The New Reality of Two-Way Communication in KY

Signed into law by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear in April 2025, Senate Bill 181 introduces new legal standards for how Kentucky school employees and volunteers communicate with students. This new legislation requires that school employees use a “ traceable communication system” for all electronic communication with students, and it represents a significant step toward regulating how educators interact with students in digital spaces.

While it may feel like another compliance hurdle for districts, SB181 is indicative of a growing trend among states to clarify expectations for how schools manage student communications and the evolving expectations of families. In fact, other states like Oklahoma and Ohio have adopted or are considering adopting similar legislation. Luckily, solutions like Apptegy Rooms already include many of the safeguards and visibility features now required by new laws like SB181—supporting district’s compliance efforts and making it easier for districts to adapt without overhauling their communication tools.

Apptegy offers safeguards through Message Moderation that protect your school community and your district’s reputation by giving every stakeholder, from students to teachers to families, a voice and a way to flag concerns before they escalate.

Message Moderation in Rooms gives your district a proactive tool to help:

• Prevent liability and risks to brand reputation

• Respond quickly to issues before they escalate

• Promote a culture of trust, safety and transparency

What KY SB 181 Actually Requires

At its core, Kentucky's new law mandates that all electronic communications between school employees/volunteers and students must occur through designated "traceable communication systems." These systems or platforms must:

• Track all communications sent to or by students;

• Provide parents access to review these communications; and

• Serve as the primary means for digital interaction with students, except in limited cases (e.g., written parental consent).

School district leaders can and should prepare now for the upcoming school year, including designing processes to notify parents within the first ten days of the school year about which platforms will be used and how to access them. Except in limited circumstances, the law expressly prohibits online interaction with a student through "unauthorized electronic communication"—generally defined as any electronic interaction outside the designated systems, including personal email, text messaging or social media communication.

Why Now? The Push for Transparency

The legislation, which passed with unanimous bipartisan support, addresses growing concerns about boundary violations in student-teacher relationships and responds to parents’ desires for greater visibility into their children's school interactions. Parents increasingly want to know who's communicating with their children and what's being said. This law creates guardrails that protect students while respecting teachers' need to effectively communicate.

“This legislation is about putting our children first and ensuring they are protected from inappropriate or unauthorized communication,” said bill sponsor Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield. “SB 181 strengthens parental involvement, sets clear expectations for school-related communication, and ensures accountability for those entrusted with our students' well-being.”

What School Leaders Must Do Now

Kentucky districts face a short implementation timeline starting with the 2025-2026 school year, when the law is expected to take effect. To prepare, they can take steps including:

1. Selecting and designating a communication platform that keeps track of communications with students and offers transparency to parents and guardians.

2. Establishing clear policies and training materials to assure alignment amongst teachers, staff, and volunteers regarding digital communications with students (including ensuring personnel understand how to report alleged violations of the new law).

3. Preparing notification systems for the upcoming school year.

As noted, the law also stipulates serious consequences for non-compliance, including potential disciplinary action for certified employees through the Education Professional Standards Board. Many forward-thinking districts are already exploring Apptegy's two-way solution to help meet their new obligations under SB 181 and the emphasis on adopting appropriate tools for communicating with students.

Apptegy Rooms: Designed for K-12 Communications

As districts evaluate solutions to meet these new requirements, Apptegy's Rooms platform stands out as purpose-built for direct interaction between teachers, staff, volunteers, and students. Designed for K-12 use and transparency and accountability among stakeholders, Apptegy Rooms can:

• Unify communications to a central hub, with all interactions contained within a district-branded, app environment.

• Retain conversation and interaction history to ensure direct communications between district personnel and students and others are traceable and can be accessed and reviewed.

• Enhance transparency, allowing parents and guardians to view communications in real time.

Beyond Compliance: The Strategic Advantage

While SB 181 allows each principal to designate their own traceable communication platform, this approach risks creating a fragmented experience for families. Parents with children in multiple schools would have to remember and juggle three or four different apps, from different vendors, each with separate logins, interfaces and notification systems. This law actually presents district leadership with a golden opportunity to standardize communications across all schools and center it on your district, not a vendor.

By implementing a unified district-wide solution like Apptegy Rooms, superintendents can help enhance compliance efforts while also scoring a strategic win. Parents benefit from a single, consistent experience regardless of how many schools their children attend. Teachers and staff need to learn only one system. And perhaps most importantly, the district maintains consistent branding and messaging across all its communications, seizing the moment to create communication coherence that benefits everyone in your educational community.

While working to address SB 181 is likely districts’ most immediate concern, Apptegy Rooms also offers strategic benefits that extend far beyond the focus on controlled communications:

• Unified District Branding: All communications happen within your district-branded app.

• Simplified Parent Experience: Families access all school communications in one place.

• Real-Time Analytics: Administrators can review and gain insights into communication patterns and engagement.

• Cross-Platform Integration: Messages can be shared across email, text, app notifications and even social media simultaneously.

What Users Are Saying About Rooms

• "Partnering with Apptegy has been a game changer for our district's communication. We started with their district-wide communication tools, expanded to Rooms for our teachers and families.” —Director of Technology, Innovation, and Data Systems Casey Hauptman, Franklin Square UFSD, NY

• “[Rooms] is a completely new paradigm for most of our teachers for parent communication and allows us to align all of our communication efforts across grade levels while providing equitable access for all of our parents and guardians.” —Director of Technology, Data, and Communications Robert Williams, Nye County School District, NV

• “Apptegy has transformed how Wise County Schools communicates with our students, employees, parents and communities! We have streamlined all communication from our schools for both one-way and two-way communications using their service and feel we are now reaching more people than ever before.” —Director of Technology Scott Kiser, Wise County Schools, VA

Taking the Next Step

With SB 181's implementation timeline moving quickly, the Apptegy team is here to provide additional information and context including:

1. Personalized demos to see how Apptegy Rooms addresses specific and current K-12 communication needs.

2. Insights from over 5,000 district partnerships regarding K-12 communication trends and best practices (including how best to engage key stakeholders).

3. Fast tracking implementation timelines to respond to ever-evolving compliance obligations.

Thriving under SB 181 means seeing this new legislation as an opportunity rather than an obligation, and with the right communication platform, transforming how your entire school community connects.

This advertorial was created to help Kentucky school leaders understand the implications of Senate Bill 181 and how Apptegy's solutions address these new requirements. This is not legal advice and should not be relied upon for legal advice. For specific legal advice regarding SB181 compliance, districts should consult with their legal counsel.