Kentucky lawmakers passed a bill that would cut funding from the state’s universities’ departments of diversity, equity and inclusion and eliminate admissions requirements from schools that required students to speak in support of doctrine.
The state Senate bill would prohibit state schools from asking students or staff to “describe attitudes or behaviors that support or oppose a particular ideology or belief” as part of the admissions process, voting 67-7. It was approved with a majority vote.
When the bill was passed by the state Legislature, it was amended to take a stronger stance on DEI programs as a whole. The bill added a ban on race-based scholarships and eliminated funding for DEI offices and state university employee positions. SCNR report.
The Kentucky Board of Postsecondary Education would also be prohibited from approving degrees that require coursework that includes “discriminatory concepts.”
The bill passed by a vote of 68-18 and will now return to the Senate for approval.
Republican state Rep. Jennifer Decker said the agency should “dismantle the misguided DEI bureaucracy” and “remove the failed, expensive and discriminatory policies at Kentucky’s public higher education institutions.” “We need to put an end to DEI efforts,” he said.
Decker also noted that the bill would make schools “inclusive and welcoming to all.” Associated Press.
“If I was taken to the emergency room in a wheelchair for brain surgery… would I look over at the neurosurgery team and say, ‘Wow?’ [sic]Republican state Sen. John Schickel asked, “Is there diversity on this team?” and he was quoted as saying, “No, I want the best team with the most expertise.” . delivery journal.
Democrats took a different position, arguing primarily that defunding DEI offices would negatively impact racial minorities.
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs support students and faculty who have traditionally been underrepresented on college campuses and create an environment where they feel safe and welcome,” said Democratic State Representative Nima Kulkarni. The purpose is to create and maintain the
Kulkami said a false history would be taught, ignoring the teachings of “how oppressive governments create systems of inequality through laws and policies designed to marginalize minorities.” insisted.
Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, said in a seemingly transparent statement that his state “should not, and never should we as a country, move into a color-blind society.”
“Instead, we should embrace all the people who belong to different clubs, different boards, different languages. … That is the richness of our diversity and difference.”
Democrat Tina Bojanowski called the bill “an “evil DEI bureaucracy and indoctrination” to limit academic freedom while imposing their worldview on higher education institutions. “Threat from authoritarians.”
About 100 students protested the closure of Lexington College’s DEI office, and one student said he was troubled by the closure of the Center for Culture and Equity.
“As a Black student, I know that the Cultural Equity Center is where I found my family and where I was able to build connections and networks that I would not have had access to off campus,” protest organizer said. said Carly Reeves.
According to another student, wave 3voiced opposition to the bill on the basis of race-based scholarship.
“I’m here because I’m a Porter Scholar. I’m here because of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
a Woodford R. Porter Scholarship This scholarship is only given to black or African students.
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