Now also coming out of Frankfort, legislation to scale back or even dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI policies at Kentucky's public colleges and universities.

It's a big topic of conversation at the state capitol.

Earlier today, I spoke with Shelby County Republican state Representative Jennifer Decker about her bill that gets rid of offices and trainings, eliminates race based scholarships and bans resources to promote what's called discriminatory concepts.

Representative Decker, thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for having me, Renee.

A question basic to you about why you filed House Bill nine.

What do you want to accomplish with this measure?

I filed House Bill nine because I care about the students of Kentucky, all the students, the low income students, the underrepresented students.

I want all students to have an equal opportunity to go to post-secondary school.

The great equalizer.

Some would say, though, that this seems like it's antithesis to that philosophy because it does target programs, activities, Perhaps that helps underrepresented, marginalized students.

Do you agree or disagree with that?

I disagree wholeheartedly.

In fact, the data that is wonderful data produced by the Kentucky stats shows just the opposite to be true.

The D-I initiatives have been on our campuses starting in about 2011, and the data shows that since 2011 we have lost over 39,000 students from our college campuses.

And of that number over half more than 24,000 students have been low income black students.

And of that number, low income, in-state black students.

We have lost 34% since 2011.

So I believe just the opposite is true.

I do not believe D-I has lived up to its promise to bring more diversity and to make students feel like colleges more accessible to them.

In your legislation, you call for eliminating the debunking and defunding.

Do officers, departments, personnel tell us, do you think that that is appropriate at this time?

And does that suggest that there is no remnants of racism left to be dealt with?

And your proposal for abolishing those officers, the officers on our campus are not who is charged with insuring against discrimination on our campuses.

Federal law already requires that each college campus that receives federal funding has officers to enforce nondiscriminatory conduct to and to ensure equal opportunity for all.

Those officers are on every college campus, and they should be adequately funded to ensure the very things you're talking about.

The officers are not those officers.

They are superfluous while and they need to end.

They need to stop.

That funding should be spent on initiatives that actually help.

We cannot continue to fund those officers when the data shows they have not helped.

Would a concept such as white privilege be considered a discriminatory concept?

White privilege throughout history has got to be studied.

There's no doubt that there is that.

That is a dynamic.

What the bill says is that what what is prohibited is, is the thought that every instance that is spoken of as white privilege is to be taken as true, not debated, not discussed, and that it persists today in and in every possible way that is discussed.

We want open, honest debate with good will.

We want to to talk to have a free market of ideas.

Banning no concept whatsoever other than the concept that these matters happened.

They still happen.

They persist without debate on this subject.

Representative Decker, thank you so very much for your time this evening.

We appreciate it.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for having me.