Schools across Kentucky are adapting to President Trump’s Executive Order on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Of the Commonwealth’s 171 public school districts, all but two are complying with the new federal restrictions. Universities are also shutting down DEI initiatives, aligning themselves with the White House’s directive as well as Kentucky’s House Bill 4.
But whether these institutions comply or push back, they are sure to draw controversy across the Commonwealth. While some insist that DEI helps historically marginalized groups succeed, others say it is nothing more than prejudice dressed-up in woke terminology. One thing is certain: DEI is a hot-button issue, and when public dollars are involved, the stakes get even higher.
On his first day in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order to end what the administration considers “wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.” The logic behind this order was simple. The White House sees DEI programs as codifying preferential treatment that discriminates against particular races, genders, or sexualities, a clear violation of Title IX.
The administration cited Martin Luther King Jr., insisting that “This order is meant to return to the promise and the hope that was captured by civil rights champions, that one day all Americans can be treated on the basis of their character, not by the color of their skin.”
Similar reasoning served as motivation for HB 4 in the Kentucky legislature, which insists that DEI is a discriminatory practice that provides “differential treatment or benefits to individuals on the basis of religion, race, sex, color, or national origin.” Though the bill was vetoed by Governor Beshear, the veto was overridden by impressive margins in both the State House and Senate.
Neither the Trump administration nor the Kentucky legislature want discriminatory practices taking place within its jurisdiction, much less funded by taxpayer dollars. However, many within Kentucky are outraged with this action. Though the majority of school districts are complying, Fayette and Jefferson counties are refusing to do so.
Others districts, though compliant, are not happy about it. The superintendent of Hardin County, Teresa Morgan, said she signed the U.S. Department of Education’s compliance form with “great disgust and sadness.”
This same disgust is shared by many university students and faculty across the Commonwealth. In the wake of the Trump Administration’s Executive Order and the passing of HB 4, Kentucky universities are making major changes. Part of these changes is the cancellation of so-called Lavender Graduation ceremonies, which are special graduation ceremonies for LGBTQ+ students.
Both the University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Louisville (UofL) cancelled their Lavender Graduations. UK also cancelled its Harambee Unity Celebration, specifically for black graduates. UK’s Chief Communications Officer stated that “The University will no longer host identity-based or special-interest graduation celebrations.”
While many on campus lament this reality, it raises the question: why are identity-based and special-interest graduations taking place to begin with? One can only imagine the protests if a white-only or straight-only graduation ceremony were held, much less funded by tax-dollars. Don’t black-only or LGBTQ-only graduation ceremonies demonstrate a double standard?
Breaking up graduations by race or sexuality destroys the very unity embodied in the idea of the university. In fact, the very word “university” is associated with the Latin phrase universitas magistrorum et scholarium, meaning that the university is a community of scholars and students from different backgrounds who come together in pursuit of truth.
Though proponents of DEI claim that Republicans are undermining equality, the opposite is true. Both the Trump administration and Kentucky legislature are working to uphold truly equal standards—standards that are blind to race, gender, and sexual orientation. These impartial standards are not only consistent with our legal tradition—they are common sense.
Institutional bias, in any direction, violates this principle. And when public schools forget this, it is the government’s duty to step in.
Jacob Ogan is the executive assistant at the Commonwealth Policy Center and is pursuing degrees at Boyce College and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He serves in the President’s Office at Southern Seminary and has previously interned with members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.