Moment of silence, sex abuse prevention among proposed Kentucky school bills

Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Lexington Herald-Leader on Jan 8, 2025

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A bill that would require Kentucky students to engage in a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day was filed in the 2025 General Assembly Tuesday.

Similar bills failed in 2022 and 2024, as critics worried it could force prayer in schools.

Senate Bill 19, sponsored by Sen. Rick Girdler, R-Somerset, would require local school boards to create a policy for a moment of silence or reflection to not exceed two minutes. The same bill was filed by Rep. Dan Fister, R-Versailles, who attempted to pass it in a previous session.

The bill requires that all students remain seated and silent so they and others can meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity. School staff would not be able to direct the nature of the reflection.

Several other bills regarding K-12 education were filed on the first day of the legislative session, too.

One, House Bill 65, introduced by state Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, would mandate that the Ten Commandments be displayed on a wall in each public elementary and secondary school classroom in Kentucky. The display would need to be 16 inches wide and 20 inches high.

A federal judge has blocked the implementation of a similar law in Louisiana.

Child sexual abuse by teachers

House Bill 36, sponsored by State Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, is similar to bills he previously introduced, aimed at preventing sex abuse by school staff.

It would, in part, prohibit public school districts and charter schools from entering into nondisclosure agreements related to misconduct involving a minor or a student.

A September 2022 investigation by the Herald-Leader highlighted the problem of teacher sexual misconduct in Kentucky. The newspaper obtained 194 cases of teachers who voluntarily surrendered or had their licenses revoked or suspended from 2016 to 2021.

Of those, 118 — 61% — lost their license due to sexual misconduct. Since then, at least a half-dozen educators have been charged with sex-related crimes involving students.

Red Tape Reduction

Shane Baker, R-Somerset filed House Bill 48, dubbed the Red Tape Reduction Act.

The bill will reduce the administrative burdens placed on teachers and school districts in Kentucky, according to a news release.

“The General Assembly is dedicated to a renewed vision on education,” Baker said in the release. “In the last few sessions, we have allocated record levels of funding and have implemented a host of measures to strengthen K-12 education.

“It is time to look outside the classroom to see where we fall short. Educators have been overcome by unnecessary and redundant burdens, keeping them from doing what they really love: teaching. With HB 48, we will remove the burdening reporting requirements and activities that take our teacher’s focus out of the classroom.”

HB 48 would stipulate that the Kentucky Department of Education can no longer require schools and districts to create comprehensive school and district improvement plans unless the school or district qualifies under federal law, the news release said.

KDE would be required to justify existing requirements and eliminate all those not required by state or federal law.

Other K-12 education bills

▪ Senate Bill 40, introduced by Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, would establish additional free speech protections for student journalists.

▪ Senate Bill 31, introduced by Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, would direct the Kentucky Department of Education to consider requiring the installation of school bus sensors to determine the presence of objects around the school bus and interior cameras on new school buses purchased on or after July 1, 2026.

▪ House Bill 44, introduced by State Rep. Candy Massaroni, R-Bardstown, would require school cafeteria personnel and other expected users of an anti-choking device to be trained if a school obtains the device. It would provide immunity from civil liability for rendering emergency care or treatment with an anti-choking device or the Heimlich maneuver at a public or private school.