FRANKFORT, KY – On Thursday, July 6, 2023, Attorney General Daniel Cameron issued an Opinion of the Attorney General (OAG) providing guidance on Senate Bill 150. The Opinion concludes that the Kentucky Department of Education's (KDE) most recent interpretation of the law is flawed and circumvents the intent of the state legislature.
Passed by the General Assembly during the 2023 Regular Session, SB 150 prioritizes the health, safety, and welfare of children and safeguards them from, among other things, irreversible medical intervention and ideological indoctrination in schools. Governor Beshear vetoed the legislation, and the General Assembly overrode his veto by overwhelming margins.
The Opinion finds that Section 2 of Senate Bill 150 prohibits school districts from offering any instruction to children in grades 5 and below on the topics of human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases. Moreover, school districts are prohibited from providing instruction exploring gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation to students in any grade. School districts are not given the option—as KDE argues—to choose which of these prohibitions they must implement.
The opinion notes a school district's implementation of Senate Bill 150 does not constitute a Title IX violation under any existing, binding legal precedent or statutory or regulatory law. Senate Bill 150's prohibition on preferred pronoun usage polices does not violate Title IX. To the contrary, controlling case law affirms the free speech rights of teachers to act in accordance with their beliefs.
Additionally, a school district would not violate Title IX by implementing Senate Bill 150's provisions restricting a person of one biological sex from using the restrooms, locker rooms, or shower rooms designated for the opposite biological sex in public schools.
To view the full opinion, click here.
