On Jan. 6, a group of Republican state senators introduced Senate Bill 26, a bill that would prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in public schools. This bill would affect more than just students and community leaders; it would affect belonging, opportunity, and student voice in public schools.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, a Kentucky State Representative and Executive Director of the New Americans Initiative, an initiative to build awareness of immigrant-related issues and support citizenship, said SB 26 would reshape how Kentucky defines “equal treatment” in schools by prohibiting the use of “any resources” for DEI initiatives, as defined in the legislation.

“Legislatively, my concerns start with breadth, ambiguity, and enforcement incentives,” said Kulkarni. She explained that the bill defines “DEI initiative” in a way that could capture ordinary policies or practices if someone happens to argue that such policies “promote” differential treatment.

Then, Kulkarni said, the compliance mechanism authorizes the Attorney General to seek “mandamus relief” to compel compliance. The U.S. Department of Justice defines this as an “extraordinary remedy” only used in exceptional circumstances.“In practice, that combination can produce a chilling effect,” she said, explaining that districts may overcorrect out of fear of complaints or lawsuits.

That fear, some say, could extend to classroom conversations.

“You can’t really write a bill like SB 26 and expect students to be able to exercise academic freedom,” said Akisha Townsend Eaton, an attorney from Bowling Green. Townsend Eaton is the first African American in the United States to practice full-time animal law in the United States, according to reporting by WNKY.  Diversity, equity, and inclusion work doesn’t really go away, whether or not you have legislation that attempts to prevent it, she said, adding “the need is always going to be there.”

Townsend Eaton raised concerns that the bill would violate students’ First Amendment rights, arguing that legislators can not strip students of their constitutional rights. 

“When you restrict conversations and ideas and content from coming into the classroom, especially if that content is factual, we’re doing a disservice to students,” said Townsend Eaton.

Townsend Eaton recalled winning a sixth-grade civic oration contest with a speech titled “Diversity Makes America Great,” competing against 90 other students. Today, she questions whether students and teachers would hesitate before encouraging similar discussions.

For students currently enrolled in Kentucky public schools, inclusion often looks less like a political concept and more like a social necessity.

“I feel most included and supported at school when my teachers and peers genuinely listen to me and take what I say seriously,” said Aubrey Nies, a senior from Daviess County High School. 

She believes schools should create spaces where students can safely share their stories without fear of judgment. “Inclusion programs aren’t giving ‘special treatment’; they’re making sure everyone has equal opportunity to succeed,” she said. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in schools help provide a safe space for students to integrate into their communities.

“I think that a lot of people don't really feel seen within their school communities, and definitely need resources to help them be able to feel seen or be able to understand what's going on [with] themselves,” said Tates Creek High School sophomore, Maggie Donworth.

Donworth also believes that limits on how schools talk about identity or diversity could impact school curriculum, including how history is taught, and whether students who are English learners will have access to classes or resources they needed.

Yesenia Oropeza Martinez, a senior from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, connected belonging to language access.

“I feel most supported when I’m working with WPLD in Español,” said Martinez about a Spanish student news effort at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.  “They understand me, and I feel welcome.”
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The program brings school news to Spanish-speaking families. “Being able to tell people news in Spanish, in their language, they can understand, is great,” she said.

For Martinez, representation matters deeply. “If they see someone like them, they can say, ‘Oh, I can do that as well.’”

Section 2, Part C says that SB 26 would prevent resources from being used on DEI offices, DEI training and resources to be allotted. If laws limit how schools talk about identity or diversity, she worries students may feel “limited” or discouraged from trying.

Community leaders argue that DEI initiatives are often misunderstood.

“The biggest misunderstanding is that DEI is inherently ‘preferential treatment,’” Rep. Kulkarni said. In K-12 settings, she added, DEI often looks like “fair discipline, safe classrooms, outreach to families who don’t have generations of experience navigating school systems.”

“We know that the systems have been built on a foundation of inequity, of discrimination, and of harm to certain people and populations,” said Lyndon Pryor, president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League. He explained that DEI policies ensure that harm caused by discrimination, racism, and sexism is repaired.

For example, he explained, DEI initiatives, help ensure merit-based hiring and equal opportunity. “Without them, what we know from decades of history is that people just tend to hire the folks that they like and not necessarily the best candidates for the job.”

Pryor warned that weakening equity-focused programs ultimately weakens education itself. He pointed to how removal of DEI practices can make educators unable to teach the full scope of history, noting that other states have tried to limit conversations around Jim Crow or the Civil Rights era.

“Education is the bedrock of an advanced society,” Pryor said. “Any effort that would undermine people’s ability to learn fully and well is contradictory to what we say we believe as Americans.”

For Townsend Eaton, DEI has never been about benefiting only a few.

Though people like to say DEI only benefits some, “really it’s everybody that benefits,” she said.

For many people, the conversations surrounding SB 26 are not just about policy; they’re about whether schools remain places where students can feel seen, heard, and welcomed.