A Republican lawmaker has filed sweeping legislation to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, offices and staff at Kentucky’s public universities and colleges. Such initiatives have increasingly become a target for GOP politicians, including President Donald Trump who has recoined the term DEI as “discriminatory equity ideology.”
House Bill 4 would prevent colleges from using any resources on DEI initiatives, defined as a policy to “promote or provide differential treatment or benefits” based on a person’s religion, race, sex or national origin. It extends from employee hiring to student admissions and recruitment to student housing and scholarships. All university DEI offices and officers would have to close by June 30.
Rep. Jennifer Decker of Waddy ’s 43-page bill mirrors legislation filed last year to accomplish nearly identical goals. In what was apparently a disagreement between the House and Senate, Decker’s previous attempt failed to cross the finish line.
“Higher education must be a marketplace of ideas, a place where merit takes precedence over bureaucratic policies that cost millions and deliver no results,” Decker said.
Decker said in a statement that her measure is designed to “prohibit discrimination,” make higher education more attainable and free universities of policies she sees as misguided. Last year, Decker received scrutiny for a comment she made at a Shelbyville Area NAACP meeting, telling the audience that her father was a slave to a white man.
Among many Republicans, DEI has become synonymous with “woke” ideology, and as a result is a frequent target of state legislatures and now the federal government.
On inauguration day, Trump signed an executive order calling on the federal government to terminate what he called “discriminatory” DEI mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities. The order comes on the heels of state-based attacks on DEI programs that have simmered for years in the wake of 2020 racial justice protests.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, a dozen states have enacted policies targeting DEI policies in higher education. That includes neighboring Tennessee and Indiana, although Decker's bill appears to go beyond what has been implemented thus far in those states.
Lyndon Pryor, the president of the Louisville Urban League, said he believes lawmakers don’t understand what DEI policies stand for and what they really include.
“We, the country, have allowed DEI and diversity and other terms to be so poorly co-opted that, unfortunately, a large swath of population don't seem to realize what it is they are retreating from and what in effect, they are running towards,” Pryor said.
The stated goals of DEI initiatives are to foster fair treatment and inclusive participation, particularly for people who have historically been underrepresented or endured discrimination.
Pryor argued that all the progress made toward equality and inclusion for people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people and anyone who is not in the American majority is a part of a larger push towards DEI. Pryor said that because gaps and disparities still exist, it’s a sign universities and companies need to push harder for diversity and equity.
“We've done a poor job of fully embracing these things, and that is marked by the fact that there has always been a fight for these things,” Pryor said.
Lawsuits, surveys to end DEI
Decker’s legislation would allow the state attorney general and aggrieved individuals to bring lawsuits against universities that do not comply with the law.
The bill would require the Council on Postsecondary Education to establish an annual survey or rubric to “assess intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on campus. Similar surveys have been put in place in other states, including Florida where the 2021 law is being challenged in court for allegedly chilling classroom speech.
The bill also excludes certain policies from its definition of banned DEI initiatives, including those required under the American with Disabilities Act, Title IX, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act or a court order. It also says that the prohibitions should not apply to academic course content or student and faculty academic freedom.
It is unclear if Decker’s bill stands a better chance this session. Republicans hold a veto-proof supermajority in both the House and Senate, meaning a bill that passes both chambers is highly-likely to become law. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has frequently defended diversity initiatives, saying at the legislative Black history celebration in early February that “diversity will always be an asset” to the state.
GOP Senate President Robert Stivers from Manchester told reporters before HB4 was filed that he was aware of an unofficial “working group” consisting of both House and Senate members that had come up with anti-DEI legislation. At the time, Stivers declined to share any of the membership of that group or who was leading the effort.
Republican Rep. James Tipton from Taylorsville, who leads the newly formed House committee on postsecondary education, told Kentucky Public Radio he was also expecting anti-DEI legislation to be one of the main items his committee would consider this year.
“I actually requested that, I said, ‘If we're going to do this, get something both chambers can agree with before we move forward,’” Tipton said.
Multiple universities in Kentucky have already made the decision to dissolve their DEI offices and staff, alluding to last year’s legislative efforts. University of Kentucky disbanded its institutional diversity office last year, as did Northern Kentucky University.
House Bill 4 appears to address that dissolution as well, defining a DEI office to include units “regardless of whether the office is designated by the institution as a diversity, equity, and inclusion office.”
Decker said in a statement she appreciates the decision to respond to “concerns raised by lawmakers and the public.”
“HB 4 builds on what our universities are doing and ensures there are appropriate guidelines in place,” Decker said.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
