KRS § 158.183 — KY Code / Title XIII / Chapter 158 / Section 158.183
158.183 Prohibited acts by students -- Rights of student -- Duties of local board of education -- Administrative remedies
Status: in_force

158.183 Prohibited acts by students -- Rights of student -- Duties of local

board of education -- Administrative remedies.

(1) Consistent with the Constitutions of the United States of America and the

Commonwealth of Kentucky, a student shall have the right to carry out an

activity described in any of paragraphs (a) to (j) of subsection (2) of this

section, if the student does not:

(a) Infringe on the rights of the school to:

1. Maintain order and discipline;

2. Prevent disruption of the educational process; and

3. Determine educational curriculum and assignments;

(b) Harass other persons or coerce other persons to participate in the

activity; or

(c) Otherwise infringe on the rights of other persons.

(2) Consistent with the Constitutions of the United States of America and the

Commonwealth of Kentucky, and subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of

this section, a student shall be permitted to voluntarily:

(a) Pray or engage in religious activities in a public school, vocally or silently,

alone or with other students to the same extent and under the same

circumstances as a student is permitted to vocally or silently reflect,

meditate, speak on, or engage in nonreligious matters alone or with other

students in the public school;

(b) Express religious or political viewpoints in a public school to the same

extent and under the same circumstances as a student is permitted to

express viewpoints on nonreligious or nonpolitical topics or subjects in the

school;

(c) Express religious or political viewpoints in classroom, homework, artwork,

and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination or penalty

based on the religious or political content of the submissions;

(d) Speak to and attempt to discuss religious or political viewpoints with other

students in a public school to the same extent and under the same

circumstances as a student is permitted to speak to and attempt to share

nonreligious or nonpolitical viewpoints with other students. However, any

student may demand that this speech or these attempts to share religious

or political viewpoints not be directed at him or her;

(e) Distribute religious or political literature in a public school, subject to

reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions to the same extent and

under the same circumstances as a student is permitted to distribute

literature on nonreligious or nonpolitical topics or subjects in the school;

(f) Display religious messages on items of clothing to the same extent that a

student is permitted to display nonreligious messages on items of

clothing;

(g) Access public secondary school facilities during noninstructional time as

a member of a religious student organization for activities that may

include prayer, Bible reading, or other worship exercises to the same

extent that members of nonreligious student organizations are permitted

access during noninstructional time;

(h) Use school media, including the public address system, the school

newspaper, and school bulletin boards, to announce student religious

meetings to the same extent that a student is permitted to use school

media to announce student nonreligious meetings;

(i) Meet as a member of a religious student group during noninstructional

time in the school day to the same extent that members of nonreligious

student groups are permitted to meet, including before and after the

school day; and

(j) Be absent, in accordance with attendance policy, from a public school to

observe religious holidays and participate in other religious practices to

the same extent and under the same circumstances as a student is

permitted to be absent from a public school for nonreligious purposes.

(3) Consistent with its obligations to respect the rights secured by the

Constitutions of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of

Kentucky, a local board of education shall ensure that:

(a) 1. The selection of students to speak at official events is made without

regard to the religious or political viewpoint of the student speaker;

2. The prepared remarks of the student are not altered before delivery,

except in a viewpoint-neutral manner, unless requested by the

student. However, student speakers shall not engage in speech that

is obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent; and

3. If the content of the student's speech is such that a reasonable

observer may perceive affirmative school sponsorship or

endorsement of the student speaker's religious or political viewpoint,

the school shall communicate, in writing, orally, or both, that the

student's speech does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship,

position, or expression of the school;

(b) Religious and political organizations are allowed equal access to public

forums on the same basis as nonreligious and nonpolitical organizations;

and

(c) No recognized religious or political student organization is hindered or

discriminated against in the ordering of its internal affairs, selection of

leaders and members, defining of doctrines and principles, and resolving

of organizational disputes in the furtherance of its mission, or in its

determination that only persons committed to its mission should conduct

these activities.

(4) Consistent with its obligations to respect the rights secured by the

Constitutions of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of

Kentucky, a local board of education shall permit public schools in the district to

sponsor artistic or theatrical programs that advance students' knowledge of

society's cultural and religious heritage, as well as provide opportunities for

students to study and perform a wide range of music, literature, poetry, and

drama.

(5) No action may be maintained under KRS 158.181 to 158.187 unless the

student has exhausted the following administrative remedies;

(a) The student or the student's parent or guardian shall state his or her

complaint to the school's principal. The principal shall investigate and take

appropriate action to ensure the rights of the student are resolved within

seven (7) days of the date of the complaint;

(b) If the concerns are not resolved, then the student or the student's parent

or guardian shall make a complaint in writing to the superintendent with

the specific facts of the alleged violation;

(c) The superintendent shall investigate and take appropriate action to

ensure that the rights of the student are resolved within thirty (30) days of

the date of the written complaint; and

(d) Only after the superintendent's investigation and action may a student or

the student's parent or legal guardian pursue any other legal action.