158.183 Prohibited acts by students -- Rights of student -- Duties of local
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/ky/158-183A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
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.