Laura Wills-Coppelman speaks before the Shelby County Board of Education on Jan. 22, 2026. Wills-Coppelman is one of the founders of Institutional Complicity Kentucky (ICKY), which has advocated for House Bill 4. (Justin Hicks / LPM)Kentucky House lawmakers unanimously approved a measure Wednesday that would criminalize so-called “grooming behaviors.”Grooming is a word researchers use to describe calculated behaviors by abusers to steadily cross more and more boundaries with a child, with the goal of sexual contact. For example: seemingly benign or accidental touching that escalates over time to sexual abuse.“It is a calculated process,” Republican Rep. Marianne Proctor said on the House floor Wednesday. “One designed to build trust, lower defenses and create access for future exploitation.”Proctor is the sponsor of House Bill 4, which defines grooming as “a course of conduct… intended to establish an emotional connection with a minor through manipulation, trust-building or influence to”:“Facilitate future acts of sexual conduct,” or “Normalize or desensitize the minor to acts of sexual conduct”Fourteen states have laws that define or criminalize grooming, according to the advocacy group Enough Abuse.Supporters say the bill is needed to address sexual abuse in schools and by other adults in positions of trust, such as volunteers, religious leaders and coaches.That problem was the subject of the latest season of Dig, a podcast from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, which uncovers 18 years of child sex abuse allegations by two educators in Louisville schools. KyCIR also recently featured the stories of several Shelby County Public Schools graduates who are calling for anti-grooming legislation and other new protections against educator sexual misconduct.Under Proctor’s measure, prosecutors must prove the pattern of behavior was intended to facilitate sexual abuse. In a House committee last month, some lawmakers had concerns that the measure could be interpreted to criminalize conversations about sex education in schools, and even between siblings.But on Wednesday, after Erlanger Republican Rep. Steven Doan filed an amendment creating a specific exemption for educational discussions between siblings, the bill drew unanimous support.The measure also has specific exemptions for educational discussions about sex between parents and children, and in schools and other organizations that serve children.HB 4 heads to the Senate for further discussion. ...read more read less