{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-344.555","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 344.555","heading":"Prohibition against sex discrimination under any education program","body":"receiving state financial assistance -- Exceptions.\n(1) No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied\nthe benefits of, or be subjected to discrimin ation under any education program or\nactivity receiving state financial assistance, except that:\n(a) In regard to admissions to educational institutions, this section shall apply\nonly to institutions of vocational education, professional education, and\ngraduate higher education, and to public institutions of undergraduate higher\neducation;\n(b) This section shall not apply to an educational institution which is controlled\nby a religious organization if the application of this subsection would not be\nconsistent with the religious tenets of the organization;\n(c) This section shall not apply to an educational institution whose primary\npurpose is the training of individuals for the military services of the United\nStates, or the merchant marines;\n(d) In regard to admissions, this section shall not apply to any public institution of\nundergraduate higher education which is an institution that traditionally and\ncontinually from its establishment has had a policy of admitting only students\nof one (1) sex;\n(e) This section shall not apply to membership practices of a social fraternity or\nsocial sorority which is exempt under Section 501(a) of the Federal Internal\nRevenue Code of 1954, the active membership of which consists primarily of\nstudents in attendance at an insti tution of higher education, or of the Young\nMen's Christian Association, Young Women's Christian Association, Girl\nScouts, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, and voluntary youth service\norganizations which are exempt under Section 501(a) of the Federal Internal\nRevenue Code, the membership of which has traditionally been limited to\npersons of one (1) sex and principally to persons of less than nineteen (19)\nyears of age;\n(f) This section shall not apply to any program or activity of the American Legion\nundertaken in connection with the organization or operation of any Boys State\nconference, Boys Nation conference, Girls State conference, or Girls Nation\nconference; or any program or activity of any secondary school or educational\ninstitution specifically for the p romotion of any Boys State conference, Boys\nNation conference, Girls State conference, or Girls Nation conference; or the\nselection of students to attend any such conference;\n(g) This section shall not preclude father -son or mother -daughter activities at a n\neducational institution, but if such activities are provided for students of one\n(1) sex, opportunities for reasonably comparable activities shall be provided\nfor students of the other sex; and\n(h) This section shall not apply to any scholarship or other  financial assistance\nawarded by an institution of higher education to any individual because such\nindividual has received the award in any pageant in which the attainment of\nthe award is based upon a combination of factors related to the personal\nappearance, poise, and talent of the individual and in which participation is\nlimited to individuals of one (1) sex only, so long as the pageant is in\ncompliance with other nondiscrimination provisions of state and federal law.\n(2) Nothing contained in subsection (1) of this section shall be interpreted to require\nany educational institution to grant preferential or disparate treatment to the\nmembers of one (1) sex on account of an imbalance which may exist with respect to\nthe total number or percentage of persons of that sex participating in or receiving\nthe benefits of any state supported program or activity, in comparison with the total\nnumber or percentage of persons of that sex in any community, state, section, or\nother area. However, nothing in this subsection  shall be construed to prevent the\nconsideration in any hearing or proceeding under KRS 344.550 to 344.575 of\nstatistical evidence tending to show that an imbalance exists with respect to the\nparticipation in, or receipt of the benefits of, any program or activity by the\nmembers of one (1) sex.","path":["KRS Chapter 344"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=32655","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:33Z","sha256":"9e11b44297d03b40f9666b1ceaa62d56cb0e4a653478645bd6922d8663e4c0fb","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-344.550","next":"us-ky/krs-344.560"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}