HB424 Exempts Student Interns from Social Work Licensure, Establishes Multistate License Standards
Summary
Kentucky Governor signed HB424 on April 10, 2026, amending KRS 335.010 to exempt student interns and trainees from social work licensure requirements. The bill directs the Kentucky Board of Social Work to promulgate administrative regulations defining standards for student involvement in clinical social work. HB424 also establishes new licensure standards including multistate licenses, criminal background checks, and telehealth provisions, and requires at least one board member to be a teacher actively engaged in social work education.
What changed
HB424 amends multiple sections of Kentucky Revised Statutes governing social work licensure. The bill creates a new exemption from licensure requirements for student interns and trainees participating in supervised educational programs. The Kentucky Board of Social Work is directed to establish administrative regulations governing student involvement in clinical social work settings.
The bill establishes comprehensive licensure standards including authorization for multistate licenses under interstate compacts, mandatory criminal background checks for licensees, and telehealth practice permissions. Educational institutions offering social work programs benefit from the intern exemption while also being affected by the new requirement that the Board include a teacher actively engaged in social work education. Healthcare providers and social service agencies employing social workers should update compliance procedures to reflect the new multistate license recognition and background check requirements.
What to do next
- The Kentucky Board of Social Work must promulgate administrative regulations defining standards for student involvement in clinical social work
- Healthcare providers and social work employers should review new licensure standards including multistate license and telehealth provisions
- Educational institutions offering social work programs should understand the new student intern exemption criteria
Archived snapshot
Apr 12, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
ChangeBridge / Kentucky / HB424 Signed by Governor HB424 House Bill Signed by Governor 2026-04-10
AN ACT relating to social work.
Amend KRS 335.010 to exempt student interns or trainees from social work licensure requirements; direct the Kentucky Board of Social Work to promulgate administrative regulations to define standards for student involvement in clinical social work; amend KRS 335.020 to define terms; amend KRS 335.030, 335.070, 335.080, 335.090, 335.100, 335.150, and 335.158 to establish licensure standards, including use of a multistate license, criminal background checks, and telehealth; amend KRS 335.050 to require that at least 1 licensee member of the board is a teacher actively engaged in social work education; amend KRS 387.610 and 457.090 to conform.
Bill Details
State Kentucky
Session 2026 Regular Session
Chamber House
Official Source apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb424....
LegiScan View on LegiScan
Sponsors
Samara Heavrin (Rep - R) George Brown (Rep - D) Beverly Chester-Burton (Rep - D)
Action History
2026-04-10 H signed by Governor 2026-03-31 H delivered to Governor 2026-03-31 H enrolled, signed by President of the Senate 2026-03-31 H enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House 2026-03-31 H passed 90-0 2026-03-31 H House concurred in Committee Substitute (1) 2026-03-27 H posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1) 2026-03-20 H to Rules (H) 2026-03-20 H received in House 2026-03-20 S 3rd reading, passed 37-0 with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-03-19 S passed over and retained in the Consent Orders of the Day 2026-03-18 S posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 19 2026 2026-03-18 S 2nd reading, to Rules as a consent bill 2026-03-17 S reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-03-13 S to Licensing & Occupations (S) 2026-02-19 S to Committee on Committees (S) 2026-02-19 S received in Senate 2026-02-18 H 3rd reading, passed 94-0 with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-02-17 H posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, February 18 2026 2026-02-12 H 2nd reading, to Rules 2026-02-11 H reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-01-27 H to Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations (H) 2026-01-16 H to Committee on Committees (H) 2026-01-16 H introduced in House
Votes
2026-02-18 House: Veto Override RCS# 109 Yea: 94 Nay: 0 2026-03-20 Senate: Third Reading RSN# 3973 Yea: 37 Nay: 0 2026-03-31 House: Veto Override RCS# 374 Yea: 90 Nay: 0
Committee Referrals
2026-01-16 H Committee On Committees 2026-01-27 H Licensing, Occupations & Administrative Regulations 2026-02-12 H Rules 2026-02-19 S Committee on Committees 2026-03-13 S Licensing and Occupations 2026-03-18 S Rules 2026-03-20 H Rules
Amendments
0000-00-00 House Committee Substitute 0000-00-00 Senate Committee Substitute
Bill Text Versions
0000-00-00 Introduced 0000-00-00 Engrossed 0000-00-00 Enrolled
Subjects
Administrative Regulations and Proceedings Background Checks Boards and Commissions Compacts, Interstate Education, Higher Health and Medical Services Health Care Professionals Licensing Mental Health Occupations and Professions Universities and Colleges Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
Named provisions
Related changes
Get daily alerts for Kentucky Legislative Events
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from KY Legislature.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when Kentucky Legislative Events publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.