FRANKFORT – A bill aimed at limiting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and requiring First Amendment training at colleges and universities advanced in the Kentucky legislature Tuesday.

Senate Bill 6, which passed the chamber 26-7 after two hours of debate, would prohibit higher education institutions from requiring students and faculty to “describe the attitude or actions in support of or in opposition to specific ideologies or beliefs” to receive admission, employment, promotions or graduation. The bill also would require First Amendment training at student orientation.

Supporters said on the Senate floor that the bill is meant to protect free speech and promote “intellectual diversity.”

Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, the bill’s main sponsor, said that DEI policies prevent conservative voices from expressing their views on college campuses.

Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, added that “diversity isn’t always a good thing and being thrown way out of proportion.”

“If I’m being wheeled into the emergency room to have brain surgery … do I look around at the brain surgery team and say ‘woah, is there diversity on this team?’” Schickel said. “No, I want the best darn team in there with the most expertise.”

Conservative states have zoned in on diversity, equity and inclusion, also known as DEI policies, by stopping colleges and universities from using state and federal funds for these programs.  Since 2021, 21 states have introduced legislation that would limit DEI programs on campus, according to an Axios analysis.

Meanwhile, supporters of DEI initiatives say that these programs help foster inclusivity and opportunities for underrepresented minorities.

The University of Kentucky and University of Louisville both have DEI offices and resources available for students and faculty.

Critics of the bill raised concerns Tuesday that the legislation could harm underrepresented students and result in unintended consequences.

Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, said she fears the bill will hurt faculty retention and recruitment because schools will have difficulty with navigating “vague concepts.”

Chambers Armstrong was referring to a list of “discriminatory concepts” in the bill that aren’t allowed to be included in any training for students or employees.

“I’m concerned about the message it sends to our faculty members and concerned about the way it will impact our ability to recruit and retain faculty members,” she said.

Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, said the bill would hurt the progress Kentucky has made with attracting underrepresented minorities to its colleges and universities.

“My position is that we should not and never as a country move to a color-blind society,” Thomas said. “Instead, we should embrace all people of different clubs, different boards, different languages. … That is the richness of our diversity and differences.”

Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, said SB 6 “isn’t a racial bill and meant to be divisive” and is instead supposed to stop discrimination in higher education.

According to poll results released Tuesday by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the state’s voters believe that institutions and businesses should make their own decisions about DEI programs.

Of the 625 registered Kentucky voters polled, 71% believe that “businesses and institutions should make decisions about DEI education and programs without government interference.” Meanwhile, 26% answered that businesses and institutions should not, and 2% were unsure. 

Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy conducted the poll between Jan. 30 and Feb. 4. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The bill ended up passing on a party-line vote and now heads to the House.