KENTUCKY SENATE MAJORITY WHIP MIKE WILSON GUIDES DEI LEGISLATION TO COMMITTEE PASSAGE
FRANKFORT, KY (February 9, 2024) – Senate Majority Whip Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, presented Senate Bill 6 (SB 6) as modified by a committee substitute, and outlined the measure to members of the Senate Education Committee Thursday. The legislation protects Kentucky higher education students and limits the use of discriminatory and divisive concepts in the university setting.
“SB 6 will counter a troubling trend within our public universities attempting to exclude from employment, or deny promotion to, scholars and professors who do not conform to the liberal ideologies dominating most of our higher-education institutions,” Wilson said.
Wilson filed the measure as a priority legislation on January 4, the first week of the 2024 General Assembly.
“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 being compelled to adopt certain political positions for purposes of 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. Additionally, SB 6 stipulates state money shall not be used to fund discriminatory concepts in the classroom.
“We know that, here in Kentucky, the University of Louisville has required DEI statements for applicants seeking academic positions, and that this practice may be prevalent in other schools,” Wilson said.
SB 6 would require universities to post syllabus information, including book titles and course 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 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 shall include efforts to strengthen intellectual diversity, and at least 50 percent of the individual’s duties will 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.
Wilson’s measure would not prohibit institutions from training individuals in non-discrimination laws, and does not infringe upon the First Amendment rights of faculty.
In December 2023, Wilson, along with Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, and Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, blocked a vote by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges from adopting a new DEI Position Statement to be required for universities’ accreditation.
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Sen. 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. As a Senate majority leadership member, he 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.