158.148 Definitions of "bullying" and "parent or guardian" -- Discipline
2,143 words·~10 min read·
/ky/158-148A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
guidelines, transportation services policy, and model policies -- Local code of
acceptable behavior and discipline -- Required contents of code.
(1)As used in this section:
(a)1. "Bullying" means any unwanted verbal, physical, or social behavior
among students that involves a real or perceived power imbalance and is
repeated or has the potential to be repeated:
a. That occurs on school premises, on school-sponsored
transportation, or at a school-sponsored event; or
b. That disrupts the education process; and
2. This definition shall not be interpreted to prohibit civil exchange of
opinions or debate or cultural practices protected under the state or
federal Constitution where the opinion expressed does not otherwise
materially or substantially disrupt the education process; and
(b)"Parent or guardian" means a parent, legal guardian, or other person
exercising custodial control or supervision of a student.
(2)In cooperation with the Kentucky Education Association, the Kentucky School
Boards Association, the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, the
Kentucky Association of Professional Educators, the Kentucky Association of
School Superintendents, the Parent-Teachers Association, the Kentucky Chamber
of Commerce, the Farm Bureau, members of the Interim Joint Committee on
Education, and other interested groups, and in collaboration with the Center for
School Safety, the Department of Education shall develop or update as needed and
distribute to all districts by August 31 of each even-numbered year:
(a)Statewide student discipline guidelines to ensure safe schools, including the
definition of serious incident for the reporting purposes as identified in KRS
158.444;
(b)Statewide transportation services policy guidelines to ensure the safety of
students, operators of vehicles, and other passengers using district-provided
transportation;
(c)Recommendations designed to improve the learning environment and school
climate, parental and community involvement in the schools, and student
achievement; and
(d)Model policies to implement the provisions of this section and KRS 158.110,
158.156, 158.444, 525.070, and 525.080.
(3)The department shall obtain statewide data on major discipline problems and
reasons why students drop out of school. In addition, the department, in
collaboration with the Center for School Safety, shall identify successful strategies
currently being used in programs in Kentucky and in other states and shall
incorporate those strategies into the statewide student discipline guidelines,
transportation services policy guidelines, and the recommendations under
subsection
(2)of this section.
(4)Copies of the statewide student discipline guidelines and the transportation services
policy guidelines shall be distributed to all school districts. The statewide student
discipline guidelines shall contain broad principles and legal requirements to guide
local districts in the development of their own code of acceptable behavior and
discipline; the selection of discipline and classroom management techniques by
school councils under KRS 158.155 and 160.345; the development of the district
transportation services policy; and the development of the district-wide safety plan.
(a)Each local board of education shall adopt a code of acceptable behavior and
discipline based on the statewide student discipline guidelines that shall apply
to the students in each school operated by the board. The code shall be
updated no less frequently than every two
(2)years.
(b)The superintendent, or designee, shall be responsible for overall
implementation and supervision, and each school principal shall be
responsible for administration and implementation within each school. Each
school council shall select and implement the appropriate discipline and
classroom management techniques necessary to carry out the code. The board
shall establish a process for a two-way communication system for teachers
and other employees to notify a principal, supervisor, or other administrator of
an emergency.
(c)The code shall prohibit bullying.
(d)The code shall contain the standard of behavior expected from each student,
the consequences of failure to obey the standards, and the importance of the
standards to the maintenance of a safe learning environment where orderly
learning is possible and encouraged.
(e)The code shall contain:
1. Procedures for identifying, documenting, and reporting incidents of
bullying, incidents of violations of the code, and incidents for which
reporting is required under KRS 158.156;
2. Procedures for investigating and responding to a complaint or a report of
bullying or a violation of the code, or of an incident for which reporting
is required under KRS 158.156, including reporting incidents to the
parents or guardians of the students involved;
3. A strategy or method of protecting a complainant or person reporting:
a. An incident of bullying;
b. A violation of the code; or
c. An incident for which reporting is required under KRS 158.156;
from retaliation;
4. A process for informing students, parents or guardians, and school
employees of the requirements of the code and the provisions of this
section and KRS 158.156, 158.444, 525.070, and 525.080, including
training for school employees; and
5. Information regarding the consequences of bullying and violating the
code and violations reportable under KRS 158.155, 158.156, or 158.444.
(f)The principal of each school shall apply the code of acceptable behavior and
discipline uniformly and fairly to each student at the school without partiality
or discrimination.
(g)A copy of the code of acceptable behavior and discipline adopted by the board
of education shall be posted at each school. Guidance counselors shall be
provided copies for discussion with students. The code shall be referenced in
all school handbooks. All school employees and parents or guardians shall be
provided copies of the code.
(a)Each local board of education shall adopt a transportation services policy to
apply to students while on transportation provided for or by the district, and to
their parents or guardians. The policy shall be updated no less frequently than
every two
(2)years, with the first update being completed by the first
instructional day of the 2024-2025 school year.
(b)The superintendent or designee shall be responsible for overall
implementation and supervision. The board shall select and implement the
appropriate discipline and transportation management techniques necessary to
carry out the policy. The board shall establish a process for a two-way
communication system for bus drivers and other employees, volunteers, or
contractors to notify a supervisor, superintendent, or other administrator of an
emergency.
