Rob Weber and Madison Flory

Here’s a roundup of some key issues the science policy team is following:
 
Heart health. HB 169 would require all schools -- not just middle and high schools, as currently required -- to maintain portable automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in schools. These devices can help save the lives of people experiencing cardiac arrest. HB 169 also requires school boards to provide annual reports on the number, location, and trainings associated with school AEDs, and well as on progress toward having the devices at school-sanctioned athletic events and competitions.
 
PFAS. SJR 149 would direct the Energy and Environment Cabinet to provide guidance and consultation on best management practices for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to entities that discharge directly or indirectly into Kentucky’s waterways. HB 116 would establish a PFAS Working Group to research the effect that exposure to PFAS has on the health of Kentuckians.
 
University research. SB 1 would establish an endowed research fund, administered by the
Council on Postsecondary Education, to fund up to five research consortiums between two or more public universities. One consortium would be the Kentucky Spinal Cord and Head Injury Research Trust. 
 
Mathematics instruction. HB 162 would require math screenings for students in grades 4-8 at the start of the school year and strengthened interventions for students who need help.
 
Nuclear energy. SB 198 would create the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority and task it with facilitating nuclear energy development in Kentucky.
 
Community water fluoridation. HB 141 would end the requirement on most community water suppliers in Kentucky to fluoridate their water.
 
Maternal health. HB 10, the ‘Momnibus’ bill, would increase psychiatric access for moms,
establish the Kentucky Maternal Health & Infant Collaborative, require education on safe sleep practices and breastfeeding, and expand telehealth access. It would also require insurance providers to provide a special enrollment period during pregnancy, including in student insurance plans, and would require insurance providers to cover breast pumps and lactation consultants’ services.
 
Artificial intelligence. HCR 38 would establish the Kentucky Artificial Intelligence task force, designed to study what other states are doing to regulate AI. It would also take into account how Kentucky agencies and businesses, as well as the federal government, are regulating AI. Another bill regarding AI, SB 52, would establish the AI in Kentucky’s Schools Project and the AI in Higher Education Project. These working groups would aim to establish guidelines for the use of AI in instruction, classroom management, and academic standards for Kentucky’s K-12 schools and postsecondary education institutions. It would also require trainings to be developed on the use of AI for teachers, administrators, and school board officials, and would require a yearly report from schools on their AI use.