Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
A bill that aims to revise restrictions on how Kentucky teachers communicate electronically with their students has passed out of the state Senate.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, builds on her law from last year that required public school teachers and students to electronically communicate only by traceable forms, like emails and school-approved apps, as a way to combat sexual grooming of children.
However, advocates said the law still had room for improvement, despite its passage by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and signature from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
Since the law took effect at the start of the current school year, parents and teachers wanted clarification about barring all types of electronic communication, including texts, between students and teachers.
Questions arose about what to do when sports teams needed updates from their coaches or students are traveling on field trips and need to be contacted quickly.
Among the proposed changes in Senate Bill 181: School employees and volunteers may not engage in “unauthorized electronic communication” with students, which is defined as a private message to a student without their parent as a recipient of the message and without parental approval from a consent form.
Additionally, schools are allowed more discretion when disciplining employees and volunteers for violating the measure. School officials would also be allowed to message a student if they have reason to believe an emergency exists, provided that they disclose the message to a supervisor after the fact.
The Senate passed the legislation 33-0 Tuesday afternoon.
While discussing the bill on the floor, Tichenor said she had heard feedback from several survivors of childhood grooming who supported the original intent of the bill.
“Changes that were made reflect the needs of our districts, but every change I took into consideration was first run by former victims to ensure that the integrity of the bill is upheld,” Tichenor said on the Senate floor.
The Kentucky Association of School Superintendents (KASS) told the Lantern last year that it supported making changes to the 2025 law.
Two Republicans, Majority Floor Leader Sen. Max Wise, of Campbellsville, and Sen. Michael Nemes, of Shepherdsville, praised Tichenor for working since last year with teachers, parents and other groups on the latest piece of legislation.
“The intent is fantastic. It is much needed, and I was glad to see (them) and to tell my constituents and all those school employees and others back home, we are fixing it and it will be corrected, and it is a process,” Wise said.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
