Dual Credit in Kentucky: the law behind it

The statute

KRS 164.786

Dual Credit Scholarship Program .

The scholarship and, through it, the price of every dual credit course in Kentucky. A participating institution agrees to charge no more than the dual credit tuition rate ceiling per credit hour, including any additional fees, for any approved dual credit course offered to any Kentucky public or nonpublic high school student, not only to scholarship recipients. Subsection (1)(f) defines that ceiling as one-third of the per credit hour tuition the Kentucky Community and Technical College System charges in-state students, rounded down to the nearest whole dollar, while the college system and the authority publish the 2026-27 ceiling as one-half of that rate, or $99, so read the statute for the rule and the published rate for the bill. An eligible student is a Kentucky resident enrolled in a Kentucky high school who has completed a thirty minute college success counseling session. Awards run first come, first served, cover a maximum of two career and technical courses per academic year and two general education courses across the junior and senior year, and cannot be spent on remedial or developmental coursework. A participating institution also agrees not to bill the student beyond what the scholarship paid when the course is not successfully completed.

KRS 158.007

Definitions for chapter . Subsections (8) and (9).

The two words Kentucky families hear interchangeably and the state does not. Dual credit is a college-level course of study developed under KRS 164.098 in which a high school student receives credit from both the high school and the postsecondary institution on completing a single class or designated program. Dual enrollment is a course of study in which the student is enrolled in a high school and a postsecondary institution at the same time. Only the first is what the Dual Credit Scholarship pays for, so the label on a course determines whether state money can reach it.

KRS 164.098

Duties of Council on Postsecondary Education relating to advanced placement, dual enrollment, and dual credit .

The authority behind the policy. The Council on Postsecondary Education, working with the Kentucky Board of Education and the Education Professional Standards Board, develops the guidelines for content knowledge and teacher training in dual enrollment and dual credit programs. The same section requires public institutions to grant credit for a score of at least 3 on a College Board Advanced Placement examination and requires the Council to publish the score each Kentucky college accepts.

The administrative rule

13 KAR 2:020

Guidelines for admission to the state-supported postsecondary education institutions . Section 6, minimum requirements for dual credit and early college admission.

The admission floor at a Kentucky public institution, and the answer to most grade point average arguments. Section 6 requires an unweighted high school grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for a general education dual credit course, plus whatever prerequisites the institution attaches. A career and technical dual credit course has no grade floor in the regulation; a student is admitted on meeting the course prerequisites the institution sets. Developmental education courses cannot be dual credit at all. Individual colleges can and do publish higher bars for particular math and English courses, which sit on top of this minimum rather than replacing it.

11 KAR 4:080

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, student aid applications .

The form itself. The regulation designates and incorporates the application each program administered by the authority uses, including the Dual Credit Scholarship, and requires it to be completed for the academic year in which an award is sought, following its instructions. It is short and procedural, and it matters because an application filed on the wrong year’s form is the kind of problem nobody notices until an award does not arrive.

Who pays, and under what authority

Dual Credit Scholarship frequently asked questions

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority .

How the money moves, written for families. A public or nonpublic Kentucky high school sends the student’s information to the authority, which then asks the student to pick a college inside a MyKHEAA account; a home school student files a paper application directly. Textbooks are the family’s. Funds reach the college after it verifies enrollment, with fall disbursements beginning after October 1 and spring after February 15, and the scholarship cannot be used in summer. If a student fails or withdraws, the institution returns the funds and may not charge or ask the student to reimburse it for that course, though the student cannot draw scholarship money again to repeat it. Any Kentucky high school or home school student gets the discounted dual credit rate on every dual credit course at a participating institution, scholarship or not.

Agency guidance

Dual Credit Policy, 2025 revision

Council on Postsecondary Education, policy for Kentucky public and participating institutions and secondary schools .

The document that settles arguments between a high school and a college, approved June 13, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025. Section IX requires institutions to give written information about tuition and other fees to the student, the parent or adult in the household, and the secondary school before enrollment, which makes a surprise bill a departure from policy rather than bad luck. Section VII records that college credit becomes a permanent part of the official college transcript and that a failure or withdrawal is noted there, affects both grade point averages, and can affect financial aid and scholarship eligibility after graduation. The policy also addresses students with an individualized education program, and it states the state goal that by 2030 half of Kentucky high school graduates will have completed a dual credit course with a C or better.

Dual credit for districts

Kentucky Department of Education, dual credit .

The K-12 side of the file. The department names the statutes, hosts the statewide memorandum of understanding with the community and technical college system, publishes the Council policy and a separate career and technical dual credit guidance document, and sets the data standards districts use to record dual credit courses in the state student information system. A question about whether a course was coded as general education or career and technical, which decides which scholarship count it draws from, is answered here.

How it got here

The Dual Credit Scholarship was created by the General Assembly in 2017, amended in 2022, and amended again effective June 27, 2025. The joint dual credit policy was first published in 2016 by the Council on Postsecondary Education with the community and technical college system, the public universities, the independent colleges association, the Department of Education and the student aid authority, and the revision now in force was approved June 13, 2025.

Who administers it

These are the offices that answer a question about Kentucky law rather than about one school or one campus. A district and a college can both be wrong about a state rule, and these pages are where the state's own position is published.

• Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority · Administers the Dual Credit Scholarship, sets the application, and pays the colleges.
• Council on Postsecondary Education, dual credit · Writes the dual credit policy and the admission regulation the public colleges apply.
• Kentucky Department of Education, dual credit · Oversees the school side, the statewide memorandum of understanding, and course coding.
• MyKHEAA · The account where a student selects a college for the award and tracks its status.

Frequently asked

What does the statute cap the price at?

KRS 164.786 defines the ceiling as one-third of the per credit hour rate the community and technical college system charges in-state students, rounded down, rather than naming a dollar figure. The college system and the authority publish the 2026-27 ceiling as one-half of that rate, $99. The published number is what a college bills, so check it and get the charge in writing.

How many courses does the scholarship cover?

Two career and technical dual credit courses per academic year, and two general education dual credit courses across the junior and senior year together. A lecture with a required lab counts as one course toward the limit.

What GPA does the regulation require?

An unweighted 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for a general education dual credit course, under Section 6 of 13 KAR 2:020. A career and technical course turns on the course prerequisites instead, and developmental courses cannot be dual credit.

What happens if a student fails or withdraws?

The institution returns the scholarship funds and may not charge the student or ask for reimbursement for that course. The student cannot draw scholarship money again to repeat it, and the grade stays on the college transcript.

Do home school students apply differently?

Yes. A public or nonpublic high school sends a student’s information to the authority on the student’s behalf, while a home school student files a paper application directly. The counseling session requirement applies either way.