Kentucky’s state legislature is poised to make a mistake that will hurt our students, undermine our universities, and set Owensboro and our commonwealth writ large back economically for years to come.
House Bill 4 — recently and correctly vetoed by Governor Andy Beshear — would do lasting damage to higher education in Kentucky. The bill would hurt the Owensboro students that attend Owensboro Community and Technical College, Western Kentucky University-Owensboro, and the public colleges and universities across the state. Overriding that veto would be a grave error.
The bill’s supporters claim it’s about ensuring ideological balance on college campuses. In reality, it’s a thinly veiled attempt to control what can be taught and who can teach it. It imposes political litmus tests on public institutions of higher education and creates sweeping new powers for the legislature to micromanage universities. That’s not oversight — that’s overreach.
If we care about academic freedom, we should be alarmed. HB 4 would chill free inquiry in our classrooms and research labs. It sends a message to faculty, staff, and students: Watch what you say. Be careful what you study. Choose your words wisely — or face the consequences.
I’ve spent my career working in and around higher education, right here in Kentucky and in our Nation’s capitol. I know firsthand how important it is for students to wrestle with complex, even uncomfortable, ideas. That’s how learning happens. That’s how we build critical thinkers and informed citizens.
I’m an Owensboro native and attended Kentucky Wesleyan College and the University of Kentucky. I had liberal and conservative professors. If anything, my liberal professors pushed back on liberal ideas the most. And both my liberal and conservative professors encouraged us to think critically about complex issues — just how higher education is supposed to educate.
I also worked at Kentucky Wesleyan, UK, and the University of Louisville. My colleagues did not engage in divisiveness, they encouraged open debate, free speech, and intellectual diversity.
And when it comes to DEI offices, there’s so many politically motivated misconceptions. If you want to know about the work of those offices, just listen to the voices of students, just like the ones at Kentucky Wesleyan who wrote a letter to the editor thanking the amazing leader of the Office of Equity and Inclusion.
The truth is this: When politicians decide what counts as acceptable inquiry, we all lose.
But this bill isn’t just bad for education. It’s bad for business.
Owensboro’s and Kentucky’s economy depends on a well-educated workforce and vibrant public colleges and universities that can attract talent, foster innovation, and drive regional development. I also worked at the Cabinet for Economic Development for a stint, working to recruit companies from across the country and all over the world. I saw firsthand that companies looking to invest in Kentucky want an educated workforce that understands the diversity of our country and world. And they want to know that our institutions of higher education are stable, respected, and free from political interference. HB 4 tells them the opposite.
If this bill becomes law, we risk a brain drain — top faculty leaving for states where they can teach and research freely, and students choosing to enroll elsewhere. That’s not just a loss for our campuses. That’s a loss for our communities, our economy, and our future.
Governor Beshear was right to veto HB 4. Now, the legislature has a choice: Double down on a misguided, politically motivated bill — or stand up for Kentucky’s students, educators, and economic future.
I urge all of Owensboro’s lawmakers to choose the latter. Don’t override the veto. Trust our educators. Protect academic freedom. And keep Owensboro moving forward.
Written by
Wesley Whistle
Whistle is the Project Director for Student Success and Affordability at New America, a former presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Education, and a PhD candidate in higher education at the University of Kentucky.
