Kentucky bill aims to block sexually abusive teachers from skipping to other districts

Krista Johnson and Stephanie Kuzydym, Louisville Courier Journal
Updated ·3 min read

A bill aimed at preventing Kentucky students from being sexually abused by teachers was introduced last week by the House Education Committee chairman.

House Bill 275, filed by James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, adds several requirements to the hiring process for districts and for teacher applicants in an effort to prevent teachers accused of sexual abuse from moving out of one district into another without their history being known.

The bill shares many of the characteristics of a bill introduced by Tipton last year that received unanimous approval in the House and made it through a Senate committee, but ultimately did not pass.

"It's a subject that's been on my mind for several years," Tipton told The Courier Journal, explaining that this issue has impacted his family.

In that instance, he said, a relative had a teacher who made inappropriate sexual advances toward her and it was later discovered the teacher had been accused of the same thing in another district.

"It’s an unfortunate reality of the issues in our society," Tipton said. "We’d like to think situations like this don’t happen, but we do know that all too often there are people in positions of authority who abuse that position and take advantage of young children and students."

The bill has several parts, with the goal of making it "as extensive as possible to cover all possible types of scenarios," Tipton said. If passed, the bill would:

  • Prohibit districts from entering into a nondisclosure agreement relating to sexual misconduct involving a student;

  • Require applicants to agree to a reference check and disclose being the subject of any allegations or investigations in the previous 12 months;

  • Require districts to check with the applicants' references;

  • Require districts to conclude each investigation into teacher sexual misconduct once an investigation has begun.

The goal is to prevent a teacher who is being investigated from resigning and then "the situation drops," Tipton said. "I think that's an important piece of it — making sure it is investigated."

The bill is largely supported by Kentucky teacher advocates.

"Like most, we appreciate the spirit of the bill," said Josh Shoulta, director of communications for the Kentucky School Boards Association. "Ultimately, it attempts to address potential cracks in the system and increase transparency in the name of school safety."

One group is concerned about one aspect of the bill, though.

One major difference from this year's bill compared to last year's is the timeframe for an applicant to disclose being the subject of a sexual misconduct allegation or investigation. Last year's bill required teachers to disclose if this ever happened in their careers, while the new bill only requires the teacher to disclose if it happened in the previous year.

Brent McKim, president of the Jefferson County Teachers Association, makes remarks during the community discussion on the proposed JCPS student assignment changes at the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Campus in Louisville, Ky. on March 22, 2022.
Brent McKim, president of the Jefferson County Teachers Association, makes remarks during the community discussion on the proposed JCPS student assignment changes at the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Campus in Louisville, Ky. on March 22, 2022.

"We still have concerns that, as we read the bill, a teacher could be accused of something, could be completely exonerated by a district investigation, and the teacher would still have to report the accusation when applying for a different school district if the incident occurred in the past year," said Brent McKim, president of the Jefferson County Teachers' Association. "If an investigation finds an accusation completely unsubstantiated by any facts, that should not have to be reported; otherwise, the teacher could be tainted just by an unsubstantiated accusation."

The Education Professional Standards Board is tasked with investigating allegations into teacher misconduct and deciding the punishment if that misconduct is corroborated. When asked about Tipton's bill, a spokeswoman with the Kentucky Department of Education said the department is "fully committed to working with the General Assembly to find ways to help support EPSB in keeping our classrooms a safe place to work and learn."

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Moving forward, Tipton said he will be meeting with district personnel about the "additional amount of time and resources," it might take for districts to comply with the new law, as well as to hear any concerns they might have it with it.

As far as getting it passed this session, "I do believe that is certainly feasible," Tipton said.

Contact Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com. Stephanie Kuzydym can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky House Bill 275 aims to block sexually abusive teachers