Kentucky lawmakers plunged Thursday into the contentious issue of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts on college campuses as a GOP-led Senate panel advanced a bill over objections from Democrats.
The bill — introduced on the opening day of the legislative session — received its first committee hearing more than a month later, as lawmakers approached the halfway point of the 60-day session. Supporters said it's a needed response to what they see as discriminatory trends in higher education. Opponents said the measure could hurt efforts to expand the presence of underrepresented groups on campuses.
The measure won approval from the Senate Education Committee to advance to the full Senate, where Republicans hold an overwhelming majority.
Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, the bill's lead sponsor, said lawmakers are justified in delving into the issues because of their primary role in determining how state funds are spent in education. He said it would not prohibit diversity initiatives on campuses.
"We need to ensure that those funds are promoting educational excellence and rigor to help our students ... succeed in this 21st century, intellectual economy and not trendy, divisive, ivory tower theories," he said.
Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, countered that there's a misunderstanding of DEI efforts on campuses. He said those initiatives are working to create broader opportunities that include underrepresented groups of people.
"The fundamental notion of DEI programs is that everybody should be included, that all people belong in the college setting," Thomas said in opposing the measure. "And that we only grow ... as a nation when we all participate in the process. That we do learn from each other, in all sorts of ways."
Similar debates are ongoing in other statehouses across the country. Already this year, GOP lawmakers in at least 17 states have proposed about three dozen bills to restrict or require public disclosure of DEI initiatives, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural.
Wilson told the committee he filed the bill on behalf of students and faculty at risk of having their free-speech rights violated amid a "stifling, politically correct academic atmosphere."
Among other things, the measure would bar public colleges and universities from providing preferential treatment based on a person's political ideology. It would bar the schools from requiring people to state specific ideologies or beliefs when seeking admission, employment, or promotions.
The legislation establishes a host of "discriminatory concepts" that would be prohibited. In one example, it would ban the concept that a person, based on his or her race or gender, bears responsibility for past actions committed by other members of the same race or gender. Another is meant to keep people from feeling guilt or discomfort solely because of their race or gender.
The bill would allow the state attorney general's office to take legal action to compel a school's compliance.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.