KY’s public colleges affirm inclusivity as legislature considers DEI initiative ban

While Texas and Florida recently outlawed diversity, equity and inclusion offices at public colleges and universities, Kentucky may be tacking more toward the route blazed by Tennessee.

What could happen? Not necessarily dismantling those offices, but prohibiting curriculum, training and educational initiatives that endorse “divisive concepts.”

Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, filed Senate Bill 6 last week that seeks to limit diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, practices and initiatives at public colleges and universities by way of “non-credit classes, seminars, workshops, trainings and orientations.”

The bill would prohibit instruction in Kentucky’s public colleges and universities that promotes such “divisive concepts” as “race or sex scapegoating,” a belief that some individuals are “inherently privileged” and any teaching that suggests all “Americans are not created equal.”

Concepts considered “divisive” that would be prohibited under Wilson’s proposal include:

• That an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously.

• The Commonwealth of Kentucky or the United States of America is fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist.

• An individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.

• A meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist, or designed by a particular race or sex to oppress another race or sex.

• Promotes or advocates the violent overthrow of the U.S. government.

Though this is the first bill that seeks to restrict DEI initiatives on college campuses, it might not be the last filed this session. Lawmakers are able to file bills through the end of February.

Though dozens of bills to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion measures have been proposed across the country, only four states have passed those bills into law: Florida, Texas, South Carolina and South Dakota, according to the Chronicle for Higher Education’s DEI legislation tracker.

Underpinning the passage of these laws is a movement among the GOP to put, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put it, “workforce education above indoctrination,” couching DEI programs as compulsory methods to push a liberal agenda.

Texas became the second state after Florida to ban such DEI initiatives last year with the passage of Senate Bill 17.

The Lone Star state’s law, which became enforceable Jan. 1, says universities cannot create diversity offices, hire staff to conduct DEI work, or require DEI training as a condition of admission or hiring.

Rather, those practices must be “color-blind and sex-neutral.”

The new law also requires university boards to adopt policies to discipline staff who violate these rules and establishes that university leaders can’t spend state money until they’ve showed they’re in compliance.

Florida’s sweeping Senate Bill 266, which took effect July 1, bars state universities from spending tax dollars on programs that advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion practices and policies, or promote social or political activism.

It also called for a review of all courses and programs for lessons that include “theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”

DeSantis, a Republican presidential hopeful, also signed a companion law prohibiting “political loyalty tests” in admission and hiring practices.

While Texas’ and Florida’s laws apply more to training and program dispensed by DEI offices, Kentucky’s proposal, appears to target training and curriculum.

Wilson’s bill does not threaten to defund DEI offices or reassign staff, for example. But it does bar any mandatory training that advocates for any “divisive concept,” and it bars the use of taxpayer funds, beyond the payment of a salary, that allow faculty to incorporate such messages into classroom curricula.

Kentucky’s bill pulls language from Tennessee’s law, signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee after passage through the state’s GOP-led legislature, was initially passed in 2022 and further modified in 2023 after college and university input.

While it requires universities to provide annual data to the state proving compliance, Kentucky’s bill does not require any reporting requirements to prove compliance.

Kentucky’s proposal, like Tennessee’s law, also makes clear that “nothing in this bill will be interpreted to infringe on the rights of freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment” or speech that facilitates the “free and respectful exchange of ideas.”

It’s a distinction that may muddy what would actually be barred under the law and what’s considered protected by the Constitution.

In many ways, enforcement behind Tennessee’s law — and Kentucky’s, if this version of the bill becomes law — is squishier than in other states, because its requirements are less concrete, or they seek to right a reality that might not exist.

For example, not much changed at the University of Tennessee following the passage and revision of the Volunteer State’s law, according to guidance from the university system.

Other than creating a reporting system to submit annual data to the state showing compliance, other requirements in the law, such as the prohibition on any university funds contingent to an individual or group that endorses one of the outlined divisive concepts, didn’t necessarily set a new standard.

“The institution is not aware of organizations that require endorsement of a divisive concept as defined in state law,” University of Tennessee’s provost wrote in the campus-wide guidance.

Kentucky’s colleges respond

Since the bill was only proposed a week ago — it potentially could receive a hearing by the Senate Education Committee — most of Kentucky’s public colleges and universities are waiting to see how it progresses before drawing public conclusions.

Some have already signaled compliance with the bill, which appears to seek to ban what are often referred to as diversity statements from students or staff. That is when an individual is asked to write a letter or sign a statement affirming their belief and work toward a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment.

Spokespeople for Morehead State University, the University of Louisville, Northern Kentucky University and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System told the Herald-Leader their institutions do not require the signing of such a statement from students or staff.

“We do not require that any employee or student sign any DEI document upon hiring or admission,” said Corey Best, NKU’s Public Relations director.

“We are an institution committed committed to fostering an inclusive environment where a wide variety of thoughts and opinions are encouraged and supported,” Best said. “We will approach any legislative changes with our mission in mind, ensuring our students, faculty and staff know we value all viewpoints and perspectives.”

Each of the state’s higher education institutions said they were monitoring the progress of the bill as they assessed its potential impact.

Western Kentucky University spokesperson Jace Lux said, “WKU remains unwavering in its commitment to provide a welcoming and safe environment where all individuals know they belong.

University of Kentucky spokesperson Jay Blanton, conveyed a similar message of inclusivity.

“We are a campus steadfastly committed to ensuring that we are a place of belonging for everyone, as well as a community dedicated to the fundamental academic value and principle of open inquiry and the free exchange of ideas,” he said.

“Those ideas are not only compatible, but essential to who we are and what we do as Kentucky’s university.”

When asked whether the provisions of SB 6 align with the atmosphere KCTCS strives to curate for students and staff, President Ryan Quarles, former Kentucky agricultural commissioner, said “education, more than anything else, should be the great equalizer, not a divider.”

At KCTCS, “Everyone belongs,” Quarles said in a statement, “whether they are a first-generation student, a veteran, a single working parent, formerly incarcerated, or an English-as-a-second language student. Regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.

“Particularly at KCTCS, we know that a diverse student body leads to a diverse Kentucky workforce,” Quarles added.

“We will remain committed to training and educating the workforce of tomorrow because that is what the commonwealth deserves.”