Carpenter presented with housing hero award

Senator Jared Carpenter, R-Berea, was recently presented with the 2024 Housing Hero Award from the Home Builders Association of Kentucky (HBAK). The recognition highlights Carpenter's leadership, particularly in championing Senate Bill (SB) 54 during the 2023 Regular Session.

SB 54 mandates that Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) awardees can use their scholarship monies at proprietary schools, provided that the program falls within one of Kentucky's top five high-demand workforce sectors.

To be eligible to use KEES dollars at a propriety school, students must be enrolled in programs deemed high demand by the Workforce Innovation Board. Programs considered high-demand industries could include nursing and welding programs, advanced manufacturing, business technology, construction, healthcare, transportation, and agriculture.

"I am truly honored to be recognized as the 2024 Home Builders Association of Kentucky's Housing Hero," said Carpenter. "As a home builder myself, I know all too well the struggles of finding qualified skilled labor. Kentucky is currently facing a crisis level of skilled labor shortage, but with thoughtful legislation like this, we are making recruitment and retainment at our propriety schools a lot easier. I am grateful for HBAK's partnership and look forward to identifying more legislative action that further helps Kentucky workforce development needs."

Additionally, the bill also clarifies that students are eligible to earn KEES dollars if they attend accredited out-of-state high schools or Department of Defense schools as a result of a parent's or guardian's military transfer outside of Kentucky if the student earned a KEES base amount at a Kentucky high school prior to the military transfer outside of Kentucky.