Kentucky Senate members passed Senate Bill 6 on Tuesday, one of the three anti-DEI bills filed so far this session.
The bill passed along party lines, 26-7. Under SB6, Kentucky’s public colleges and universities would prohibit students or staff from endorsing certain concepts that the bill describes as “discriminatory.” The Senate Education Committee approved the bill last week.
Critics called the bill legislative overreach and said it micromanages higher education.
Sen. Reginald Thomas (D-Lexington) characterized the measure as a step backward and defended the idea of embracing difference.
“We should not and never as a country move to a colorblind society, but instead we should embrace all people of different colors, different origins, different languages, different sexes,” Thomas said. “It is the richness of our diversity and our differences that makes us strong.”
Sen. Karen Berg (D-Louisville) pressed Sen. Mike Wilson (R-Bowling Green) on the language of the bill.
“During this last election, one of our nominees for governor stood on national TV and said that she would eliminate transgender from the classroom,” Berg said. “Is that a discriminatory concept?”
Wilson said this bill does not specify if it is a discriminatory concept.
“It does…the discriminatory concept describes character traits, but I use moral or ethical codes, privileges, beliefs of a race or sex to an individual’s race or sex,” Wilson said.
Berg called Wilson’s bill “dangerously confused.”
“I am sorry people in our society feel so intimidated by other groups that they literally feel they have to pass laws to protect themselves,” Berg said. “That is so sad, but that is what I see this bill as being.”
Sen. Adrienne Southworth, (R-Lawrenceburg) said focus needs to go back on the bill, instead of diving down various “rabbit holes.”
“We’re trying to protect people from being penalized or required to endorse things that are actually divisive.”
The bill heads to the House.
