{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-158.192","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 158.192","heading":"Complaint alleging that material, program, or event is harmful to minors -","body":"- Complaint resolution policy -- Determination by principal -- Appeal -- Final\ndisposition by board -- Request by parent or guardian to preclude student\naccess -- Parent's or guardian's access -- Model policy.\n(1) As used in this section, \"harmful to minors\" means materials, programs, or events\nthat:\n(a) Contain the exposure, in an obscene manner, of the unclothed or apparently\nunclothed human male or female genitals, pubic area, or buttocks or the\nfemale breast, or visual depictions of sexual acts or simulations of sexual acts,\nor explicit written descriptions of sexual acts;\n(b) Taken as a whole, appeal to the prurient interest in sex; or\n(c) Are patently offensive to preva iling standards regarding what is suitable for\nminors.\n(2) No later than July 1, 2023, each local board of education shall adopt a complaint\nresolution policy for its local schools to be used to address complaints submitted by\nparents or guardians alleging that material, a program, or an event that is harmful to\nminors has been provided or is currently available to a student enrolled in the local\nschool district who is the child of the parent or guardian. The complaint resolution\nprocess shall require that:\n(a) Complaints be submitted in writing to the principal of the school where the\nstudent is enrolled;\n(b) Complaints provide the name of the complainant, a reasonably detailed\ndescription of the material, program, or event that is alleged to be harmful to\nminors, and how the material, program, or event is believed to be harmful to\nminors;\n(c) Within seven (7) business days of receiving a written complaint, the school\nprincipal shall review the complaint and take reasonable steps to investigate\nthe allegatio ns in the complaint, including but not limited to reviewing the\nmaterial, program, or event that is alleged to be harmful to minors;\n(d) The school principal shall determine whether the material, program, or event\nthat is the subject of the complaint is harmful to minors;\n(e) The school principal shall determine whether student access to material that is\nthe subject of the complaint shall remain, be restricted, or be removed;\n(f) The school principal shall determine whether a program or event that is the\nsubject of the complaint shall be eligible for future participation by students in\nthe school;\n(g) Within ten (10) business days of receiving the complaint, unless another\nschedule is mutually agreed to by the parent or guardian and the school\nprincipal, the school principal shall confer with the parent or guardian and\ninform him or her whether the material, program, or event that is the subject\nof the complaint was determined to be  harmful to minors and what the\nresolution will be in accordance with paragraphs (e) and (f) of this subsection;\n(h) Appeals of the school principal's determination provided for in paragraphs (d),\n(e), and (f) of this subsection shall:\n1. Be subject to ful l administrative and substantive review by the local\nboard of education and shall not be delegated;\n2. Include an opportunity for the parent or guardian to provide input during\npublic comment at a local board of education meeting;\n3. Be completed within th irty (30) calendar days of receiving the written\nappeal unless another time frame is mutually agreed upon by the parent\nor guardian and the local board of education; and\n4. Be discussed and voted on during a meeting of the local board of\neducation subject to the open records and open meeting requirements\nunder KRS Chapter 61;\n(i) The board's final disposition of the appeal shall be made in writing and shall\nstate whether the material, program, or event was determined to be harmful to\nminors and whether stud ent access to the material will remain, be restricted,\nor be removed and whether the program or event shall be eligible for future\nparticipation by students in the school; and\n(j) Within fifteen (15) business days from the date of a final disposition, the title\nof the material or a description of the program or event submitted for appeal\npursuant to paragraph (h) of this subsection, whether the material, program, or\nevent was determined to be harmful to minors, whether student access to the\nmaterial will re main, be restricted, or be removed or whether the program or\nevent shall be eligible for future participation by students in the school, and\nthe vote cast by each individual board member shall:\n1. Be published on the website of the local board of education  where it\nshall remain available for review; and\n2. Be published in the newspaper with the largest circulation in the county.\n(3) (a) A parent or guardian may request in writing to the school, after final\ndisposition is determined by the board as provided for in subsection (2)(i) of\nthis section, that the school ensure his or her student does not have access to\nthe material, program, or event that the parent or guardian believes to be\nharmful to minors but was allowed to remain or be eligible for future\nparticipation.\n(b) The school shall ensure that the student whose parent or guardian has made a\nrequest as provided for in paragraph (a) of this subsection does not have\naccess to the material or is not allowed to participate in the program or event\nthat the parent or guardian believes to be harmful to minors.\n(4) A parent or guardian not having filed the appeal may request in writing access to\nthe appealed materials, programs, or events for review and shall abide by the\nschool's and district's policies and pr ocedures when requesting and reviewing such\ninformation.\n(5) No later than May 1, 2023, the Department of Education shall promulgate a model\npolicy for a complaint resolution process that meets the requirements of subsections\n(2), (3), and (4) of this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 158"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=53547","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:04Z","sha256":"3c4bc4c486692408aea577bce7c92de317ca2bd5ff576519556426a90a067fee","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-158.191","next":"us-ky/krs-158.193"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}