School choice approved while anti-DEI takes another step in Kentucky General Assembly

Rebecca Grapevine and Hannah Pinski, Louisville Courier Journal
Updated ·4 min read
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FRANKFORT — The legislature on Friday advanced two bills that could reshape Kentucky's K-12 and higher education systems.

The Senate gave final approval to a bill that would allow Kentuckians to vote on whether to amend the state Constitution to allow state funds to be spent on non-public schools, such as charter schools. And the House approved a bill that would block diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Kentucky's public colleges and universities.

Here what to know about the two bills:

HB 2: School choice constitutional amendment

House Bill 2 would allow voters to decide in November whether to amend the state's Constitution to allow state dollars to be spent on non-public schools.

The measure gained final approval in the Senate on a 27-8 vote on Friday, after fiery opposition from Democrats. Republican Sens. Brandon Storm of London and Phillip Wheeler of Pikeville crossed party lines to vote against the measure.

Sponsored by Rep. Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, the bill is a response to court decisions that have blocked previous bills that would have allowed state funds to pay for private schools in Kentucky. A number of provisions of the state's Constitution require that public funds be used only for the common school system.

The bill could harm the public school system by diverting funds away from an already underfunded system, Democrats said.

"This is a bill to amend our Kentucky Constitution so that the legislature can divert our hard-earned taxpayer dollars from our public schools to private school," said Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville. "Kentucky students will suffer."

But Sen. Steve West, R-Paris, and other Republican lawmakers said the state should "try something new" and that families deserve more education choices than public schools alone can offer.

"All the bill does is it lets the people decide," West said. "If the people of Kentucky don't want this option, then they can vote it down. It's up to them."

The bill was fast-tracked this week. After gaining approval in the House on Wednesday, the Senate education committee held a special meeting Thursday afternoon. That set the Senate up to take a floor vote on the bill on Friday morning.

The timing of the Thursday Senate education committee meeting drew criticism from Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, who said the measure could have been considered during the same committee's meeting at its usual time on Thursday.

"We should do that in the clearest sunshine possible, so everybody can weigh in," Thomas said. "The process was flawed."

West rejected that argument. He said that the bill was introduced in January and the specially called Senate education committee meeting on Thursday allowed plenty of time for people to express their opinions.

Because the bill deals with amending the constitution, it does not need Gov. Andy Beshear's approval.

SB 6: "Anti-DEI" bill

After more than three hours of debate, the House’s version of Senate Bill 6, the "anti-DEI" bill, passed the chamber on a 68-18 vote.

The House’s version is almost unrecognizable from SB 6 sponsor Sen. Mike Wilson’s bill. Rep. Jennifer Decker, Waddy, said at the special committee meeting on Thursday that the House’s version is a condensed version of her House Bill 9, which comes down harder on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Wilson’s SB 6 prohibits colleges and universities from requiring students and faculty to "describe the attitude or actions in support of or in opposition to specific ideologies or beliefs" to receive admission, employment, promotions or graduation."

The House’s version of SB 6 bans race-based scholarships and defunds DEI offices and officer positions. It also places limits on the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education by prohibiting them from approving degrees that require courses containing “discriminatory concepts.”

Decker said that the bill is supposed to hold public colleges and universities accountable because she believes that DEI bureaucracies have failed students.

“This bill would ensure that a public post-secondary system in Kentucky is held accountable to dismantle the misguided DEI bureaucracies that cost taxpayers an unknown amount, but at least tens if not hundreds of million dollars over the past years at a time period in which our campuses have also experienced a dramatic drop in overall enrollment students,” Decker said.

Democrats brought up concerns on the House floor that the bill would stifle concepts professors can teach, and that DEI programs help make more opportunities accessible and foster inclusivity for minority students.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, said the bill will stop students from learning the full scope of American history.

“It will disallow the teaching of how oppressive governments create systems of inequality through laws and policies that are structured to marginalize minority groups,” Kulkarni said.

Rep. Keturah Herron, D-Louisville, said DEI training helps students understand and respect all cultures.

The bill now heads back to the Senate for concurrence.

Reach Rebecca Grapevine at rgrapevine@courier-journal.com. Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at @hpinski@courier-journal.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: School choice, anti-DEI move ahead in Kentucky General Assembly