Education Commissioner Jason Glass unabashedly admits that he's leaving the job out of refusal to carry out a sweeping new law that some believe is harmful to LGBTQ plus students.

The measure mandates restrictions on school bathrooms and student preferred pronoun use, as well as ban certain medical services for transgender youth.

Dr. Glass believes history will reflect on state lawmakers decision with regret.

He was appointed in 2020 by the Kentucky Board of Education.

His four year contract was set to expire in September of next year.

His last day His last day, though, is September 29th.

Next week, I talked with him and from Frankfurt's Cate studio there this morning about his time as education commissioner.

I reflect back over these past three years and it's really been a delight even in the hard times.

I've loved this job and loved the opportunity to do this work.

And roles like these, you sort of know that this is in the cards.

It can happen to you.

If you look back at Kentucky's recent history, it's what's happened to people.

So we knew that going in and we were prepared for that.

So I'm grateful for the time that we've had and what we've been able to accomplish these past couple of months since I've announced my resignation.

We've been working to carry out the responsibilities that come with the job, the things that are necessary to execute, and then also make preparation for the interim commissioner and then a permanent replacement.

So supporting the board in that and trying to keep moving forward.

The vision that Kentuckians gave us around deeper, authentic learning experiences for students, innovation in education and stronger collaboration with our communities.

So those that's what Kentuckians told us they want, and that's what we've been trying to deliver on.

Any regrets?

Oh, sure.

Yeah.

I mean, I think you could always go back and replay all sorts of decisions and say you wish you had said something differently or done something differently, but that's part of life.

And there are maybe not regrets, but learnings.

Right.

Yeah, right.

When it comes to SB 150, which was the sweeping bill that affects transgender youth, do you have any misgivings about how you approached and went against that measure?

Yeah, I certainly have lots of learnings from over the past few years, but I don't have any regrets or anything differently that I would have done in this situation.

I maintain that this bill is wrong for Kentucky.

It's wrong for our country.

It's put students at risk and in danger.

It's troubling from a number of perspectives in terms of government overreach into educational and medical decisions.

And it's an anti LGBTQ bill, and these are important people in our society and in our world that we need to bring into the circle and not further marginalize.

So I'm proud of the stand that I've taken against it.

And leaving is perhaps the most disruptive and significant thing that I can do to say that this is wrong.

And so I'm proud of that decision.

Dr. Glass says a new Kentucky law requiring Senate confirmation of a new education chief could impact the Board of Education selection.

He fears the position would have to survive a political litmus test that he says runs afoul of decades old education reform efforts to ensure the commissioner is, above all, a professional educator.

We saw in Mississippi, which has a similar confirmation procedure as Kentucky now, they had a professional educator that had a previous superintendent experience, previous state level leadership experience in North Carolina, moved to the state, took the job, worked at it a few months, and then failed confirmation because of largely political litmus test issues.

So Kentucky is on that path.

And again, I think we'll have to see how the Senate decides to handle the confirmation proceeding.

Does it really become a vetting of the person for their professional qualities and what they bring to the role?

Or are they looking someone that is going to be a yes man or yes woman to their agenda?

Your new role begins when and Michigan.

It begins on October 9th.

So I'm excited about that, having had the chance to work in higher education before.

But the role really was sort of crafted with me in mind, so I'm excited about that.

It was it was a position they had, but they added some things to it to make it even more exciting for me.

So it's about improving the learning experiences of students in higher education and expanding the concurrent enrollment and extension programs that Western Michigan has with that whole region and working with high schools and and school districts in that area.

And they have an entrepreneurial team that focuses on strategic planning and on communication and marketing around education.

So I'm excited to play in that sandbox.

So I think I think it's going to be a wonderful experience.

I'm looking forward to it.

Glass has accepted a job at Western Michigan University as associate vice president of Teaching and Learning and begins there October 9th.

He'll be charged with improving the learning experiences of students and expanding enrollment and extension programs at the university.

It's his first job in higher education.