After months of debate, the Kentucky House voted Friday to end funding for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices at state-funded universities.
“The overhauled bill passed the House by a vote of 68-18, sending it back to the Senate, which passed a much different version,” AP News reported. “House members stripped away the Senate’s language and inserted a replacement that takes a tougher stand on DEI initiatives at public university campuses. The Senate will decide in coming days whether to accept the new version. The GOP has supermajorities in both chambers.”
“This bill would put an end to the failed, expensive and discriminatory DEI initiatives at our public post-secondary schools in Kentucky,” Kentucky State Rep. Jennifer Decker said, per the outlet.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FIRES ALL DEI EMPLOYEES IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAW
Democratic state representatives largely opposed the measure, arguing for the importance of DEI.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are about creating and sustaining environments that support students and faculty who have been traditionally underrepresented on our college campuses, that make them feel safe and welcome,” Democratic state Rep. Nima Kulkarni said.
“It would disallow the teaching of how oppressive governments create systems of inequality through laws and policies that are structured to marginalize minority groups,” Kulkarni argued. “Our students deserve to know our history. They deserve to fully explore all of the progress that we have made.”
Kentucky is one of the latest states following in the footsteps of Florida lawmakers who voted to defund DEI institutions within Florida’s publicly funded college system.
Following that decision, the University of Florida announced in a memo that it would fire all employees in DEI positions and administrative appointments, according to a memo sent in early March. Florida’s State Board of Education announced “strict regulations” to stop funding for DEI programs within the state college system.
“To comply with the Florida Board of Governors’ regulation 9.016 on prohibited expenditures, the University of Florida has closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, eliminated DEI positions and administrative appointments, and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors,” the memo states.
Decker and Kulkarni did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report.
