Senate Bill 181 affects high school sports

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The KHSAA dead period is in effect through July 9 which means all athletic activities and communications are on a pause during this time.

But once students and athletes return from dead period, a recently signed bill will affect the contact between coaches and athletes.

Senate Bill 181 went into effect this summer and requires traceable communication only through district approved systems, while personal messaging is now prohibited.

For high school sports, this means that coaches and athletes will be required to use an app for all electronic communication both during and after school hours.

For Bowling Green City schools, the district will be utilizing Apptegy for their approved platform.

The purpose of this bill was described as a “safety net” by Purples athletic director Calvin Head, so that both students and athletes are protected from any lines being crossed.

“ Unfortunately, that happens,” Head said. “We’ve been blessed where we have not had any of those incidences here, so we trust our coaches and we trust our adults. (The bill) does put those guardrails up and provides that safety net of appropriate communication from adults to students.”