Kentucky state rep sponsors bill with wide-ranging ban on DEI practices in public higher ed
The bill bans DEI statements, stops spending on DEI, and prohibits schools from forcing students to take classes ‘dedicated to discriminatory concepts.’
‘To preserve academic integrity and free expression, colleges must eliminate DEI mandates that have made our campuses more divided and more expensive,’ the bill sponsor said.
A Kentucky state representative recently introduced legislation targeting DEI at the Bluegrass State’s public institutions of higher education.
Republican State Rep. Jennifer Decker introduced House Bill 4 on Wednesday. Decker sponsored the same legislation in 2024, though it failed to become law in its previous iteration.
The bill takes aim at DEI in state colleges and universities. As seen from a summary of the bill on the General Assembly’s website, it would, among other measures, stop schools from “providing differential treatment or benefits on the basis of an individual’s religion, race, sex, color, or national origin,” and from “influencing the composition of the student body or scholarship recipients on the basis.”
[RELATED: Kentucky could ban DEI in higher education next year, according to state senator]
Other provisions in the bill would forbid schools from spending “any resources on [DEI],” promoting “discriminatory topics,” forcing applicants to submit diversity statements, mandating classes “dedicated to discriminatory concepts,” or making anyone “endorse or condemn a specific ideology or viewpoint.”
Speaking of the importance of the bill, Decker said: “With this measure, we seek to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, race, sex, color, or national origin, and ensure that our university campuses are free from the failed and misguided DEI policies that have proven only to make higher education less attainable for Kentuckians.”
[RELATED: Kentucky community college system launches review of DEI amid state lawmakers’ concerns]
“To preserve academic integrity and free expression, colleges must eliminate DEI mandates that have made our campuses more divided and more expensive,” she added.
Two Kentucky schools, Northern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky, have already closed down their DEI offices in 2024.
Campus Reform has reached out to State Rep. Decker for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
