(WAVE) – Kentucky lawmakers have advanced two bills aimed at combating a rise in educator sexual misconduct, but four other measures targeting the problem have stalled for months.
House Bill 4 makes grooming a criminal offense for the first time in Kentucky. It passed both chambers without a single “no” vote and has reached the governor’s desk.
House Bill 253 bans schools from using non-disclosure agreements to cover up misconduct and sets new standards to stop offenders from jumping from school to school. It also has reached the governor’s desk.
Four other bills filed this session have not moved.
Among them, House Bill 443 would explicitly say that if a school employee sends or has any sexual action and communication with a student, it would be punished under Kentucky’s rape and sodomy statutes. House Bill 415 overhauls the state teacher license board’s rules on misconduct.
Kentucky Youth Advocates has tracked the rise in cases for years
Between 2016 and 2021, 61% of teachers who lost their licenses in Kentucky lost them because of sexual misconduct, according to the organization.
“What we’ve seen, especially over the last couple of years, is an increase in the number of students speaking out about sexual misconduct or sexual abuse at the hands of a school employee,” said Shannon Moody with Kentucky Youth Advocates. “And we know also, unfortunately, that over 70% of victims typically do not disclose that abuses occurred within the last five years.”
The legislative push comes as multiple cases have emerged across the state.
A 31-year-old now-former substitute teacher at Bardstown High School faces charges of sexual abuse involving a student. Mary “Hanna” Mattingly had sexual contact with a student and sent the student partially nude photos, according to Bardstown Police.
She is the second person connected to Bardstown High School to face such claims. Jeremy Dale, a former Bardstown City Schools employee, was sentenced last year for abusing students during their senior year.
Sydnee Graf, a fifth-grade math teacher at Smyrna Elementary, was arrested on Dec. 15, 2025, for sending sexually explicit messages to a student under 12 and attempting to meet them.
In Louisville, former JCPS coach Christopher Morris was sentenced in March to 70 years in prison, the maximum allowed by law. He was convicted on 29 counts involving two boys he coached.
A duPont Manual theater teacher remains under federal investigation and is accused of distributing child sexual abuse material.
“Without appropriate and pretty severe intervention with an adult who is perpetrating sexual abuse on minors, that behavior doesn’t just end,” Moody said.
Kentucky Youth Advocates said progress is being made, but the battle against these crimes is not over.
“Sometimes good legislation takes time,” Moody said. “We want things to move faster as well, but we also want to get it right.”