A bill filed in the Senate on the first day of the 2026 legislative session is proposing a long list of amendments to a law that was added to the books last year designating how school personnel can, and cannot, communicate with students via electronic means.
Senate Bill 181 was a popular topic of conversation throughout 2025. Prohibiting communication between staff and students through unauthorized e-mail accounts, social media, text messaging and/or phone calls, the since-passed legislation has forced school administrators to come up with ways that students can securely communicate with their teachers and other district volunteers or employees.
Now, Senator Lindsey Tichenor, a Republican representing Kentucky’s 6th District who was the original sponsor of SB 181 in 2025, has filed a 2026 version that proposes several changes to the law. As the vice chair of the Senate Committee on Education, her bill asks for an amendment to the Kentucky Revised Statutes to expand existing definitions and define the terms “private electronic communication” and “qualified school volunteer.”
The bill also:
• Limits the scope of unauthorized electronic communication to private electronic communication and exclude designated types of communication from the scope of the requirement to obtain written parental consent prior to communicating outside of the traceable communication system
• Limits the scope of the school volunteers subject to this section to qualified school volunteers
• Specifies that the requirement to obtain written parental consent only applies to students enrolled within the same school district as the school district employee or qualified school volunteer
• Permits a local school district more flexibility in disciplinary actions arising from a violation
• Permits a written parental consent form to designate more than one school district employee or qualified school volunteer and provides that the written consent may be revoked by the parent who filed the consent
• Requires notice of the revocation to be sent to the identified school district employee or qualified school volunteer
• Prohibit a school or school district from refusing to accept parental consent forms
• Prohibits requiring parental consent forms as a requirement for a student to participate in an academic, athletic, or extracurricular opportunity
• Provides an emergency exception to permit a school district employee or qualified school volunteer to communicate electronically without prior written parental consent if the individual discloses the communication after the fact
SB 181 (2026) goes on to request additional reconsiderations, proposes the creation of new sections to KRS, and suggests more amendments relating to the definition of certain terms. It also outlines new requirements when it comes to reference checks, disclosures and the reporting, recording and investigating of future violations.
To read the bill in its entirety, go online to www.legislature.ky.gov.
A request for comments regarding the filing of this bill was sent to Senator Tichenor’s office, and she has agreed to an interview later this month. The News Journal will provide a follow-up report including her comments inside a future edition.
