The bill enabling the firing of postsecondary education faculty members, even those with tenure, has passed in the Kentucky State House of Representatives on Feb. 17.

The vote was split 72-21. The Kentucky State Senate received the bill on Feb. 18 and sits with the Committee on Committees.

HB 490 has been controversial as it furthers the GOP’s pursuit to eliminate tenure in post-secondary education. The bill’s language would change the existing text for a university’s removal of faculty, specifically, but not limited to, Section 1 paragraph 6(a) and (b).

Paragraph 6(a) would allow universities to remove faculty in situations of financial stress, low enrollment in programs or majors, or misalignment of revenue and costs within colleges or departments. But faculty claim an issue with the language, labeling it “quite ambiguous.”

“The process by which removal for cause as provided in paragraph 6(a) of this subsection shall be proposed, evaluated and decided shall be established by each board and provided to all faculty members, with an effective date no later than October 1, 2026,” Section 6(b) reads. “The process shall require that no faculty member is removed until after thirty days’ notice in writing, stating the reason for removal and after an opportunity has been given to the faculty member to respond before the board by counsel or otherwise and to introduce testimony which shall be heard and determined by the board.”

The current version of the bill can be downloaded as a PDF from Legiscan’s Kentucky page for the 2026 regular session. It can also be downloaded as a Google Doc here.