Commonwealth of Kentucky
Senate Majority Caucus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release #02-014
Contact: Angela Billings
angela.billings@lrc.ky.gov
(O.) 502-564-2450 | (C.) 502-319-3189
KENTUCKY SENATE MAJORITY WHIP MIKE WILSON
OVERSEES PASSAGE OF DEI LEGISLATION THROUGH SENATE
FRANKFORT, KY (February 13, 2024) – Senate Majority Whip Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, presented Senate Bill 6 (SB 6) to the full Senate on Tuesday. The bill passed 26-7 and will now qualify for consideration by the full state House of Representatives. The legislation protects Kentucky higher education students and employees by limiting discriminatory concepts in the university setting.
“I offer SB 6 to counter a trend in higher education of universities attempting to exclude from employment, or deny promotion to, scholars and professors who do not conform to the liberal ideologies now fashionable in public universities,” Wilson said.
Wilson filed the measure as priority legislation on Jan. 4, the first week of the 2024 General Assembly. The bill was heard in testimony to the Senate Education Committee last week.
“Current Kentucky law protects K-12 teachers and school employees from discrimination in hiring and promotions based upon political or religious opinions or affiliations,” said Wilson. “We must extend the same protections to our public university faculty as well and make protections more explicit for the students these institutions exist to serve.”
The bill includes provisions to protect students, applicants, staff, and faculty from having to adopt political positions for admission, hiring, promotion, or reception of other academic benefits. It provides that institutions should not require a course presenting discriminatory concepts as fact or use training programs or materials if the program includes discriminatory concepts.
Wilson provided several examples of discrimination rooted in the very concepts DEI is supposed to correct yet that have occurred on Kentucky college campuses. Committee testimony from a University of Kentucky student and a University of Louisville professor revealed that students have been academically penalized for expressing conservative beliefs regarding DEI, professors have been fired for failing to comply with DEI statements, and prospective employees have been rejected for lacking “leadership or a commitment” on DEI policies.
SB 6 would require universities to post syllabus information, including book titles and class descriptions for all courses online. Additionally, SB 6 would require student orientation to include discussion on the principles of free speech and viewpoint diversity and require inclusion of the full text of the First Amendment. All student orientation materials, including videos, must also be available online. Finally, institutions must conduct a survey on diversity of thought and publish the results in the 2025 and 2027 academic years.
It also requires that an individual hired for diversity initiatives include efforts to strengthen intellectual diversity and that at least 50 percent of the individual’s duties shall be mentoring, coaching, and academic support for Pell Grant students. SB 6 also gives the Attorney General the authority to file a writ of mandamus to enforce the bill’s provisions.
“There is much we can do to promote academic success for underrepresented minorities without promoting divisive academic theories,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s measure would not prohibit institutions from training individuals in nondiscrimination laws, and does not infringe upon the First Amendment rights of faculty.
SB 6 will now move to the Kentucky House of Representatives, where it may be considered for passage.
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Senator Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, represents the 32nd Senate District, including Logan, Simpson, and Todd Counties and southern Warren County. He serves as the Senate majority whip and, as a Senate majority leadership member, serves on the Legislative Research Commission, the Committee on Committees, and the Rules Committee. Wilson is a member of the Senate Agriculture; Economic Development, Tourism and Labor; Education; Transportation; and Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection committees. He also serves as Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee and Public Pension Oversight Board member. Wilson recently served as a 2022 Interim Early Childhood Education Task Force member.
Please visit https://legislature.ky.gov/Legislators%20Full%20Res%20Images/senate132.jpg for a high-resolution .jpeg of Wilson.
Please visit Legislature.ky.gov for more information on Senate Majority Caucus members and the 2024 Legislative Session, such as committee schedules and membership, legislation and more.
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