Text of KY HB 14 (2022)

UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 60 Page 1 of 7 XXXX Jacketed AN ACT relating to public education and declaring an emergency. 1 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2 Section 1. KRS 158.183 is amended to read as follows: 3 (1) Consistent with the Constitutions of the United States of America and the 4 Commonwealth of Kentucky, a student shall have the right to carry out an activity 5 described in any of paragraphs (a) to (j) of subsection (2) of this section, if the 6 student does not: 7 (a) Infringe on the rights of the school to: 8 1. Maintain order and discipline; 9 2. Prevent disruption of the educational process; and 10 3. Determine educational curriculum and assignments; 11 (b) Harass other persons or coerce other persons to participate in the activity; or 12 (c) Otherwise infringe on the rights of other persons. 13 (2) Consistent with the Constitutions of the United States of America and the 14 Commonwealth of Kentucky, and subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this 15 section, a student shall be permitted to voluntarily: 16 (a) Pray or engage in religious activities in a public school, vocally or silently, 17 alone or with other students to the same extent and under the same 18 circumstances as a student is permitted to vocally or silently reflect, meditate, 19 speak on, or engage in nonreligious matters alone or with other students in the 20 public school; 21 (b) Express religious or political viewpoints in a public school to the same extent 22 and under the same circumstances as a student is permitted to express 23 viewpoints on nonreligious or nonpolitical topics or subjects in the school; 24 (c) Express religious or political viewpoints in classroom, homework, artwork, 25 and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination or penalty 26 based on the religious or political content of the submissions; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 60 Page 2 of 7 XXXX Jacketed (d) Speak to and attempt to discuss religious or political viewpoints with other 1 students in a public school to the same extent and under the same 2 circumstances as a student is permitted to speak to and attempt to share 3 nonreligious or nonpolitical viewpoints with other students. However, any 4 student may demand that this speech or these attempts to share religious or 5 political viewpoints not be directed at him or her; 6 (e) Distribute religious or political literature in a public school, subject to 7 reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions to the same extent and under 8 the same circumstances as a student is permitted to distribute literature on 9 nonreligious or nonpolitical topics or subjects in the school; 10 (f) Display religious messages on items of clothing to the same extent that a 11 student is permitted to display nonreligious messages on items of clothing; 12 (g) Access public secondary school facilities during noninstructional time as a 13 member of a religious student organization for activities that may include 14 prayer, Bible reading, or other worship exercises to the same extent that 15 members of nonreligious student organizations are permitted access during 16 noninstructional time; 17 (h) Use school media, including the public address system, the school newspaper, 18 and school bulletin boards, to announce student religious meetings to the same 19 extent that a student is permitted to use school media to announce student 20 nonreligious meetings; 21 (i) Meet as a member of a religious student group during noninstructional time in 22 the school day to the same extent that members of nonreligious student groups 23 are permitted to meet, including before and after the school day; and 24 (j) Be absent, in accordance with attendance policy, from a public school to 25 observe religious holidays and participate in other religious practices to the 26 same extent and under the same circumstances as a student is permitted to be 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 60 Page 3 of 7 XXXX Jacketed absent from a public school for nonreligious purposes. 1 (3) (a) Notwithstanding KRS 158.200 to 158.260 and 160.345, consistent with the 2 Constitutions of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of 3 Kentucky, a local board of education, school council, or public charter 4 school shall not include or promote any of the following concepts as part of 5 a course of instruction or in a curriculum or instructional program, or 6 allow a school council, teacher, or other employee of the school district or 7 public charter school to use supplemental instructional materials that 8 include or promote any of the following concepts: 9 1. One (1) race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex; 10 2. An individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, 11 sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously; 12 3. An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse 13 treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex; 14 4. Members of one (1) race or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat 15 others without respect to race or sex; 16 5. An individual's moral character is determined by his or her race or 17 sex; 18 6. An individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility 19 for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race 20 or sex; 21 7. An individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form 22 of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex; 23 8. Meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist or 24 were created by members of a particular race to oppress members of 25 another race; 26 9. The Commonwealth or the United States is fundamentally or 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 60 Page 4 of 7 XXXX Jacketed irredeemably racist or sexist; 1 10. Values, moral or ethical codes, privileges, or beliefs can be assigned to 2 a race or sex, or to an individual because of the individual's race or 3 sex; 4 11. Promoting or advocating the violent overthrow of the United States 5 government; or 6 12. Promoting division between, or resentment of, a race, sex, religion, 7 creed, nonviolent political affiliation, social class, or class of people. 