House Bill 4 requires the Commonwealth’s public postsecondary schools to eliminate all diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs and policies. To ensure Kentucky institutions are in accordance with the law, the presidents from each school presented to the subcommittee on education about the changes that have been made.
Morehead State University’s President, Dr. Jay Morgan, said the administration only had to make a few changes to policies and did not have a DEI program before the bill was passed.
“Our board did take this opportunity at their last meeting in June to amend our non-discrimination statement to include aspects around House Bill 4 and include social and political viewpoint and to also show commitment to intellectual diversity and emphasize viewpoint neutrality,” said Morgan.
Other institutions, such as the University of Kentucky, had to overhaul entire programs and offices to comply with the law. Bob Depal, the provost and executive vice president for health affairs, said UK is still working on combing through websites and contracts to ensure all DEI language has been removed.
“We have issued statewide compliance guidance to ensure university resources are not used for DEI events or identity-based activities. For example, identity-based graduation celebrations have been discontinued, and university employees no longer are permitted to host or attend DEI or identity-based trainings or events,” said Depal.
Officials said the subcommittee will continue to monitor institutions compliance with House Bill 4.