The changes most keenly felt by students will likely center around smartphones.
Following the lead of more than a dozen other states, Kentucky's Senate Bill 208 bars the use of cell phones in class during the school day, with some exemptions for emergencies and teacher directed assignments. But enforcement may not look the same in all districts and schools. Rep. Josh Bray said that's up to local school officials to decide.
"School systems already have disciplinary policies that follow this. So I didn't think it was important to put in there 'shall be confiscated' or something like that because those are those decisions are best made at the local level," he explained during the 2025 session.
Another related bill, SB 191, mandates that teachers and volunteers only use traceable, school-sanctioned platforms to talk with students — a move that's already generating controversy and pushback from parents and educators.
Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, the sponsor, said the change was prompted by concerns about bad actors taking advantage of the ease of modern communication.
"With the easy access of phones and social media, students are communicating with their teachers, their volunteers of the school, staff members, coaches, and parents may never know anything about those conversations," she argued on the Senate floor.
As for new lessons on the syllabus, SB 167 will require students to learn cursive, and HB240 will see kindergarteners and first graders undergoing early literacy screening assessments.
Finally, SB 73 mandates that public schools post information about sex prevention and provide age-appropriate educational materials for students.
Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky says it has produced a comprehensive Internet safety education toolkit schools can adopt to bring their policies into alignment with the new law.