Bills
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House Bill 4 - Representative Marianne Proctor

Senate Bill 181 - Senator Lindsey Tichenor

SB 181 requires school districts to use traceable communication systems for electronic contact with students, ensures parental access and notification and creates clear consequences when unauthorized communication occurs. It also strengthens reporting timelines, transparency and oversight when allegations involve school employees or volunteers.

At its core, SB 181 is about closing gaps between law and practice—ensuring concerns are routed promptly to appropriate outside authorities and handled with consistency, accountability, and transparency.

Why it matters
By prioritizing traceable communication, parental awareness, and clear reporting pathways, the bill helps prevent harm before it escalates and restores trust in systems designed to protect children.

READ HOUSE BILL 4

House Bill 4 strengthens Kentucky law by explicitly criminalizing grooming behaviors—patterns of conduct used by adults to gain access to, trust of or influence over a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation or abuse.

By naming grooming as a distinct offense, HB 4 closes a long-standing gap in the law: harmful conduct that is often clearly predatory but difficult to prosecute before abuse escalates. This bill allows intervention before harm is undeniable.

Why it matters
Grooming is not ambiguous to victims—but it has often been treated as ambiguous in policy and enforcement. HB 4 gives law enforcement, prosecutors, and schools clearer guidance, while prioritizing early intervention and prevention.

READ SENATE BILL 181

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HOUSE BILL 4

This bill focuses on prevention, not punishment after the fact.
HB 4 allows intervention before abuse occurs by recognizing grooming as the warning sign it is.

Grooming is a documented, well-understood pattern of behavior.
Research and survivor testimony consistently show that abuse is rarely spontaneous—it is preceded by boundary-testing, isolation, secrecy, and manipulation.

Clarity protects everyone.
Clearly defining prohibited conduct helps protect students, while also giving educators and administrators clearer boundaries and expectations.

HB 4 supports—not replaces—existing mandatory reporting laws.
It complements current statutes by addressing conduct that often precedes reportable abuse but has historically fallen into a gray area.

This is a child-safety issue, not a partisan one.
Protecting children from exploitation is a shared responsibility and a shared value.

Kentucky has an opportunity to lead.
By naming grooming explicitly, Kentucky can set a standard for proactive, survivor-informed child protection legislation.

SENATE BILL 181

Internal investigations cannot substitute for reporting.
SB 181 makes explicit that school personnel may not assess, screen, or resolve allegations internally before notifying appropriate authorities.

Traceable communication protects students, families, and educators.
By requiring designated communication platforms with parental visibility, the bill reduces secrecy and boundary ambiguity.

Parents are kept informed.
The bill strengthens notification requirements so families are not left in the dark when concerns arise.

Consistency across districts matters.
Student safety should not depend on local interpretation or internal policy—SB 181 establishes uniform expectations statewide.

This is a process-focused bill, not a punitive one.
SB 181 prioritizes correct procedure, transparency, and early intervention rather than assuming intent or guilt.

Clear rules reduce risk for everyone.
When expectations are unambiguous, students are safer and educators are better protected from unclear or informal practices.

HOUSE BILL 102

HB 102 focuses on accountability and prevention, not punishment without due process. It strengthens systems and procedures so concerns are handled consistently and responsibly.

The bill helps prevent misconduct from being quietly hidden or transferred. By limiting nondisclosure agreements and improving hiring transparency, HB 102 closes gaps that have allowed risk to follow students from one school to another.

HB 102 protects both students and educators. It requires investigations to be completed and clearly documents outcomes, including removing records when allegations are false or unsubstantiated.

False allegations are addressed, not ignored. The bill preserves due process while ensuring concerns are not dismissed prematurely or left unresolved.

Clear rules reduce liability and confusion for school districts. HB 102 replaces informal practices with defined, consistent standards for reporting, documentation, and record-keeping.

Student safety should not depend on discretion or silence. Transparent processes build trust with families and reinforce the integrity of the education system.

HB 102 complements existing child protection laws. It strengthens how schools carry out their responsibilities without changing criminal standards or evidentiary thresholds.

House Bill 102 - Representative James Tipton

HB 102 strengthens safeguards around educator misconduct by closing long-standing gaps in hiring, reporting, record-keeping, and accountability. Under current law, educators can leave a district under a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), educator misconduct can be sealed, investigations can stop and future employers may never be told. HB 102 closes those loopholes.

HB 102 limits the use of nondisclosure agreements related to misconduct involving students, requires completion of investigations even if an employee resigns or transfers, and improves transparency during hiring by ensuring districts share relevant disciplinary history tied to abusive conduct.

At its core, HB 102 is about preventing misconduct from being quietly hidden—or passed from one school community to another—while preserving due process and clear standards for educators.

Why it matters
By addressing the structural weaknesses that allow risk to go unaddressed, HB 102 helps protect students, support responsible educators, and ensure institutions respond to concerns with consistency, integrity, and transparency—before harm is repeated.

READ HOUSE BILL 102