A state Republican lawmaker renewed the fight against diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Kentucky’s public universities on Wednesday with House Bill 4.
HB 4, proposed by Rep. Jennifer Decker, would require public universities in the commonwealth to eliminate existing DEI programs, offices and job positions, as well as prevent the institutions from spending money on any DEI-related program or training.
Much of the language in HB 4 is similar to that found in House Bill 9, which was filed for the same purposes by Decker in the 2024 legislative session. Much of the HB 9 language was later adopted by Senate Bill 6, which failed to pass last year.
The bill also requires universities to publish annual reports to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education on their compliance with the law, beginning July 1, 2026. Universities would be required to comply with the law “no later than June 30, 2025.”
HB 4 lists aspects of universities the bill should not affect, including academic course content or instruction, academic freedom, research, student newspapers and university press, the activities of student-led organizations and more. The language also states the bill would not “prohibit programs, procedures, policies, and other initiatives deemed by the institution’s general counsel to be required for compliance with federal or state law, a court order, or a binding contract entered into prior to the effective date of this Act.”
The bill comes as President Donald Trump intensifies his attacks on DEI in the federal government and across the nation.
Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on X @pricewilborn.
