KY Dept. of Education releases school guidance on LGBTQ policies following Senate Bill 150

The Kentucky Department of Education “is no longer able to provide guidance to schools or districts related to the use of requested pronouns” by students under a new anti-transgender law, officials said Monday.

Districts should consult with board counsel for legal advice regarding usage of requested pronouns and potential liability concerns, the newly released state guidance said.

The department on Monday released information about the implementation of Senate Bill 150, considered one of the most extreme and controversial anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation in the country by some opponents. It reversed previous recommendations made by the Kentucky Department of Education.

In the 2023 General Assembly, Republican lawmakers openly criticized previous guidance the agency produced regarding use of students’ preferred names and took aim at Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass.

The previous recommendation said it was considered best practice to recognize and use a student’s preferred name and pronouns when they are requested.

If a student voluntarily disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity to an educator with the assumption that this information is to be kept private, it was best practice for the educator to maintain that confidence and keep the information confidential, the recommendation said.

In addition to banning puberty-blockers, hormones and surgeries for kids under 18, SB 150 also bans lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation, prevents transgender students from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity and stops school districts from requiring teachers use a student’s pronouns if they don’t align with their sex assigned at birth.

The new school provisions went into effect immediately after the bill became law due to an emergency clause included in the legislation.

Glass told school leaders in a message Monday that there are “lots of unknowns” about how new laws, including SB 150, are going to be enacted in schools. He said he is going to discuss them in a webcast with superintendents on Tuesday.

Students in fifth grade and below cannot receive any instruction through curriculum or programs on human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases under the new law, the guidance says.

The new state guidance also says that under SB 150, schools should omit a current fifth grade health standard that says: “Describe basic male and female reproductive body parts and their functions as well as the physical, social and emotional changes that occur during puberty.”

The Department of Education will begin a standards review for Health and Physical Education, but until revised standards are approved and effective in law, that grade 5 health standard should be omitted from local curriculum and instruction, the guidance said.

School districts are now required under the law to ensure any child, regardless of grade level, enrolled in the district does not receive any instruction or presentation that has a purpose of students studying or exploring gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation

Districts will need to review current courses, programming, instructional resources and learning experiences to ensure they comply, the new guidance said. Districts will have to review health education curriculum, Advanced Placement courses, dual credit courses and extracurricular activities to make sure that students aren’t getting instruction on gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation, the new guidance said.

Under SB 150, boards of education will adopt policies to “not allow students to use restrooms, locker rooms, or shower rooms that are reserved for students of a different biological sex” after allowing public comment on the issue at an open meeting.

School districts are required to provide “the best available accommodation” to students who assert that their gender is different from their biological sex and whose parent or guardian provides written consent. Under the new law, the “accommodation shall not include the use of school restrooms, locker rooms, or shower rooms designated for use by students of the opposite biological sex while students of the opposite biological sex are present or could be present.”

The new guidance says that under SB 150, schools should also develop procedures for notifying families of student referrals to health services or mental health services by a teacher.

Schools must have a policy to notify a parent in advance and obtain the parent’s written consent before a student in sixth grade or above receives any instruction through curriculum or programs on human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases.

Any course, curriculum or program offered by a public school about human sexuality must provide an alternative course program without any penalty to the student’s grade or standing for students whose parents have not provided required written consent.

This is a developing story and may be updated.