Counselor Connection- Special Edition

August 29, 2023

Kentucky Department of Education will Provide Funding for 2024 Advanced Placement Exams for Public School Students

In an effort to provide equitable opportunities and access for all public school students living in Kentucky, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will provide funding for Advanced Placement (AP) Exams for public school students.

Bottom Line Information for AP Coordinators, Students and Families

The final fee charged by College Board for any AP Exam (excluding AP CSP and AP CSA Exams) for standard-fee students is $12 per exam.

The final fee charged by College Board for any AP Exam (including AP Seminar and AP Research Exams) for fee-reduced students is $0.

The final fee charged by College Board for any AP Exam (including AP Seminar and AP Research Exams) for fee-reduced students is $0.

The final fee charged by College Board for an AP CSP or AP CSA Exam for any public school student in Kentucky is $0.

State Funding for Fee-Reduced Students

Fee-reduced students are students who qualify for the College Board fee reduction of $36 per exam. For eligibility criteria, visit AP Exam Fee Reductions. Schools/districts receiving Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Title 1 funds must still determine each individual student's eligibility using the criteria outlined on the AP Exam Fee Reductions page. All students in Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and Title 1 schools and districts are not automatically eligible for AP Exam fee reductions.

For fee-reduced students in public schools, the state of Kentucky will pay:

• $53 per AP Exam (except AP Seminar and AP Research Exams)
• $101 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam

Schools are expected to forgo their $9 rebate for these students. The final fee charged by College Board for any AP Exam (including AP Seminar and AP Research Exams) for fee-reduced students is $0.

State Funding for Standard-Fee Students

Standard-fee students are students who do not qualify for the College Board fee reduction. For standard-fee students in public schools, the state of Kentucky will pay:

• $77 per AP Exam, excluding AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exams, taken by standard-fee students.
• $125 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam per standard-fee student.

The final fee charged by College Board for any AP Exam (excluding AP CSP and AP CSA Exams) for standard-fee students is $12 per exam.

Note: It remains a school-level decision whether to keep or forgo the $9 per exam school rebate. If a school chooses not to forgo the rebate, they may collect $21 per exam from standard-fee students.

State Funding for AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exams

KDE’s Computer Science and Information Technology (CS/IT) Academy will also pay in full for all AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exams for public school students in the state. Therefore, for public school students, the state of Kentucky will pay:

• $89 per AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exam taken by standard-fee students.
• $53 per AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exam taken by fee-reduced students.

The final fee charged by College Board for an AP CSP or AP CSA Exam for any public school student in Kentucky is $0.

Note: Schools are expected to forgo their $9 rebate for fee-reduced students. It remains a school-level decision whether to keep or forgo the $9 per exam school rebate for standard-fee students.

What Schools Must Do

Your school's AP coordinator must take the following steps.

Before the exams:

• For your invoice to accurately reflect any fee reductions, the AP coordinator must indicate the fee reduction status for each eligible student in AP Registration and Ordering.
• For each student who is eligible for the College Board fee reduction, check the box for Reduced Fee next to their name in the student roster. 
• For students who aren't eligible for the fee reduction, no action is needed.
• Fee reduction status is indicated only once per student, not for each exam.
• A best practice is to indicate fee reduction status for each student by the time you submit your exam order. However, if you need more time to verify this information, you can update students' fee reduction status through AP Registration and Ordering after submitting your exam order, but no later than April 30, 2024 (11:59 p.m. ET).

After the exams:

• Your invoice will be automatically generated in AP Registration and Ordering and emailed to you after the late-testing administration ends. At that point, you can also access and print the invoice through AP Registration and Ordering.
• College Board will collect AP Exam fees from public schools in Kentucky as follows:
• Fee-Reduced (Low-Income) Students:
• $0 per AP Exam, including AP CSP and AP CSA Exams, per fee-reduced student
• $0 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam per fee-reduced student
• Standard-Fee Students:
• $12 per AP Exam, excluding AP CSP and AP CSA Exams, taken by standard-fee students
• $12 per AP Seminar Exam and AP Research Exam per standard-fee student
• AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) Exams and AP Computer Science A (CSA) Exams
• $0 per AP CSP Exam and AP CSA Exam per fee-reduced student
• $0 per AP CSP Exam and AP CSA Exam taken by standard-fee students
• Schools are responsible for any additional fees incurred, such as late order fees, unused/canceled exam fees, late-testing fees, etc. Kentucky’s state funding does not cover these fees.
• June 15, 2024, is the postmark deadline for payment due to College Board.
• College Board will bill KDE directly for its share of the qualifying students' AP Exam fees.
• AP coordinators do not need to submit a copy of their invoice to the Kentucky Department of Education.
• In the event KDE should ever need to verify the validity of a school's request for fee reductions, all schools receiving AP Exam fee funding from KDE must keep a list of students receiving the fee reductions, including which exams students have taken, on file at their school.

For more information, contact Dr. Damien Sweeney, director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Kentucky Department of Education.