Governor Andy Beshear today defended DEA policies.

He sought to clarify how DEA is defined and who exactly benefits from it.

So the federal government put out an executive order that has these definitions and equity.

If you'll put up there means consistent and systematic, fair, just and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to this.

These are the two important words underserved communities.

So this boogeyman that people are using called DEA, who is it supposed to benefit?

Right now, our state legislature is pushing back against the concept that it's meant to help people, including rural Americans, veterans in areas adversely affected by persistent poverty.

That is almost all of Kentucky.

The way that this is defined federally should give us an advantage to securing federal grants.

The governor also praised a new numbers showing strong enrollment gains in higher education, with Kentucky ranking first overall from the fall of 2022 to the fall of last year.

Dr. Erin Thompson, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, says that's good news for people who've been left behind in the past, including people who are of color and people from rural areas.