Education (School Safety)

Amend KRS 158.150 to permit a teacher to remove from the classroom a student that violates a school behavior policy and is disruptive to the classroom environment and education process; require teacher and principal or assistant principal agreement before student may return to the classroom on the same school day as removal.

Amend KRS 158.162 to define "critical incident," require investigations in emergency plans for critical incidents and state the goals of the investigations; amend KRS 158.4410 to task the state school security marshal with investigating serious physical injury or death incidents that occur on school property, at school-sanctioned events, or during interscholastic athletic events; create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to outline the parameters of the investigation, require referral of potential criminal charges, and require necessary administrative regulations; amend KRS 72.025 to require the coroner conduct an autopsy in deaths occurring on public or nonpublic school property or during a school-sanctioned event.

Amend KRS 456.010 to define "school violence"; amend KRS 456.030 to allow a victim of school violence to file a petition for an interpersonal protective order; amend various sections of KRS Chapter 456 to conform.

Amend KRS 160.345 to require a school council to adopt a policy requiring students to be assigned a lunch period of at least 30 minutes in length; amend KRS 158.153 to conform.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to prohibit a public school district or public charter school from entering into a nondisclosure agreement relating to misconduct involving a minor or student; amend KRS 160.380 to define "abusive conduct"; require school district applicants to disclose being the subject of any disciplinary actions in the previous 12 months relating to abusive conduct and consent to a reference check; require school districts to conduct reference checks; require nonpublic schools and public school districts to disclose any disciplinary actions related to abusive conduct of applicants; provide immunity for disclosures made about school employee conduct; require school districts to request all related information from public and nonpublic schools and the Education Professional Standards Board (ESPB); require schools and EPSB to provide the records; require requests for information to be satisfied in 10 working days; require EPSB to create and implement procedures for information requests; require all school district applicants to list all schools of previous and current employment on the application; require a school district to internally report and investigate to completion all allegations of abusive conduct; require all records relating to an allegation of abusive conduct to be retained in an employee's personnel file unless the allegation is proven false; provide that certain requirements apply to public charter schools; amend KRS 156.160 to direct the Kentucky Board of Education to include employment standards in the voluntary certification standards for private schools; make technical corrections; amend KRS 160.151 to define "certified nonpublic school"; require employees of certified nonpublic schools to submit to a national and state criminal background check and a CA/N check; require certified nonpublic school personnel to have a state criminal background check every 5 years; prohibit a certified nonpublic school from hiring a violent or felony sex crime offender; require a certified nonpublic school to conduct reference checks on all applicants; prohibit a certified nonpublic school from entering into a nondisclosure agreement related to misconduct involving a minor or student; make technical corrections; amend KRS 156.095 to require the Kentucky Department of Education to develop a training related to sexual misconduct and inappropriate relationships for employees to undergo every 5 years; make technical corrections; amend KRS 161.151 to conform; require that an allegation of abusive conduct be reported pursuant to KRS 620.030; amend KRS 158.4431, 156.492, and 158.200 to conform.

Amend KRS 160.345 to define "recess"; require each school council to develop and implement a wellness policy that includes 30 minutes of recess for students in kindergarten through grade 5 to be included as part of each full instructional day and 15 minutes of recess on each early dismissal day allows between 15 and 30 minutes of recess per instructional say for students in grades 6 through 12; allows appropriate supervised physical exercise to be used as a student discipline tool during recess; and prohibits the denial of recess unless participation poses an immediate threat to physical safety; require the wellness policy to be adopted and implemented prior to the first student attendance day of the 2026-27 school year.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to state legislative findings; define terms; establish additional free speech protections for student journalists; place limitations on additional protections; establish protections for student media advisors; require each local school board to adopt a written policy for time, place, and manner restrictions and for an appeals procedure; provide that student speech not be considered school speech; allow for a student journalist or student media advisor to seek injunctive relief; provide that the Act may be cited as the New Voices Act.