AN ACT relating to children.
SB 90 would substantially revise Kentucky law governing public school instruction, student privacy, parental notification, and medical treatment for minors. In the education context, it would require schools that offer human sexuality instruction to emphasize abstinence, provide parents advance notice, allow parents to review materials, and let parents opt their children out of instruction without academic penalty. It also would require schools to notify parents about health and mental health services related to human sexuality, contraception, or family planning, and would restrict school policies that keep student information confidential from parents, while preserving limited exceptions where disclosure could place a child at risk of abuse or neglect.
The bill also addresses restroom, locker room, and shower room access in schools by requiring local boards to adopt privacy policies and to provide accommodations for students whose gender is different from their biological sex, such as single-stall restrooms or controlled use of faculty facilities. In addition, SB 90 would prohibit surgical treatment for gender dysphoria in minors and sharply limit nonsurgical treatment, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, unless specific conditions are met. It would also create professional discipline and civil liability provisions for violations, including license revocation and an extended statute of limitations for lawsuits.
SB 90 would amend KRS 158.1415, 158.191, and 158.189 to expand parental notice and control over school-based sexuality instruction and certain health and mental health services, and to require school privacy accommodations based on biological sex. It would also amend KRS 311.372 to restrict gender-affirming medical care for minors, establish standards and exceptions for limited treatment, and create enforcement mechanisms affecting health care providers, licensing boards, and civil litigation. The bill would affect public school districts, charter schools, parents, students, school personnel, and medical providers treating minors for gender dysphoria.
Based on the bill text alone, the measure reflects a strongly conservative, parent-rights and biological-sex framework, with an emphasis on limiting school instruction and medical interventions related to sexuality and gender identity. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, amendments, or vote margins. The overall tone of the legislation suggests support from sponsors and like-minded advocates for parental control and restrictions on gender-related policies, and likely opposition from groups concerned about student privacy, LGBTQ+ rights, and access to medical care.
The most notable points of contention are likely to be the bill’s restrictions on gender identity-related instruction, its limits on student confidentiality from parents, and its prohibition or narrowing of gender-affirming care for minors. Supporters would likely argue that the bill protects parental rights, student privacy, and child welfare, while opponents would likely contend that it interferes with school support services, outed vulnerable students, and restricts medically appropriate care. The school restroom and pronoun-related provisions, along with the medical treatment restrictions and potential license revocation, are the most legally and politically sensitive parts of the bill.