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Committee unanimously backs bill to add child-abuse reporting information to coaches' training and participation forms
Summary
Senate Bill 120 would add information about mandatory reporting and how to report suspected abuse to annual sports participation forms and coaches' annual training. Sponsors and KHSAA said the bill does not change mandatory-reporting law but aims to increase awareness; the committee passed the bill unanimously.
Senate Bill 120, sponsored by Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, passed the Senate Standing Committee on Education unanimously after committee members questioned how the proposal would be implemented and how it would interact with existing law and background-check practices.
Chambers Armstrong said the bill would include information on existing Kentucky law requiring people with reason to suspect child abuse to report it and would add a short section on reporting to the annual sports participation form and to annual coaches training already required under statute. "This bill would simply add a short section on child abuse reporting," she told the committee, and that it would inform parents and students of their right to report and how to do so.
Chad Collins, general counsel for the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA), told senators that KHSAA member schools and its Board of Control were consulted and that the bill has two components: informing families about existing law and including the reporting information in annual training for coaches and administrators.
Committee members asked how the duty to report would operate in practice and whether the proposal addressed concerns about false or vindictive reports. Chambers Armstrong and Collins said the bill does not change who is required to report under current law; it adds instruction on when and how to comply. Collins said many reports are screened out on inquiry and that only a subset proceed to formal investigation. The committee also discussed background checks for coaches and whether renewal timing for nonteacher coaches is aligned with teacher background-check cycles; Collins said coaches comply with the same law and "are required to comply with the same law ... on the same cycle as it is for the teachers," but he did not provide an exact renewal interval.
Senators cited figures discussed in committee: a news investigation that identified more than 80 documented public cases of alleged abuse of high school athletes in Kentucky over a 15-year period and a statistic that about 9 percent of student athletes report experiencing conduct that made them feel uncomfortable. Committee members and proponents described the bill as an "awareness" measure to improve reporting and protection without adding new criminal duties or penalties.
Senator Neal moved the bill; Senator Tichenor seconded and the roll-call vote was unanimous. The committee reported Senate Bill 120 favorably.
