A bill filed in Kentucky General Assembly seeks to limit the kinds of diversity training programs mandated for students and employees of the state’s colleges and universities.
The measure also outlaws schools from taking political ideology and viewpoints into account for the hiring and advancement of employees, and admission of students.
Senate Bill 6 would curb the ability of public colleges and universities to require students and employees to support or endorse what it describes as “divisive concepts.” While the bill includes a long list of those concepts, most center around race and gender. Some of those beliefs suggest all Americans are not created equal and that some individuals are “inherently privileged.”
The bill was filed by Republican State Senator Mike Wilson of Bowling Green to protect students and employees from what he says are discriminatory trends in higher education.
“We’ve seen this happen across the United States," Wilson told WKU Public Radio. "Particularly, we saw this happening at the University of Tennessee where it was beginning to affect hiring, and of course specifically, I’d say we’ve seen it in the rise of anti-semitism.”
Wilson’s bill is similar to a legislation passed by the Tennessee legislature in 2022.
A number of other states with Republican-led statehouses have also passed DEI-related bills in recent years.
“All of our laws, federal and state, are there to combat racism and those kinds of things," said Wilson. "DEI isn’t needed, but because of DEI, it’s caused more division than unity.”
Kentucky’s legislation doesn’t target instruction, but says students or employees can’t be retaliated against for not supporting diversity initiatives. Campuses could be sued up to $100,000 per violation.
Supporters of DEI programs say they’re useful tools for places like public college and universities, as a way to help ensure equal opportunities in hiring, pay, and professional advancement.
Copyright 2024 WKU Public Radio. To see more, visit WKU Public Radio. 9(MDAxODQ3NzExMDEyMTczNzkxNDU5MmE1Yg004))