(c)The policy shall contain the standard of behavior expected from each student
while being transported by or for the district and the consequences of failure
to obey the standards. The policy shall include:
1. Procedures for identifying, documenting, and reporting incidents of
bullying, incidents of violations of the policy, and incidents for which
reporting is required under KRS 158.156;
2. Procedures for investigating and responding to a complaint or a report of
bullying or a violation of the policy, or of an incident for which
reporting is required under KRS 158.156, including reporting incidents
to the parents or guardians of the students involved;
3. A strategy or method of protecting a complainant or person reporting a
violation of the policy from retaliation;
4. When a student is alleged by an operator of transportation to have
committed a violation of the policy that places the student or others at
risk of physical harm or otherwise makes it unsafe for the driver to
continue transporting students, and as permitted by state and federal law,
a process that allows the operator of the vehicle to:
a. Refuse further transportation of the student at the time of the
incident, upon notification of the emergency pursuant to paragraph
(b)of this subsection, and transfer the student to:
i. An appropriate district official who has reported to the
location of the vehicle;
ii. An appropriate district official located at a location
designated in the transportation services policy or by an
appropriate district official, including but not limited to a bus
compound or transfer station;
iii. Law enforcement; or
iv. The student's parent or guardian; and
b. Upon filing and submitting a written report to the superintendent
or designee, refuse future transportation of the student until an
interim or final determination of disciplinary action by the
superintendent or designee pursuant to local board policy;
5. For alleged violations of the policy not covered by subparagraph 4. of
this paragraph and submitted by the operator of the vehicle, a
requirement that the superintendent or designee issue an interim or final
determination of disciplinary action pursuant to local board policy
within one
(1)week of the report being submitted;
6. A process allowing for the operator of a vehicle to:
a. File a written or electronic complaint or report of the misconduct,
including a recommendation regarding revocation of the student's
transportation privileges; and
b. Be heard during any disciplinary proceedings against a student
relating, at least in part, to misconduct that occurred during the
operator's transportation of the student;
7. A requirement that any recommendation by the operator of a vehicle
shall be considered by the superintendent or designee as a factor in the
interim or final determination of disciplinary action on the complaint or
report;
8. A requirement that the operator of a vehicle, to the extent permitted by
law, receive written notice from the superintendent or designee of the
investigation, disciplinary action imposed, and reasoning in response to
the reported misconduct; and
9. A disciplinary structure that provides for:
a. Interventions or disciplinary consequences that reflect the severity
of the violation; and
b. Increased intervention and consequences upon subsequent
violations of the policy.
(d)The policy shall contain the standard of behavior expected from parents or
guardians of students being transported by or for the district while interacting
with district transportation staff and the consequences of failure to follow the
standards. The policy shall include:
1. Procedures for investigating and responding to a complaint or report
made by an operator of transportation alleging parent or legal guardian
misconduct;
2. A requirement that the operator of a vehicle be provided an opportunity
to be heard and to make a recommendation regarding future
transportation of the student during any disciplinary proceedings
relating, at least in part, to alleged misconduct by the student's parent or
guardian and the impact upon a student's transportation privileges; and
3. An intervention or consequences structure that provides for the
placement of conditions upon or revocation of a student's transportation
privileges based upon parent or guardian misconduct that provides for:
a. Interventions or consequences that reflect the severity of the parent
or guardian's misconduct; and
b. Increased intervention and consequences upon subsequent
violations of the policy.
(e)The policy shall include references to relevant criminal violations based on
potential misconduct covered by the policy, including but not limited to the
following statements:
1. "KRS 511.020 makes it a Class B felony for a person, with the intent to
commit a crime, knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully upon a
school bus, and when in effecting entry or while upon the school bus or
in the immediate flight therefrom, the person or another participant in
the crime causes physical injury to another person or uses or threatens
the use of a dangerous instrument against another person.";
2. "KRS 508.078 makes it a Class C felony for a person to intentionally
threaten to commit any act likely to result in death or serious physical
injury to any employee of an elementary or secondary school, which
includes a school bus driver.";
3. "KRS 508.025 makes it a Class D felony for a person to recklessly, with
a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or intentionally cause or
attempt to cause physical injury to a school bus driver or other school
employee acting in the course and scope of their employment.";
4. "KRS 519.020 makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a person to obstruct
governmental operations, which includes intentionally obstructing,
impairing, or hindering the performance of a governmental function by
using or threatening to use violence, force or physical interference."; and
5. "KRS 525.070 makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a person, with intent
to intimidate, harass, annoy, or alarm another person, to strike, shove,
kick, or otherwise subject another to physical contact.".
(f)The policy shall include a process for an operator of a vehicle, upon the
reinstatement of a student's transportation privileges after an interim or final
determination of disciplinary action, to elect to receive an alternate route
assignment in lieu of transporting the student.
(g)The superintendent or designee of each district shall apply the transportation
services policy uniformly and fairly to each student without partiality or
discrimination.
(h)The superintendent or designee shall require every student in the district and
at least one
(1)parent or guardian of each student to acknowledge in writing
the receipt, comprehension, and agreement of adherence to the transportation
safety policy within seven
(7)days of the student's first day of attendance
during each school year. Failure to submit written acknowledgement by a
student or their parent or guardian may be grounds for revocation of a
student's transportation privileges until the acknowledgment is properly
received.
(7)Any action under this section related to students with disabilities shall be in
compliance with applicable federal law.