KY HB438

Requires Kentucky public schools to incorporate Civil Rights movement instruction into elementary through high school social studies standards beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, including teachings on Martin Luther King Jr.'s natural law principles and Muhammad Ali's nonviolent resistance strategies

Mandates instruction on global acts of discriminatory injustice including the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Rohingya persecution in Myanmar, Uyghurs in China, and Chinese laborers in Cuba

Maintains existing requirements for teaching 24 fundamental American documents and speeches in middle and high school, including the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Federalist Papers, and speeches by Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan

Appropriates $250,000 in General Fund moneys for fiscal year 2026-2027 to the Kentucky Department of Education's Learning and Results Services budget unit for implementation costs

Declares an emergency with an effective date of July 1, 2026