Sen. Lindsey Tichenor announced the filing of Senate Bill 3 Wednesday, seeking to create new reporting requirements for public school districts. While the bill applies broadly to all districts in Kentucky, it comes in the wake of the Smithfield Republican's criticism of spending within Fayette County.
Tichenor delivered some of the most pointed questions during a September 2025 hearing, confronting Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins over credit card statements she said she had obtained from a constituent.
"When you see... insane amounts of expenditures for all kinds of random things, how can you ensure to the taxpayers that these expenditures are legitimate for the purposes of educating the students in Fayette County Schools?" she pressed.
Read more about state lawmakers' FCPS concerns
Travel spending has been cut and professional development events are now limited, according to the district. That's before the findings of the multiple financial reviews, including one being conducted by State Treasurer Allison Ball, have been completed.
But Tichenor's bill goes beyond credit card statements.
Under the measure, districts would be required to publish financial documents including budget proposals, monthly financial reports, vendor payments, and audit information on their websites. SB 3 would also put in place "clearer timelines for budget development, public meetings, and financial reporting to ensure transparency occurs before major spending decisions are finalized, not after the fact."
“This bill respects local control while making sure transparency is not optional,” Tichenor wrote in a statement. “Greater openness leads to better decision-making, stronger public confidence and more responsible use of taxpayer dollars.”
Meanwhile, the newly-released Senate Bill 1 — a designation ranking it as the chamber's top priority this session — also looks to increase oversight, specifically in Jefferson County.
The move follows the high court rollback of a 2022 law that shifted more power toward the JCPS superintendent. The new bill is an attempt to revive the overturned governance changes, this time with more language spelling out why the state's largest school district should be treated differently.