Gov. Andy Beshear signed two pieces of legislation sponsored by two Northern Kentucky legislators on Wednesday.
House Bill 680 was sponsored by Rep. Ed Massey (R-Union) and would allow high school students to earn credits for a computer science degree passed the House on Monday.
Through the virtual computer science career academy, iLEAD, middle and high school students can learn computer science fundamentals, which are typically unavailable in their communities. The program will allow them to earn 12 college credit hours toward a degree at a state school.
Last year, the school received a Rural Tech Challenge Grant from the U.S. Department of Education to create an entirely virtual K-12 computer science career pathway. HB 680 is intended to scale up that work statewide to offer virtual access to this coursework to all districts via a newly created nonprofit organization.
Massey said the program would prepare students for the technology field in Kentucky and address the needs of the state’s workforce.
“This unique program provides vast possibilities for underrepresented students to access one of the nation’s fastest-growing career fields,” Massey said. “As we continue to identify and tackle the state’s pressing needs, we’re focused on building a talent pipeline centered on transferable skills across our highly skilled workforce needs.”
Data science is one of the most in-demand job sectors in the country. Sixty-seven percent of Kentucky’s STEM jobs will be in computers science, and currently, there are more than 3,000 open positions, according to a study by Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education.
“Now that the governor has signed it into law, it will give students a tremendous opportunity to be well-trained in the field of computer science,” Massey said.
House Bill 206 was primarily sponsored by Rep. Rachel Roberts (D-Newport). It will prevent those who have certain misdemeanor offenses from getting certification, returning from inactive status, or revoking certification for those who get a misdemeanor while active.
The bill specifically prohibits anyone who has been convicted of severe misdemeanors, including assault of any kind against a minor, from being certified or retaining the certification of a peace officer.
HB 206 is an extension of last year’s Senate Bills 80 and 52, both of which passed the House, Roberts said in February. SB80 was passed and signed into law as a police reform bill that allows the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council (KLEC) to take action against police officers found guilty of crimes.
“Prior to this bill, many serious sexual assaults (which are charged as misdemeanors) did not preclude those found guilty from being certified as peace officers,” Roberts said, also noting that this bill had the full support of the Kentucky FOP, Chiefs Association, and the Kentucky State Police.
Other local sponsors of the bill include Rep. Sal Santoro (R-Union) and C. Ed Massey (R-Hebron). Santoro is a former member of the Kentucky State Police, and Roberts said he was very helpful in getting it passed into law. She also noted that Sen. Wil Schroder (R-Wilder) carried the bill through the Senate.
“206 is an example of a good, clean bill and shows that even in these heated times, bipartisanship can still get impactful results for Kentuckians,” Roberts said.