{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-160.145","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 160.145","heading":"Definitions -- Designated traceable communication system -- Unauthorized","body":"electronic communication -- Parental authorization for exceptions --\nCommunications that are not restricted -- Disclosure of affiliation -- Report of\nunauthorized electronic communication -- Disciplinary penalties -- Notification\nand investigation of report.\n(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Commercial or local government affiliation\" means:\n1. Having an ownership interest in, being employed by, or being a\ncustomer or client of a commercial business or activity; or\n2. An association with a city, county, consolidated local government,\nurban-county government, charter county government, or unified local\ngovernment;\n(b) \"Family member\" means:\n1. A parent, brother, sister, son , daughter, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew,\nniece, or grandparent related to the student by consanguinity, affinity, or\nadoption; or\n2. An adult that resides in the same household as the student;\n(c) \"Parent\" means a parent, legal guardian, a person acting as  a parent in the\nabsence of a parent or guardian, or other individual or agency responsible for\nthe student;\n(d) \"Private electronic communication\" means electronic communication that\ninvolves direct one -on-one or group conversations that are only accessible to\nthe participants;\n(e) \"Qualified school volunteer\" means an adult who:\n1. Is not:\na. A school district employee; or\nb. Enrolled in the school district; and\n2. Has served the school or school district at any point during the current\nschool year:\na. As a student teacher, a nonfaculty coach or assistant coach, a\nnonfaculty sponsor of an extracurricular program or  activity, or a\nschool-sponsored academic tutor; or\nb. In a nonfaculty student services role designated as a qualified\nschool volunteer by the local board of education;\n(f) \"School district employee\":\n1. Means a school administrator, classified employee, certified employee,\ncontractor hired by the district to provide direct services to students, or\ncompensated nonfaculty coach or assistant coach;\n2. Includes any Kentucky Department of Education or educational\ncooperative employee who is assigned to a schoo l or area technology\ncenter within the school district on a full -time basis and granted official\naccess as a user of the traceable communication system; and\n3. Does not include any student enrolled in the district;\n(g) \"Traceable communication system\" mean s one (1) or more electronic school\nnotification and communication programs or applications that:\n1. Are designated by a local board of education in accordance with\nsubsection (2) of this section;\n2. Trace all communications sent to or by a student; and\n3. Provide parents an opportunity to access and review those\ncommunications; and\n(h) \"Unauthorized electronic communication\":\n1. Means private electronic communication with a student enrolled in a\nschool district by the school district's employee or qualifie d school\nvolunteer who is not the student's family member that occurs outside of\na designated traceable communication system and without prior written\nparental consent;\n2. Includes any private electronic communication with a student or\nstudents enrolled in the school district through a personal email account,\ntext messaging, social media, or other private electronic communication\nprogram outside of the traceable communication system; and\n3. Does not include:\na. Virtual school instruction, including nontradi tional instruction,\nonline course instruction, and home-health instruction;\nb. Academic feedback mechanisms;\nc. Electronic translation services;\nd. Electronic communication with any telephone number provided by\na parent for the purpose of school communication with that parent;\ne. Electronic communication in which a parent of the student is\nincluded as a recipient or participant;\nf. Electronic communication between two (2) or more school district\nemployees or qualified school volunteers and one (1) or more\nstudents that is in direct relation to an academic, athletic, or\nextracurricular purpose;\ng. Electronic communication between a school resource officer or\ndirector of pupil personnel and a student in which the principal,\nvice principal, or a school -based mental health services provider,\nas defined by KRS 158.4416, is included as a recipient that is in\ndirect relation to the safety, engagement, or attendance of a\nstudent;\nh. Voice communication on an official telephone number affiliated\nwith the school or school district;\ni. Social media posts and comments that are not private electronic\ncommunication;\nj. Electronic communication related to commercial products or\nservices with  a telephone number, email address, or other\nelectronic account affiliated with a lawful commercial business; or\nk. Secure messaging for healthcare providers.\n(2) Each local board of education shall designate a traceable communication system for\nschool dis trict employees and qualified school volunteers to communicate\nelectronically with students enrolled in the school district. The principal of each\npublic school shall provide parents written or electronic notification within the first\nten (10) days of the school year of each electronic school notification and\ncommunication program designated within the traceable communication system.\nThe notification shall include instructions for parents to access and review\ncommunications sent through each electronic scho ol notification and\ncommunication program.\n(3) (a) A school district employee or qualified school volunteer shall not engage in\nunauthorized electronic communication.\n(b) A school district employee that violates paragraph (a) of this subsection may\nbe subject to disciplinary action in accordance with:\n1. For certified employees, KRS 161.120 and 161.790; or\n2. For classified employees, KRS 161.011(7).\n(c) A qualified school volunteer that violates paragraph (a) of this subsection may\nbe prohibited by the school district from future school volunteer opportunities.