2024 Legislative Session - Digital Toolkits

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT ON ABORTION ACCESS

Kentucky is now a forced birth state, where abortion remains inaccessible under almost all circumstances in the commonwealth.

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT ON BOOK BANS

Only two weeks in to the 2024 Legislative Session, lawmakers filed two dangerous bills that will, if passed, inevitably lead to censorship in schools and further challenges to materials kept on library shelves. The two bills are:

HOUSE BILL 191

Josh Calloway, Shane Baker, Jennifer Decker, Ryan Dotson, Chris Fugate, Mark Hart

Not satisfied with the censorship already enacted via Senate Bill 5, HB 191 amends the Kentucky Revised Statute to “require the local board of education to allow parents and guardians an opportunity to orally recite passages from materials, programs, or events subject to appeal; require immediate removal of the material, program, or event if the board denies a parent or guardian the opportunity to orally recite passages.”

SENATE BILL 93

Steve Meredith, Gary Boswell, Donald Douglas, and Lindsey Tichenor

This bill is state-sponsored censorship. It seeks to remove any training or efforts focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging from our primary schools.  The bill also seeks to remove any language related to a trauma-informed approach in Kentucky K-12 schools. 

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT ON HB 5

In September 2023, Kentucky lawmakers unveiled a package of proposed legislation under the name “The Safer Kentucky Act.” While several legislators have attached their names to the bills, those who have openly spoken in favor of it with news media include Rep. Jason Nemes and Rep. Jared Bauman. 

On December 15, 2023, Bauman and Nemes presented the bill åto the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary. No opposition testimony was allowed at the hearing.  

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT ON IDS

When leaving incarceration in Kentucky, too many people are re-entering their communities without a vital tool: a photo ID. To meet needs critical to survival and success upon reentry—including housing, employment, nutrition assistance, healthcare, mental health services, and substance use treatment—providers and employers require state-issued photo identification. The lack of one creates a barrier blocking the very first steps on a new path forward.

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT ON MATERNAL HEALTH

The United States is the only developed country where maternal mortality rates are increasing, and Kentucky is second in the United States for poor maternal health outcomes, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Black birthing people in the Commonwealth are 3 times more likely to die during birth or after, compared to their white counterparts. 

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT ON PAID LEAVE

The US lags far behind other developed nations in offering paid parental leave. Although 75% of Americans support paid leave, the US has not passed a federal paid leave policy. Some state legislatures are filling the gap, even in the South. But Kentucky is far behind our Southern peers — we are one of only seven southern states without a paid leave policy, and one of only 15 US states without one. 

DOWNLOAD TOOLKIT ON CLEAN SLATE

Over 1.3 million adults in Kentucky have a record. Studies show 94% of employers, 90% of landlords, and 72% of colleges screen applicants using background checks, and applicants with a record are half as likely to get a call back or to be considered for jobs, housing, and educational opportunities. Simply put, a criminal record in Kentucky can be a life sentence to poverty.

Clean Slate legislation automates portions of that process, saving time and money, and ensuring that everyone who is eligible can get their record sealed rather than just people with enough money or connections.