{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-158.183","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 158.183","heading":"Prohibited acts by students -- Rights of student -- Duties of local","body":"board of education -- Administrative remedies.\n(1) Consistent with the Constitutions of the United States of America and the\nCommonwealth  of Kentucky, a student shall have the right to carry out an\nactivity described in any of paragraphs (a) to (j) of subsection (2) of this\nsection, if the student does not:\n(a) Infringe on the rights of the school to:\n1. Maintain order and discipline;\n2. Prevent disruption of the educational process; and\n3. Determine educational curriculum and assignments;\n(b) Harass  other persons or coerce other persons to participate in the\nactivity; or\n(c) Otherwise infringe on the rights of other persons.\n(2) Consistent with the Constitutions of the United States of America and the\nCommonwealth  of Kentucky, and subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of\nthis section, a student shall be permitted to voluntarily:\n(a) Pray or engage in religious activities in a public school, vocally or silently,\nalone or with other students to the same  extent and under the same\ncircumstances as a student is permitted to vocally or silently reflect,\nmeditate, speak on, or engage in nonreligious matters alone or with other\nstudents in the public school;\n(b) Express religious or political viewpoints in a public school to the same\nextent and under the same  circumstances as a student is permitted to\nexpress viewpoints on nonreligious or nonpolitical topics or subjects in the\nschool;\n(c) Express religious or political viewpoints in classroom, homework, artwork,\nand other written and oral assignments free from discrimination or penalty\nbased on the religious or political content of the submissions;\n(d) Speak to and attempt to discuss religious or political viewpoints with other\nstudents in a public school to the same  extent and under the same\ncircumstances as a student is permitted to speak to and attempt to share\nnonreligious or nonpolitical viewpoints with other students. However, any\nstudent may demand  that this speech or these attempts to share religious\nor political viewpoints not be directed at him or her;\n(e) Distribute religious or political literature in a public school, subject to\nreasonable time, place, and manner restrictions to the same extent and\nunder the same  circumstances as a student is permitted to distribute\nliterature on nonreligious or nonpolitical topics or subjects in the school;\n(f) Display religious messages on items of clothing to the same extent that a\nstudent is permitted to display nonreligious messages  on items of\nclothing;\n(g) Access public secondary school facilities during noninstructional time as\na  member  of a religious student organization for activities that may\ninclude prayer, Bible reading, or other worship exercises to the same\nextent that members  of nonreligious student organizations are permitted\naccess during noninstructional time;\n(h) Use  school media, including the public address system, the school\nnewspaper, and school bulletin boards, to announce student religious\nmeetings to the same  extent that a student is permitted to use school\nmedia to announce student nonreligious meetings;\n(i) Meet  as a member  of a religious student group during noninstructional\ntime in the school day to the same extent that members  of nonreligious\nstudent groups are permitted to meet, including before and after the\nschool day; and\n(j) Be absent, in accordance with attendance policy, from a public school to\nobserve religious holidays and participate in other religious practices to\nthe same  extent and under the same  circumstances as a student is\npermitted to be absent from a public school for nonreligious purposes.\n(3) Consistent with its obligations to respect the rights secured  by  the\nConstitutions of the United States of America and the Commonwealth  of\nKentucky, a local board of education shall ensure that:\n(a) 1. The selection of students to speak at official events is made without\nregard to the religious or political viewpoint of the student speaker;\n2. The prepared remarks of the student are not altered before delivery,\nexcept in a viewpoint-neutral manner, unless requested by the\nstudent. However, student speakers shall not engage in speech that\nis obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent; and\n3. If the content of the student's speech is such that a reasonable\nobserver  may  perceive  affirmative school  sponsorship  or\nendorsement of the student speaker's religious or political viewpoint,\nthe school shall communicate, in writing, orally, or both, that the\nstudent's speech does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship,\nposition, or expression of the school;\n(b) Religious and political organizations are allowed equal access to public\nforums on the same basis as nonreligious and nonpolitical organizations;\nand\n(c) No  recognized religious or political student organization is hindered or\ndiscriminated against in the ordering of its internal affairs, selection of\nleaders and members, defining of doctrines and principles, and resolving\nof organizational disputes in the furtherance of its mission, or in its\ndetermination that only persons committed to its mission should conduct\nthese activities.\n(4) Consistent with its obligations to respect the rights secured  by  the\nConstitutions of the United States of America and the Commonwealth  of\nKentucky, a local board of education shall permit public schools in the district to\nsponsor artistic or theatrical programs that advance students' knowledge of\nsociety's cultural and religious heritage, as well as provide opportunities for\nstudents to study and perform a wide range of music, literature, poetry, and\ndrama.\n(5) No  action may  be maintained under KRS  158.181 to 158.187 unless the\nstudent has exhausted the following administrative remedies;\n(a) The  student or the student's parent or guardian shall state his or her\ncomplaint to the school's principal. The principal shall investigate and take\nappropriate action to ensure the rights of the student are resolved within\nseven (7) days of the date of the complaint;\n(b) If the concerns are not resolved, then the student or the student's parent\nor guardian shall make a complaint in writing to the superintendent with\nthe specific facts of the alleged violation;\n(c) The  superintendent shall investigate and take appropriate action to\nensure that the rights of the student are resolved within thirty (30) days of\nthe date of the written complaint; and\n(d) Only after the superintendent's investigation and action may a student or\nthe student's parent or legal guardian pursue any other legal action.","path":["KRS Chapter 158"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45715","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:04Z","sha256":"a6e7cefe207a8d530a7dfd9ce770e67949b5aef4d0299bb803ff44e42fc45394","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-158.182","next":"us-ky/krs-158.184"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}