\n(4) A parent may submit written consent to authorize a designated school district\nemployee or qualified school volunteer who is not a family member to participate in\nprivate electronic communication with his or her child outside of the traceable\ncommunication system. The written consent:\n(a) Shall be filed in the administrative office of the student's school;\n(b) Shall be submitted to the administrative office of the school prior to any\nprivate electronic communication being sent from a school district employee\nor qualified school volunteer to a student outside of the traceable\ncommunication system;\n(c) Shall designate each specific school district employee or qualified school\nvolunteer that may partic ipate in private electronic communication with the\nstudent outside of the traceable communication system and shall not be\ntransferable to any other school district employee or qualified school\nvolunteer;\n(d) May be revoked by the parent who filed the conse nt at any time. Upon notice\nof a revocation, the administrative office shall promptly notify the school\ndistrict and each school district employee and qualified school volunteer\nsubject to the revocation;\n(e) May establish terms limiting electronic communi cation with a student,\nincluding establishing an expiration for the term of the consent. Any\nelectronic communication with the student enrolled in the school district\noutside of the traceable communication system under this subsection shall\ncomply with all terms of the written consent;\n(f) Shall not be rejected or denied by the school or school district unless the\nwritten consent fails to properly identify the applicable student, school district\nemployee, or qualified school volunteer. Upon receipt of the w ritten consent,\nthe administrative office shall deliver a copy of the written consent to the\nschool district and the designated school district employee or qualified school\nvolunteer;\n(g) Shall not be compelled as a requirement for a student to participate  in an\nacademic, athletic, or extracurricular opportunity; and\n(h) Shall not authorize a school district employee or qualified school volunteer to\nengage in inappropriate or sexual electronic communication with a student or\nbe used as a basis of a defense for a school district employee or qualified\nschool volunteer that engages in inappropriate or sexual electronic\ncommunication with a student or students.\n(5) Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (3) of this section, this section shall not restrict\nany private electronic communications:\n(a) Between a student and his or her family member who is a school district\nemployee or qualified school volunteer;\n(b) Between a student and a school district employee or qualified school\nvolunteer who reasonably believes an emergency exists that creates an\nimminent risk to any person or property, provided the school district\nemployee promptly discloses the private electronic communication to his or\nher immediate supervisor after the fact in accordance with subsection (7) of\nthis section;\n(c) During and in direct relation to a school -sanctioned field trip the student has\nparental consent to attend;\n(d) During and in direct relation to work-based learning experiences; or\n(e) That are directly related to a commercial or local gov ernment affiliation that\nhas been previously disclosed in accordance with subsection (6) of this\nsection.\n(6) A school district employee or qualified school volunteer may submit a written\ndisclosure notifying the school district of a commercial or local government\naffiliation that could reasonably result in private electronic communication with a\nstudent outside o f the traceable communication system. Upon filing the written\ndisclosure, subsequent private electronic communication directly related to the\ndisclosed commercial or local government affiliation is no longer subject to the\nrestrictions of subsections (2) a nd (3) of this section in accordance with subsection\n(5)(e) of this section.\n(7) (a) A school district employee or qualified school volunteer that participated in\nunauthorized electronic communication subject to subsection (2) and (3) of\nthis section or re asonably believes that another school district employee or\nqualified school volunteer participated in unauthorized electronic\ncommunication that is subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section that\nhas not been previously reported shall immediately n otify the supervising\nprincipal or applicable supervisor. If the subject of the report is the principal\nor a district -wide employee, the reporting employee or volunteer shall\nimmediately notify the superintendent of the school district. If the subject of\nthe report is the superintendent or a Kentucky Department of Education\nemployee assigned to a school or area technology center within the school\ndistrict on a full -time and continuing basis, the reporting employee or\nvolunteer shall immediately notify the c ommissioner of education and the\nchair of the local board of education.\n(b) A school district employee that violates paragraph (a) of this subsection may\nbe subject to disciplinary action in accordance with:\n1. For certified employees, KRS 161.120 and 161.790; or\n2. For classified employees, KRS 161.011(7).\n(8) (a) Upon receipt of a report alleging that a school district employee or qualified\nschool volunteer violated subsection (2) or (3) of this section, the\ncommissioner of education, a principal, or a superintendent shall immediately:\n1. Notify the parent of each student that is an alleged party to the\nunauthorized electronic communications; and\n2. a. If the individual that is the subject of the report is a certified\nemployee:\ni. Notify the Education Prof essional Standards Board, which\nshall promptly investigate all allegations received under this\nsubsection and proceed with appropriate disciplinary actions\nin accordance with KRS 161.120; and\nii. Investigate the underlying allegations and proceed with\nappropriate disciplinary actions in accordance with KRS\n161.790;\nb. If the individual that is the subject of the report is a classified\nemployee, investigate the underlying allegations and proceed with\nappropriate disciplinary actions in accordance with KRS\n161.011(7);\nc. If the individual that is the subject of the report is a qualified\nschool volunteer, the school or district shall investigate the\nunderlying allegations and, if substantiated, the qualified school\nvolunteer may be prohibited from future school  and district\nvolunteer opportunities; and\nd. Notwithstanding any statute to the contrary, notify the parent of\neach student that is an alleged party to the unauthorized electronic\ncommunication of each material phase of the investigation and\ndisciplinary action under this subparagraph, including but not\nlimited to a written summary of the results of an investigation and\nthe final outcome of the disciplinary action.\n(b) A principal or superintendent who violates paragraph (a) of this subsection\nshall be sub ject to disciplinary action in accordance with KRS 156.132 and\n161.120.","path":["KRS Chapter 160"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56870","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:07Z","sha256":"263604861c4bf3d57461aabc407af58ec2a317450251b1860110807891754361","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-160.140","next":"us-ky/krs-160.148"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}