Overview
- State Rep. Sarah Stalker made the remark during the Kentucky General Assembly’s Interim Joint Committee on Education, defending DEI as inclusion and recognition of historical White privilege.
- Republican State Sen. Lindsey Tichenor presented a draft bill to eliminate DEI in K‑12, calling the initiatives wasteful, ineffective and divisive and saying they have not improved test scores.
- Tichenor cited spending concerns, including receipts for travel to DEI conferences and a reported Australia trip nearing $30,000, and said the legislation would be narrowly tailored.
- Stalker pointed to Jefferson County Public Schools’ diversity, noting 145 languages are spoken and 63% of students qualify for free and reduced lunches, and argued DEI brings more cultures and stories into classrooms.
- The exchange drew national attention online, including Elon Musk labeling Stalker “evil,” as separate federal scrutiny intensified with an Office for Civil Rights notice to Jefferson County alleging Title VI violations tied to racial balancing and funding formulas.