Kentucky school mapping law

Does Kentucky require school mapping?

Yes, through a state-run program. Kentucky law sets up a School Mapping Data Program run by the Kentucky 911 Services Board. The Board must use available funds to develop school mapping data for each public school and public charter school, and for any private school that asks to take part. School mapping data means mapping information in an electronic or digital format that helps first responders respond to emergencies at schools. Each local board of education must require the school council, or the principal if there is no council, in each school building it oversees to adopt an emergency plan with listed contents. That emergency plan must include a copy of the School Mapping Data Program data or, if that data is unavailable, a diagram of the facility that clearly marks each AED (defibrillator). The program must create a single verified source of mapping data for each participating campus that is standardized, accurate and accessible to public safety agencies.

What must the mapping data show?

It must include accurate floor plans overlaid on current, verified aerial imagery of the campus. Building labels must include rooms, hallway names, external door or stairwell numbers, hazards, critical utilities, key boxes, AEDs and trauma kits. Grounds labels must include parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads and neighboring properties. It must be oriented to true north. It must be overlaid with a gridded coordinate system. The 911 Services Board, or its contractor, must verify the data's accuracy with a walk-through of school buildings and grounds.

What format must the data be in?

It must work with the software platforms used by local, county, state and federal public safety agencies, without those agencies buying more software or paying a fee to view it. It must work with the security software the participating school or district already uses, without extra purchases or fees. It must be printable and, when an agency, school or district asks, come in a digital file format that works with interactive mobile platforms. The data must be provided to public safety agencies, participating schools and districts permanently and at no cost to them. A participating district or campus that already had mapping data meeting these standards as of July 1, 2024 does not have to adopt new data.

Who receives the mapping data?

The Board must give the data to the state school security marshal, participating schools and districts, and local law enforcement and public safety agencies, for emergencies and required drills. Each district superintendent must appoint a district school safety coordinator. The coordinator must keep the district's copies of the school mapping data available to public safety agencies. The school emergency plan, which holds the mapping data, must be given to appropriate first responders and all school staff. For the emergency plan law, first responders means local fire, police and emergency medical personnel.

How often is the data updated?

The mapping law sets no schedule for updating or re-checking the data; its only update rule is that the data may not be changed on its own without matching changes in public safety agencies' systems. The school emergency plan must be reviewed after each school year by the school nurse, school council, principal and first responders, and revised as needed. The district coordinator must make sure each campus is toured at least once a school year with public safety agencies to review safety policies and procedures. Each school must also set primary and secondary evacuation routes for every room and post them by each doorway used for evacuation.

Is school mapping data confidential?

School mapping data is excluded from the Kentucky Open Records Act. The district's copies held by the safety coordinator are excluded too. The school emergency plan is excluded from the Open Records Act. Separately, the Open Records Act exempts detailed drawings, maps and floor plans of public-agency buildings, but only where disclosure could reasonably threaten public safety by exposing a vulnerability related to a terrorist act.

How is the program funded?

The Board must apply for any federal grant funds that can be used for the program, and may also seek private funds. The Board may contract for mapping services under the Kentucky Model Procurement Code. The 2026-28 budget says the Homeland Security appropriation includes enough funding to carry out the 2024 act that created the program; it names no dollar amount for school mapping. As introduced, 2026 HB 652 would have appropriated $5,000,000 a year in 2026-28 for the program, but a House committee substitute removed that appropriation. The enacted version of HB 652 appropriates no money.

How has the law changed?

The mapping law, KRS 158.4433, was created in 2024, effective July 15, 2024, and amended in 2026, effective April 14, 2026. 2026 HB 652 moved the program to the 911 Services Board, giving the Board the duty to run and oversee it and removing that duty from the Center for School Safety. HB 652 was passed as an emergency act, calling accurate school mapping data a critical tool for first responders. The Governor's veto of HB 652 was overridden on April 14, 2026, and it became 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 163. The 911 Services Board published a Kentucky School Mapping Data Program web page on June 22, 2026; it links to HB 652. 2026 HB 643, which failed, would have required a district buying a wearable panic alert system to make security data, including maps, accessible to local law enforcement. Its last action was referral to the Senate Committee on Committees.