8 (b) A school district employee that violates paragraph (a) of this subsection 9 shall be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with KRS 161.120(l). 10 (c) 1. Any citizen residing within or having a student enrolled in a local 11 school district may file a complaint with the Attorney General for an 12 alleged violation of paragraph (a) of this subsection. 13 2. If the Attorney General finds, based on preponderance of the evidence, 14 that a local board of education, school council, or employee of a 15 school district or public charter school violated paragraph (a) of this 16 subsection, the Attorney General shall: 17 a. Send notice of the violation to the commissioner of the 18 Department of Education, the local board of education, the 19 school council if one exists, and the principal of the public 20 school or public charter school; 21 b. If the violation involves a certified employee of a school district 22 or public charter school, send notice of the identity of the 23 certified employee and the nature of the violation to the 24 Education Professional Standards Board; and 25 c. If the Attorney General finds that the violation described in the 26 notice persists on the date the notice is issued, the Attorney 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 60 Page 5 of 7 XXXX Jacketed General shall order the commissioner of the Department of 1 Education to withhold from the allotment to the school district 2 calculated in accordance with KRS 157.410, or any funding 3 owing to the public charter school, the sum of five thousand 4 dollars ($5,000) per day from the date the notice is issued 5 through the date the Attorney General determines the violation is 6 remedied. 7 3. The commissioner of the Department of Education shall comply with 8 the Attorney General and deduct and withhold the amount of funds 9 designated by the Attorney General from any allotment to a school 10 district or public charter school. 11 4. A school district shall cooperate with the Attorney General's 12 investigation of an alleged violation of paragraph (a) of this 13 subsection and, upon notification of a finding of a violation from the 14 Attorney General, bears the burden of proving that a violation has 15 been remedied. 16 (4) Consistent with its obligations to respect the rights secured by the Constitutions of 17 the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a local board of 18 education shall ensure that: 19 (a) 1. The selection of students to speak at official events is made without 20 regard to the religious or political viewpoint of the student speaker; 21 2. The prepared remarks of the student are not altered before delivery, 22 except in a viewpoint-neutral manner, unless requested by the student. 23 However, student speakers shall not engage in speech that is obscene, 24 vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent; and 25 3. If the content of the student's speech is such that a reasonable observer 26 may perceive affirmative school sponsorship or endorsement of the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 60 Page 6 of 7 XXXX Jacketed student speaker's religious or political viewpoint, the school shall 1 communicate, in writing, orally, or both, that the student's speech does 2 not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the 3 school; 4 (b) Religious and political organizations are allowed equal access to public 5 forums on the same basis as nonreligious and nonpolitical organizations; and 6 (c) No recognized religious or political student organization is hindered or 7 discriminated against in the ordering of its internal affairs, selection of leaders 8 and members, defining of doctrines and principles, and resolving of 9 organizational disputes in the furtherance of its mission, or in its 10 determination that only persons committed to its mission should conduct these 11 activities. 12 (5)[(4)] Consistent with its obligations to respect the rights secured by the 13 Constitutions of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 14 a local board of education shall permit public schools in the district to sponsor 15 artistic or theatrical programs that advance students' knowledge of society's cultural 16 and religious heritage, as well as provide opportunities for students to study and 17 perform a wide range of music, literature, poetry, and drama. 18 (6)[(5)] No action may be maintained under KRS 158.181 to 158.187 unless the 19 student has exhausted the following administrative remedies; 20 (a) The student or the student's parent or guardian shall state his or her complaint 21 to the school's principal. The principal shall investigate and take appropriate 22 action to ensure the rights of the student are resolved within seven (7) days of 23 the date of the complaint; 24 (b) If the concerns are not resolved, then the student or the student's parent or 25 guardian shall make a complaint in writing to the superintendent with the 26 specific facts of the alleged violation; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 60 Page 7 of 7 XXXX Jacketed (c) The superintendent shall investigate and take appropriate action to ensure that 1 the rights of the student are resolved within thirty (30) days of the date of the 2 written complaint; and 3 (d) Only after the superintendent's investigation and action may a student or the 4 student's parent or legal guardian pursue any other legal action. 5 SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 164 IS CREATED TO 6 READ AS FOLLOWS: 7 No student enrolled at a public postsecondary education institution shall be required to 8 engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling. 9 Any orientation or requirement that presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or a 10 bias on the basis of race or sex shall be prohibited. 11 Section 3. This Act may be cited as the Education Non-Discrimination Act or 12 END Act. 13 Section 4. Whereas it is imperative that the racist indoctrination of children in 14 Kentucky schools be eradicated, an emergency is declared to exist, and this Act takes 15 effect upon its passage and approval by the Governor or upon its otherwise becoming a 16 law. 17