Yes — Criminal Charges Can Cost Your Child Their Scholarship. Here’s How to Protect It.
For many Kentucky college students, scholarships make higher education possible. The Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES), institutional merit awards, athletic scholarships, and departmental funding represent thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars per year. When criminal charges threaten that funding, the financial stakes compound the legal stakes in ways that can feel overwhelming.
At Clark + Harris, we understand that protecting our clients’ scholarships is just as important as protecting their freedom. Our defense strategies account for the scholarship implications of every charge, every negotiation, and every potential outcome.
How Criminal Charges Affect Different Types of Scholarships
Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES)
KEES is the most common scholarship for Kentucky students, earned through high school GPA and ACT scores. KEES funds are administered by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA). While KEES itself does not have specific criminal conduct provisions, the scholarship requires continued enrollment — and if criminal charges result in suspension or expulsion from the university, KEES funds are lost.
Institutional Merit Scholarships
UK, UofL, WKU, EKU, NKU, Murray State, and other Kentucky universities offer merit-based scholarships that often include conduct clauses. These clauses typically give the university discretion to revoke or reduce scholarships based on student conduct violations — which can be triggered by criminal charges or campus disciplinary findings regardless of the criminal case outcome.
Athletic Scholarships
NCAA and conference rules give universities broad authority to revoke athletic scholarships for conduct violations. A student-athlete arrested for DUI, drug possession, assault, or other criminal offenses may lose their athletic scholarship and their spot on the team. Athletic department policies at UK, UofL, WKU, and other Division I schools typically have zero-tolerance provisions for certain types of offenses.
Federal Financial Aid
Federal Pell Grants, student loans, and work-study programs are governed by federal regulations. Under current federal law, drug-related convictions can affect federal financial aid eligibility. While recent legislative changes have narrowed this impact, students convicted of drug distribution offenses may still lose federal aid eligibility for a period of time.
Private and Departmental Scholarships
Private scholarships — from community organizations, foundations, and corporate sponsors — often have their own conduct requirements. Departmental scholarships within universities may have stricter standards, particularly in fields like nursing, education, and criminal justice where character fitness is a professional requirement.
Defense Strategies That Protect Scholarship Eligibility
At Clark + Harris, we build scholarship protection into every defense strategy:
- Pursuing dismissals and diversion — the best way to protect a scholarship is to avoid a conviction entirely; pretrial diversion, deferred prosecution, and charge dismissals keep the student’s record clean
- Negotiating charge reductions — reducing a felony to a misdemeanor, or a drug distribution charge to simple possession, can protect specific scholarship provisions
- Timing resolution strategically — resolving the criminal case before the university conducts its scholarship review can prevent automatic revocation
- Communicating with scholarship administrators — in some cases, proactive communication with the scholarship office, with appropriate legal framing, can preserve funding during the pendency of the case
- Expungement planning — if a conviction occurs, pursuing expungement under KRS 431.073 or KRS 431.078 may restore eligibility for future academic pursuits
Call Clark + Harris — 859-474-0001
Losing a scholarship can add tens of thousands of dollars in costs to your family and may force your child to leave school entirely. Don’t let criminal charges destroy the financial foundation of your child’s education. Call Clark + Harris at 859-474-0001.
Clark + Harris — Defending Kentucky college students’ scholarships as aggressively as we defend their freedom. Call 859-474-0001.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon should I contact Clark + Harris after being charged in Kentucky?
As soon as possible. Early representation protects your rights during questioning, preserves evidence, and often leads to better outcomes. Call 859-474-0001 — we respond promptly to new inquiries.
Does Clark + Harris represent clients throughout Kentucky?
Yes. We represent clients in all 120 Kentucky counties, both state District and Circuit courts, and federal courts in the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky.
What happens during a free consultation with Clark + Harris?
We review the specific charges and evidence, discuss available defenses, explain the likely process in the relevant court, and give you a clear roadmap of next steps — at no cost to you.
Related Resources
If this information applied to your situation, the following Clark + Harris guides may also be helpful:
- Criminal Defense for University of Kentucky Students in Lexington
- Criminal Defense for University of Louisville Students
- Criminal Defense for Eastern Kentucky University Students in Richmond
- Criminal Defense for Western Kentucky University Students in Bowling Green
- Criminal Defense for Northern Kentucky University Students in Highland Heights