One step closer: Bill banning DEI in Kentucky colleges nears final passage

A newer, heftier version of a Republican bill to block diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that endorse “discriminatory concepts” at Kentucky’s public colleges and universities, as well as defund their DEI offices and staff positions, was fast-tracked through the House on Friday.

After approval from a special House Education Committee Thursday night, Senate Bill 6, filed by Majority Whip Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, received final passage in the House on Friday morning, 68-18. The bill heads to the Senate for concurrence before it is sent to Gov. Andy Beshear, who has all but guaranteed he will veto the bill.

A veto from the Democratic governor is purely procedural, as the Republican supermajority can easily override him.

In its most recent iteration, Wilson’s bill — one of three targeting DEI filed by Republicans this session — initially sought to outlaw the espousing of “discriminatory concepts” in non-credit classes, seminars, workshops, training sessions and orientations for students and faculty.

Wilson’s bill targeted specific “discriminatory concepts.” That includes “race or race scapegoating,” a belief that some individuals are “inherently privileged, racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously;” any teaching that “promotes division between, or resentment of, a race, sex, religion, creed, nonviolent political affiliation, social class, or class of people;” and any teaching that suggests all “Americans are not created equal.”

But nearly all of Wilson’s bill — the version passed this week — was gutted and stuffed with the bulk of House Bill 9, another anti-DEI bill from Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy.

Decker presented the new version of Senate Bill 6 in committee Thursday — Wilson, according to the committee chairman, had a “scheduling conflict” and was not present — and on the House floor Friday.

Decker called DEI initiatives in higher education costly, “misguided, failed, expensive and discriminatory.” By dismantling and defunding those offices and positions, she said, it will “allow” universities to “return their focus” to being environments that “foster critical thinking and constructive dialogue.”

Decker’s version of the bill swapped Wilson’s definition of “discriminatory concepts” for more vaguely-defined ones.

“Discriminatory concepts,” according to the bill’s language, includes any topic that is presented “as truth, rather than a subject of inquiry” that, for example, intrinsic inequities exist within “an existing structure, system or relation of power” because of “oppression, colonialism, socioeconomic status, religion, race, sex, color or national origin.”

The bill mandates that universities adopt a policy on “viewpoint neutrality” that “prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual’s political or social viewpoint and promotes intellectual diversity within the institution.”

Decker insists college campuses have become unwelcoming to conservative viewpoints.. By enshrining protections to “allow debate” and preclude one “truth” from prevailing another, the bill protects all viewpoints.

“Critical thinking” comes after robust discussion, she said, “That’s what’s encouraged in this bill.”

But Democrats and other bill detractors criticized the bill for being “word salad,” convoluted, and a “gas-lighting” solution in search of a problem.

As Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, pointed out, the bill does not explicitly define what “diversity” is, despite seeking to regulate it.

Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, asked Decker in committee Thursday to describe specific scenarios in which “discriminatory concepts” permeated college campuses.

Decker vaguely described an incident she said she’d been told about in which a student was told by a professor “there were five genders.”

The student, believing there are two genders, “was berated by her teacher, (and) when she was asked to write a paper, she wrote her beliefs, and she failed the class,” Decker said.

Rep. Keturah Herron, D-Louisville, said, “it’s unfortunate we are taking from the experiences of a few people and creating policy” that has statewide ramifications.

Decker’s SB 6 would also bar universities from providing any “differential” or “preferential” treatment to a student or employee based on race, religion, sex, color or national origin, as well as what are often referred to as diversity statements from students or staff, affirming their belief and work toward a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment.

More than 80 bills regulating diversity, equity and inclusion have been filed in 28 states since 2023,according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s DEI legislation tracker. Eight states have passed those measures into law, including in Florida, Texas, and Tennessee.

Bojawnoski cited this data on the House floor on Friday, saying, “This is definitely a national initiative as opposed to one driven solely by the needs of (Kentucky’s) universities and students.”

Bojanowski said this point was affirmed by the fact that two of the individuals who spoke in favor of the bill on Thursday in committee were from the Manhattan Institute and the Heritage Foundation — two national organizations crafting state-level policy to carry out conservative agendas.

Tim Rosenberger, a legal fellow with the Manhattan Institute, called DEI initaitives on Thursday “poison” existing to “enforce progressive ideology.”

But to some bill supporters, their reasons are less ideological and more financial.

In a letter of support for SB 6, Kentucky Student Rights Coalition Assistant Executive Director Rebecca Blankenship said the bill’s “main purpose is to eliminate wasteful spending on administrator jobs.”

The bill does not impact the “jobs of hard-working people at UK’s Martin Luther King Center, or Eastern Kentucky University’s Center for Inclusive Excellence and Global Engagement who are trying to create spaces of learning and reflection and growth. We’re talking about people who make $200,000 a year to wear suit, sit in an office and do mostly nothing,” Blankenship said.

Diversity, equity and inclusion offices on campuses are designed to support marginalized and underrepresented student populations by fostering a more inclusive college experience, college administrators and experts say.

The University of Kentucky’s Office of Institutional Diversity, for example, says on its website it serves to “enhance the diversity and inclusivity of our university community through the recruitment and retention of an increasingly diverse population of faculty, administrators, staff and students.”

And UK does this, the office says, “by implementing initiatives that provide rich diversity-related experiences for all to help ensure their success in an interconnected world.”

Since Decker’s stated goal is to foster an “environment that is inclusive and welcoming to all” — the same goal of DEI offices — some bill opponents asked: Why is the proposed solution to completely dismantle DEI programs, rather than refine them?

Rep. Al Gentry, D-Louisville, said on the House floor Friday, “I’m a little bit confused about what the intent is. Do we think there are problems with DEI programs and we’re trying to address them? Or are we trying to pass legislation to eliminate them? Let’s talk about DEI rather than eliminate it.”

College and university administrators that have weighed in have largely decried the anti-DEI bills filed this session. University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto called the bill “deeply concerning.”

“Across this campus, staff and faculty work to support students of color and from underrepresented backgrounds,” Capilouto said in a campus-wide email last month. “We should value and support that work, not diminish it.”

If the bill passes into law, it would require all state colleges and universities to develop by October an “annual survey to assess intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” for all students, faculty and staff.

The survey would need to use “statistically valid survey techniques” to assess whether students and staff “feel at liberty to express their ideological and political viewpoints and beliefs on campus and in the classroom,” and whether they’re “exposed to a variety of ideological and political perspectives.”

Each school would then be required to publish an annual “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” report compiling those answers. Beyond the survey, universities would need to comply with the whole of the bill by June.

Bolstering GOP efforts to rein in DEI initiatives, Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman on Thursday released an opinion saying public universities’ use of certain DEI policies violates the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act.

Building his argument on a case that led the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down affirmative action last year, Coleman said using “underrepresented minorities” as a metric for funding is unconstitutional.

Coleman issued his opinion at the request of Decker. There is no active court case in Kentucky on this topic, so Coleman’s opinion has no real bearing other than to signal his legal opinion on the subject.

Citing Coleman’s opinion on the House floor, Decker said her bill would stop “unconstitutional, discriminatory practices.”

This story will be updated.