AG: KY law limiting student-teacher communication does not infringe on rights

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said in an opinion released Friday that a controversial new law limiting teacher-student communication does not violate free speech or religious freedom.

Rep. Kim Holloway, R-Mayfield, asked for an opinion on Senate Bill 181, which bans personal electronic communication between public school employees and students. The law was aimed at preventing inappropriate sexual communication between school staff and students and gained unanimous support in the 2025 General Assembly.

It went into effect June 27 after being signed by Gov. Andy Beshear. Confusion and criticism followed, however. For example, public school coaches around the state had to unfriend and unfollow their players on social media and eliminate player phone numbers from their phones.

Frustration over the new law prompted a petition urging the General Assembly to ask Beshear to pause enforcement of the measure until it can be reviewed and amended.

The law requires school staff and volunteers to contact students only via traceable forms of communication, such as school emails or a school-approved and monitored app, unless explicit consent from a parent or guardian is placed on file with their school.

The opinion from Coleman’s office said “the regulation did not appear to violate the First Amendment speech or religious liberty rights of any school district employee or volunteer.

“Rather, it recognizes the parent’s interest in making decisions regarding the care, custody and control of his or her child,” the opinion said.

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, said in a statement Friday, “I’m thrilled with the attorney general’s formal opinion. It’s a powerful validation of what SB 181 is all about: protecting Kentucky’s kids in the digital age by re-establishing clear, commonsense boundaries between students and adults in public schools.”