{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-164.348","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 164.348","heading":"Campus free speech protection -- Governing board to adopt policies","body":"ensuring freedom of expression and assembly -- Statement of policies made\navailable to students and faculty -- Disruption of another's expressive activity.\n(1) For purposes of this section:\n(a) \"Faculty\" means any person tasked by a public postsecondary education\ninstitution with providing scholarship, academic research, or teaching,\nregardless of whether the person is compensated by the public postsecondary\neducation institution; and\n(b) \"Student\" means an individual currently enrolled in at least one (1) credit hour\nat a public postsecondary education institution or a student organization\nregistered pursuant to the policies of a public postsecondary education\ninstitution.\n(2) Consistent with its obligations to respect the rights secured by the Constitutions of\nthe United States and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a governing board of a\npublic postsecondary education institution shall adopt policies to ensure that:\n(a) The institution protects the fundamental and constitutional right of all students\nand faculty to freedom of expression;\n(b) The institution grants students and faculty the broadest possible latitude to\nspeak, write, listen, challenge, learn, and discuss any issue;\n(c) The institution commits to maintaining a marketplace of ideas where the free\nexchange of ideas is not suppressed because an idea put forth is considered by\nsome or even most of the members of the institution's community to be\noffensive, unwise, disagreeable, conservative, liberal, traditional, or radical;\n(d) Students and faculty do not substantially obstruct or otherwise substantially\ninterfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject so that a\nlively and fearless freedom of debate and delib eration is promoted and\nprotected;\n(e) The expression of a student's religious or political viewpoints in classroom,\nhomework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments is free from\ndiscrimination or penalty based on the religious or political conten t of the\nsubmissions;\n(f) 1. The selection of students to speak at official events is made in a\nviewpoint-neutral manner;\n2. The prepared remarks of the student are not altered before delivery,\nexcept in a viewpoint -neutral manner, unless requested by the student.\nHowever, student speakers shall not engage in speech that is obscene,\nvulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent; and\n3. If the content of the student's speech is such that a reasonable observer\nmay perceive affirmative institutional sponsorship or endorsement of the\nstudent speaker's religious or political viewpoint, the institution shall\ncommunicate, in writing, orally, or  both, that the student's speech does\nnot reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the\ninstitution;\n(g) Student religious and political organizations are allowed equal access to\npublic forums on the same basis as nonreligious and no npolitical\norganizations;\n(h) No recognized religious or political student organization is hindered or\ndiscriminated against in the ordering of its internal affairs, selection of leaders\nand members, defining of doctrines and principles, and resolving of\norganizational disputes in the furtherance of its mission, or in its\ndetermination that only persons committed to its mission should conduct such\nactivities;\n(i) Student activity fee funding to a student organization is not denied based on\nthe viewpoints that the student organization advocates;\n(j) The generally accessible, open, outdoor areas of the campus be maintained as\ntraditional public forums for students and faculty to express their views, so\nthat the free expression of students and faculty is not li mited to particular\nareas of the campus often described as \"free speech zones\";\n(k) There shall be no restrictions on the time, place, and manner of student speech\nthat occurs in the outdoor areas of campus or is protected by the First\nAmendment of the United States Constitution, except for restrictions that are:\n1. Reasonable;\n2. Justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech;\n3. Narrowly tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest; and\n4. Limited to provide ample alternative o ptions for the communication of\nthe information;\n(l) Permit requirements do not prohibit spontaneous outdoor assemblies or\noutdoor distribution of literature, although an institution may adopt a policy\nthat grants members of the university community the ri ght to reserve certain\noutdoor spaces in advance;\n(m) All students and faculty are allowed to invite guest speakers to campus to\nengage in free speech regardless of the views of the guest speakers;\n(n) Students are not charged fees based on the content of their speech, the content\nof the speech of guest speakers invited by students, or the anticipated reaction\nor opposition of listeners to the speech; and\n(o) The institution does not disinvite a speaker invited by a student, student\norganization, or faculty member because the speaker's anticipated speech may\nbe considered offensive, unwise, disagreeable, conservative, liberal,\ntraditional, or radical by students, faculty, administrators, government\nofficials, or members of the public.\n(3) (a) Any person aggrieved by a violation of any policy adopted or required to have\nbeen adopted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall have a cause of\naction against the institution, or any of its agents acting in their official\ncapacities, for damages arising from the violation, including reasonable\nattorney's fees and litigation costs.\n(b) A claim brought pursuant to this subsection may be asserted in any court of\ncompetent jurisdiction within one (1) year of the date the cause of action\naccrued. The cause of actio n shall be deemed to have accrued at the point in\ntime the violation ceases or is cured by the institution.\n(c) Excluding reasonable attorney's fees and litigation costs, any prevailing\nclaimant shall be awarded no less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) b ut no\nmore than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) cumulatively per action.\nIf multiple claimants prevail and the damages awarded would exceed one\nhundred thousand dollars ($100,000), the court shall divide one hundred\nthousand dollars ($100,000) amongst all prevailing claimants equally.\n(4) (a) The policies adopted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be made\navailable to students and faculty using the following methods:\n1. Publishing in the institution's student handbook and faculty handb ook,\nwhether paper or electronic; and\n2. Posting to a prominent location on the institution's Web site.\n(b) The policies adopted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section may also be\nmade available to students and faculty using the following methods:\n1. Mailing electronically to students and faculty annually using their\ninstitutionally provided e-mail addresses; or\n2. Including in orientation programs for new students and new faculty.\n(5) (a) Nothing in this section shall be construed to grant students the  right to engage\nin conduct that intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupts another's\nexpressive activity if that activity is occurring in a campus space previously\nscheduled or reserved for that activity or under the exclusive use or control of\na particular group.\n(b) Conduct intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupts another's\nexpressive activity if it significantly hinders the expressive activity of another\nperson or group, or prevents the communication of a message or the\ntransaction of a lawful meeting, gathering, or procession by:\n1. Being of a violent or seriously disruptive nature; or\n2. Physically blocking or significantly hindering any person from\nattending, hearing, viewing, or otherwise participating in an expressive\nactivity.\n(c) Conduct does not intentionally, materially, and substantially disrupt another's\nexpressive activity if the conduct:\n1. Is protected under the First Amendment to the United States\nConstitution or the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,\nincluding but not limited to lawful protests and counter -protests in the\noutdoor areas of campus generally accessible  to the public, except\nduring times when those areas have been reserved in advance for other\nevents; or\n2. Is an isolated occurrence that causes minor, brief, and nonviolent\ndisruptions of expressive activity.","path":["KRS Chapter 164"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=49294","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:15Z","sha256":"f05c267ae2e3e9a0ea9f7ee048a1cde9e486717c3fb505181db8817ba0fb1ce5","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-164.340","next":"us-ky/krs-164.350"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}