The 2026 KyPolicy Conference is a full-day exploration of the challenges and opportunities facing Kentucky in the 2026 General Assembly session and beyond.
8:15 a.m. Registration
The Paddock (in front of the barn)
9:00 a.m. Opening Plenary
The State Budget and a Kentucky We Can Afford
In the 2026 General Assembly, Kentucky lawmakers will take on their most important task: crafting the next two-year state budget. But they’ll do so with new challenges, including a slowing economy, reduced revenue due to state income tax cuts and new costs passed down by Congress for healthcare and food assistance. This opening session will look at budget difficulties Kentucky faces, potential solutions and how you can get involved in creating a budget that helps address cost of living needs and moves Kentucky forward.
Location: The Barn
9:30 a.m. Break
9:40 a.m. Breakout Sessions
Prioritizing Public Schools and All Kentucky’s Kids
Kentucky voters overwhelmingly defeated Amendment 2 in November of 2024, rejecting a private school voucher scheme and reinforcing their support for our public schools. And yet, longstanding inadequacies and inequities in public school funding continue worsening, hurting our most vulnerable kids. The 2026 General Assembly offers a chance to correct that. In this breakout, you’ll learn how public school funding in Kentucky works, ways to get involved in the Protect Our Schools Kentucky campaign to reinvest in public education, and how truancy reform can help support kids falling between the cracks.
Location: The Bluegrass Ballroom
Ending Kentucky’s Housing Crisis
All Kentuckians should have access to affordable housing that promotes health and well-being. This breakout will examine the growing barriers to safe and affordable rental housing in Kentucky and policies to address them at the state, local and federal levels.
Location: The Bluegrass Room
11:15 a.m. Lunch
Location: The Barn
11:15 a.m. Lunch Session
Kentucky State Budget 101
During this session, participants will gain familiarity with the process of creating Kentucky’s guiding moral document, the state budget, and how they can stay up-to-date and play an active role in influencing the budget drafting process.
Location: The Bluegrass Ballroom
12:10 p.m. Keynote Panel
Collective Action in Kentucky: Coming Together to Build Power and Create Change
Collective action has always been and will always be the path to creating change by and for the people. In this conversation, we will talk with organizing leaders from across the state who are stoking the flames and raising up people power through labor and grassroots organizing.
Location: The Barn
1:40 p.m. Break
1:50 p.m. Breakout Sessions
Fixing Kentucky’s Upside Down Tax System
A saying goes: “Don’t tell me what you value; show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” This session will allow participants to learn more about the sources of revenue that fund schools, Medicaid, higher education and more. We’ll discuss our current tax system and its shortcomings and explore methods for creating an equitable tax system that adequately funds vital public needs.
Location: The Barn
Supporting Immigrants in a Troubling Time
Immigrants in Kentucky deserve to feel safe and welcome, with the resources they need to thrive. But harmful federal policies are preventing that and resulting in historic levels of detentions and deportations, along with significant barriers to food, medicine and education. This breakout will cover how federal policy changes are harming immigrants in Kentucky and damaging our economy. Attendees will also learn about basic rights immigrants have in the United States and opportunities for advocacy.
Location: The Bluegrass Room
3:30 p.m. Adjournment