Protect DEI, NO on SB93!
Sen. Stephen Meredith has introduced SB93 which is aimed at limiting and restricting the actions of Kentucky public school districts. Chief among these restrictions is a section aimed at prohibiting school districts from spending their own resources on programs to promote Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (usually shortened to DEI)
In an interview with Louisville Public Media Meredith claimed that this was an economic issue, to protect state resources if federal grant money were to end.
Meredith asks, “What happens at the end of this grant? Now Kentucky taxpayers are going to have to support that activity, and we have so many other needs. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not a priority.”
I strongly disagree with Sen. Meredith. DEI programs are important to the welfare of public-school students and faculty as well. Our culture is in constant turmoil and upheaval. Being able for students to learn how to accept change and work cooperatively with those different from themselves is just as important as mastering the core curriculum.
Instead of banning districts from purchasing DEI materials for "economic" reasons blamed on the Federal government I strongly urge Sen. Meredith, in his position on the state Senate Education Committee to find ways for the state of Kentucky to fund DEI programs independently from the Federal government. This would eliminate his concern for "what do we do when we run out of Federal grant money?!"
Please contact Sen. Meredith at the Legislative Message Line 1-(800)-372-7181 and show your support for continued DEI funding. His email is: stephen.meredith@lrc.ky.gov
Tell him straight out, you do NOT support HB93!
Sen. Meredith is running for re-election this year. You may also want to contact those running against him and discuss SB93 with them. They are:
Jamie Skudlarek and Thomas Ballinger.
No on HB208 to Amend the KY Constituion
I need to address HB 208, proposed by Rep. Josh Calloway. His bill seeks to amend the state Constitution in order to allow the state to fund private schools.
Amending the Commonwealth Constitution is a serious matter. It takes a great effort in the House, the Senate and the People of Kentucky working together to make it happen.
Why are we being asked to do this? What is the need for public tax money to be made available to fund private schools? What are students in private schools going to get that they cannot get in Kentucky public schools?
We have strong, quality public schools in Kentucky. They are open to all students, regardless of race, religion or social background. They follow, and often exceed, all state and federal guidelines regarding content and curriculum. Our students are competitive with students all across the United States.
If Rep. Calloway believes that there is a failure in Kentucky schools, if he believes that they are not teaching the right curriculum he needs to identify the failure and take steps to fix our public schools, rather than drain away funds from public schools to private schools. We often have difficulty funding our public schools. We cannot afford to fund public schools AND private schools as well.
It is a waste of time trying to amend the Constitution. We do not NEED to amend the state Constitution. If Josh Calloway feels that there is some fault in our curriculum, he needs to work with the state Board of Education, the Kentucky Department of Education and local school boards across the state.
Rather than wasting resources trying to amend the state Constitution we should continue to focus working together to improve the quality of our already superior statewide public education system.
Thank you for your time.
Honor the Legacy
Today we take the time to do something that we should be doing every day; honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.
We used to feel that for every few steps of racial justice forward we took we always ended up taking a step or two back.
We cannot tolerate such thinking anymore. It is unacceptable. The only direction is forward and the only way is together.