republic-os/legislation/us/states/ky/2023rs/hb-538.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to discipline of students."
description: "Amend KRS 158.150 to require a local board of education to expel a student for at least 12 months if the student makes threats that pose a danger to other students or staff; require a local board of education to adopt a policy requiring disciplinary actions for a student who assaults other students or staff off campus property; allow a local school board to place a student in an alternative education setting in lieu of expulsion, or at the end of an expulsion; allow a teacher to remove a disruptive student from the classroom; provide that a student who is removed from a classroom three times in 30 days shall be considered chronically disruptive and may be suspended; provide that a principal may permanently remove a disruptive student from a classroom and determine the placement of the student, subject to an appeal process; require a local board of education to conduct an expulsion review process to determine whether a student's expulsion shall continue or end."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2023RS"
identifier: "HB 538"
citation: "Kentucky HB 538 (2023RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Children and Minors", "Education", "Elementary and Secondary", "Teachers"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 27
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-02-22T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2023-03-23T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/7947a83e-1484-40b3-a9b0-65785c46864e"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/23RS/hb538.html"
source_hash: "9cfedc63d65af154ebaa5104e67e49b39bd7fed216bf74fd7aa6265e71198d7f"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ky"]
---

# Kentucky HB 538 (2023RS) — AN ACT relating to discipline of students.

Amend KRS 158.150 to require a local board of education to expel a student for at least 12 months if the student makes threats that pose a danger to other students or staff; require a local board of education to adopt a policy requiring disciplinary actions for a student who assaults other students or staff off campus property; allow a local school board to place a student in an alternative education setting in lieu of expulsion, or at the end of an expulsion; allow a teacher to remove a disruptive student from the classroom; provide that a student who is removed from a classroom three times in 30 days shall be considered chronically disruptive and may be suspended; provide that a principal may permanently remove a disruptive student from a classroom and determine the placement of the student, subject to an appeal process; require a local board of education to conduct an expulsion review process to determine whether a student's expulsion shall continue or end.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/23RS/hb538/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 76** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/23RS/documents/0076.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/23RS/hb538/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- Final Passage — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Pass — **pass** (pass) · lower
- PASS HB 538 W/ scs1 — **pass** (pass) · lower

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-02-22T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in House `introduction`
- **2023-02-22T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** to Education (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-28T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-28T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendments (2) and (3) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-03-01T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2023-03-01T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 02, 2023
- **2023-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendments (4) and (5) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 89-6 with Committee Substitute (1) `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-07T05:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2023-03-07T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-09T05:00:00+00:00** to Education (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 16, 2023
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 34 -3 with Committee Substitute (1) `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** to Rules (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Rules
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1)
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** House concurred in Senate Committee Substitute (1)
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** passed 85-11 `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2023-03-23T04:00:00+00:00** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 76) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/7947a83e-1484-40b3-a9b0-65785c46864e`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).