State guidance on Kentucky gender and sex ed bill sparks new debate

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A two-letter conjunction could change how a controversial gender issues and sex education law will be implemented in Kentucky schools.

The Kentucky Department of Education released guidance this week on bills that are becoming law after the 2023 legislative session that concluded in March.

Among them: Senate Bill 150, which bans school districts from using students’ preferred pronouns if they differ from their biological sex, limits the teaching of certain sex-related topics and requires school policies on the use of restrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms.

In particular, the measure says that schools must keep students below 5th grade from studying human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases -- or, the bill says, ensure no student of any grade can receive instruction with “a goal or purpose of students studying or exploring gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.”

It’s the word “or” that is at the center of a new clash over the legislation, which the Republican-led General Assembly passed and made law after it voted to override the veto of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.

The state Education Department’s 12-page guidance document indicates that school districts must choose one of the two approaches.

Toni Konz Tatman, a department spokeswoman, said in an email that the guidance was “designed to provide additional clarity to school districts” as they craft policies required under SB 150.

“The Kentucky General Assembly chose to use the conjunction ‘or’ not ‘and,’” she said. “When it comes to state law, words have meaning and KDE simply read the words adopted by the General Assembly.”

State Sen. Max Wise (R-Campbellsville), the bill’s chief sponsor, said in a statement that lawmakers clearly meant that schools aren’t allowed to have classes in human sexuality for students in 5^th grade or below, or study gender identity and sexual orientation in any grade.

He cited a 1952 Kentucky Court of Appeals case that addresses the “obvious intention of the Legislature.”

“Obviously, the legislature would not pose these two requirements, which protect children and protect parental rights, as a binary choice for school systems to select to enforce,” Wise said.

Beshear, whose rationale for vetoing the bill included references to parents’ rights to make decisions affecting their children, criticized the process that resulted in the measure’s quick passage at the end of the legislative session.

GOP lawmakers combined two bills into one – called an “anti-trans omnibus bill” by critics -- and within hours advanced it through both chambers and to Beshear’s desk. The move occurred on the last day that legislators had to pass bills they could later override if vetoed.

“We have a phrase 'the letter of the law' for a reason,” Beshear said. “It's what on paper that they pass that's the statute that's put in the books, and we have to follow that and not just what's in somebody's head or what they meant.”

Marty Pollio, superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, said Thursday he couldn’t comment on the SB 150 guidance because he hadn’t fully looked at it.

"We will be making some clear policy over the summer before kids and teachers come back so that -- obviously our main goal is to support kids. That's what we want to do,” Pollio said. “We want to support students, but we also need to support staff to make sure that we follow the law.”