Below, you will find information for several updates that we need to share with you. Please read through them carefully and reach out with any questions you may have.

Webster County Schools will continue its participation in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program for the 2025-2026 school year. All students will receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at no cost each school day. This helps ensure that every student has access to nutritious meals each day.

Effective with the 2025–2026 school year, OTC medications, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, antacids, cough drops, or prescription medications, may not be administered to students unless the school has a written order from a licensed medical provider and a signed consent form from a parent or guardian.

In addition, no more than a 30-day supply of any medication may be delivered to the school at one time. Large bulk containers (such as 200-count bottles of Tylenol) will not be accepted.

The OTC medicine form is available online or on the ParentSquare app under 'More' and 'Links'. The form is not valid unless it includes both the healthcare provider’s signature and the parent or guardian’s signature.

This statewide regulation is part of an ongoing initiative to enhance student safety and standardize health procedures across Kentucky schools.

For additional information or questions, please contact your school nurse.

In accordance with Senate Bill 181, the Webster County Board of Education has designated traceable communication systems for Webster County Schools, including ParentSquare/StudentSquare, Microsoft Outlook (using the @webster.kyschools.us account), Infinite Campus, Google for Education, and Edgenuity.

ParentSquare/StudentSquare centralizes all communications in a single, secure platform where each message is timestamped and visible. Use this link to learn how to view your child's communication in ParentSquare/StudentSquare.

Please visit the link on our website for more information.

The Kentucky General Assembly recently passed House Bill 96, which establishes a moment of silence or reflection at the beginning of each school day. The Law requires a moment of silence or reflection, to last 1-2 minutes at the start of the day.

Students may choose to pray, meditate, or engage in another silent personal activity during this moment of silence or reflection. District and school personnel may not provide instruction or guidance on how a student should use this time.

During this time, students are expected to remain seated and silent, without distracting others. Their choices must not interfere with or distract from others' use of this moment of silence or reflection.

Please review these guidelines and speak with your student(s) about how they can best use this moment of silence or reflection.

The passage of House Bill 208 requires schools to adopt a policy that prohibits the use of cell phones and/or other personal electronic devices, including access to social media, during instructional time in the school day.

Students may possess personal communication devices, such as cell phones or headphones, but they must be turned off and not visible during instructional time.

This bill supports Webster County's expectation that cell phones are not to be a distraction during instructional time.

Schools will release their plans for adhering to this law. This policy has been updated in our Student Code of Conduct Handbook.

Ensuring the safety and well-being of our students is one of the many responsibilities that we have as a school district. Senate Bill (SB) 73[1], related to sexual extortion, was recently passed & requires the district to provide the following information about sexual extortion to help ensure that parents/guardians have the resources they need to support their student(s) and protect them from being victimized (KRS 531.125).

Sexual extortion, also known as sextortion, occurs when someone threatens another person through violence, harm to reputation, or distribution of explicit material, with the intent to coerce them into unwanted actions. These actions may include engaging in sexual conduct, providing explicit content, providing money or valuables, or complying with demands against the victims’ will. These situations can cause significant emotional distress and place victims in dangerous situations. Many victims feel forced to comply because they fear the repercussions. Below is the exact language in SB 73/KRS 531.125, followed by resources provided to support you and your student.

Sexual Extortion is defined as:

(1) A person is guilty of sexual extortion when he or she communicates, through any means, a threat to:

(a) Injure the property or reputation of another person or commit violence against another person with the intent to coerce that person to:

1.  Engage in sexual conduct; or

2.  Produce, provide, or distribute any matter depicting that person engaging in sexual conduct or in a state of nudity or semi-nudity; or

(b) Distribute any matter depicting another person engaged in sexual conduct or in a state of nudity or semi-nudity with the intent to coerce that person to:

1.  Engage in sexual conduct;

2.  Produce, provide, or distribute any matter depicting that person engaging in sexual conduct or in a state of nudity or semi-nudity;

3.  Provide the payment of money, property, services, or any other thing of value to the perpetrator; or

4.  Do any act or refrain from doing any act against his or her will.

Schools are required to display posters with resources to help young people report and seek support if they believe they or someone they know is a victim of sextortion. One of the most effective ways to protect youth is by encouraging open communication with trusted adults.

Parents and guardians play a key role in keeping their student(s)safe by discussing healthy relationships and by respecting boundaries. Together, we can help ensure these children understand that sexual extortion is NEVER their fault, and that there is always someone out there to help them navigate these situations if they find that they have fallen victim to these predators. Offenders often manipulate, groom, or trick young people into sharing images and scare them into submission. To support families, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) provides resources to help parents talk with their student(s) about these risks.

What Parents Should Know About Sextortion: https://www.missingkids.org/content/dam/netsmartz/downloadable/tipsheets/sextortion-what-parents-should-know.pdf

Even if an explicit image or video has been shared, there are ways to have it removed. Parents and guardians can help young people by using NCMEC’s Take It Down tool and reporting the content to the platform or app where it was posted.

For more information, visit these resources:

📲 Want to stay connected this school year? Be sure to download the ParentSquare app today!

It’s your one-stop shop for all school and district communication. From alerts and teacher messages to attendance notes and important calendar dates, stay informed from wherever you are and never miss a beat!

Available free on the App Store and Google Play.