Senate green lights principal training program bill February 9, 2026 Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, speaks Monday on the Senate floor regarding Senate Bill 4. SB 4 would create a training program for new principals in Kentucky. A high-resolution photo can be found here. FRANKFORT — The Senate on Monday unanimously advanced a bill that would create a training program for new school principals in Kentucky. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, said the program would span five years and provide leadership and development opportunities. The state would partner with the Kentucky Chamber Foundation to provide intensive training during the fourth program year. West said the goal of the program is to be the best of its kind in the United States. The bill would codify an on-going relationship with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce that has spanned approximately 11 years, among other measures. “It mandates a five-year pathway. Year one and year two are handled by the Kentucky Department of Education. They already do some of this work anyway,” he said. “This would just enhance some of the work they’re already doing and maybe put that on steroids a little bit. Maybe make it go a little bit further and hopefully, eventually, give them the money to do so – being a principal 101.” West said the program would instruct new principals about several topics, including school security, liability, and working with teachers and helping them in the classroom. During the first two years, there would be a principal mentorship program. Each new principal will be aligned with and assigned to a principal with significant experience. Retired principals could also be mentors, he said. Year three is a gap year to digest the things participants learned. They still must complete their continuing education, West said. During the fourth year, the principals would travel to North Carolina for training, he said. “We have a partnership with Truist Bank and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce where principals will leave Kentucky after the school year is over, this is not during the school year. But they will travel to North Carolina to the Truist facility down there for leadership training. This is a proven training system,” West said. The Kentucky Chamber is bringing its own member dollars through its foundation to help train principals in the program, and West said he will seek full funding for the measure as it moves through the legislative process this session. Year five of the program is set aside for high-level intensive leadership training through vetted groups. There is already a list of entities with employees who are willing to do the training, West said. Senate Democratic Floor Leader Gerald A. Neal, D-Louisville, said he likes that the bill is “very intentional” and is “exceptional.” Senate Minority Caucus Chair Reginald L. Thomas, D-Lexington, said he favors the bill, and it should move Kentucky’s school systems forward. However, he expressed concern that the language should be changed to “first-time” principals instead of “new” principals. “It’s a good bill. I applaud the senator from Bourbon for this. So, I do vote yea,” he said. Two other education bills were unanimously advanced Monday by the Senate – Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 71. Senate Bill 2, sponsored by Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, would prohibit administrators from receiving a percentage pay increase greater than the average percentage pay increase provided to classroom teachers in that district. Adams said SB 2 reflects a core principle – that compensation decisions should align with classroom priorities while still respecting local governance and flexibility. Senate Bill 71, sponsored by Sen. Matthew Deneen, R-Elizabethtown, would require school board members to go beyond the current three hours of financial training and obtain two additional hours of training every two years. The post Senate green lights principal training program bill appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less