally, [revisions to the Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing were approved May 5 and will be effective for classroom implementation beginning this fall](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/). [Brian Perry, KDE director of government relations, provided more details on dozens of other bills that lawmakers passed during the legislative session, including funding bills, regulatory cleanup legislation and other changes to education policy](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/). ## Sources - [Kentucky Teacher](http://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/) - [Detailed information on HB 257 provisions and implementation](https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/leadership/commissioners-comments/2026/05/reimagined-assessment-and-accountability-is-here/) - [Information on SAT transition and contract details](https://www.lex18.com/news/covering-kentucky/kentucky-switches-to-sat-as-state-funded-college-admissions-exam-starting-spring-2026) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Kentucky Teacher, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at http://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/05/superintendents-receive-update-on-legislative-session-college-admissions-exam-during-webcast/.