News

The first 18 days of the 2024 General Assembly have seen over 400 bills filed, including several that could influence postsecondary education in Kentucky if passed. Below is a list of a few pieces of legislation WKU is closely tracking.

House Bill 6 (HB6), the Executive Branch Biennial Budget bill.

The two-year Executive Branch Budget sets forth the funding for operations for Kentucky’s state government. HB6 includes additional funding to WKU’s base appropriation to offset inflationary increases in expenses. HB6 also includes $160 million in state bonds to construct a new Academic Complex and $28.6 million for asset preservation. Funding for the Gatton Academy and the Kentucky Mesonet remain unchanged from the previous biennial budget.  HB6 has been referred to the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. You can view HB6 here.

House Bill 9 (HB9), an act relating to postsecondary education and declaring an emergency.

HB9 prohibits a public postsecondary institution from providing services, programs, trainings, credit bearing courses and any expenditures on diversity, equity and inclusion, the promotion of discriminatory topics or bias incident investigations, among other topics. HB9 has been referred to the House Education Committee. You can view HB9 here.

House Bill 228 (HB228), an act relating to postsecondary employment.

HB228 requires the board of a public postsecondary education institution to approve a performance and productivity evaluation process for all faculty members. The bill also requires faculty evaluations to be completed at least every four years and permits the board to delegate removal of a faculty member to the college or university president. HB228 was heard for discussion on January 23 in the House Education Committee. The bill has not been heard for a vote in committee yet. You can view HB228 here.

Senate Bill 6 (SB6), an act relating to postsecondary institutions.

SB6 provides that a student or employee of a public postsecondary education institution shall not be penalized, discriminated against, or receive any adverse treatment due to the individual's refusal to support or endorse any divisive concept. It also states that a student or employee of a public postsecondary education institution shall not be required to endorse a specific ideology or political viewpoint to be eligible for hiring, contract renewal, tenure, promotion, or graduation and prohibits an institution from inquiring into the individual's political or social viewpoints. SB6 requires the job duties of any individual employed in a diversity, equity, and inclusion role to include the promotion of intellectual diversity. The bill states that it shall not infringe upon academic freedom, freedom of speech or an institution’s ability to comply with state or federal law or accreditation standards. SB6 has been referred to the Senate Education Committee. You can view SB6 here.

To view all legislation WKU is tracking please click here, or visit www.wku.edu/govrelations for other helpful resources.