UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1852
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A RESOLUTION urging the Kentucky Board of Education to dismiss Jason E. 1
Glass from the office of Commissioner of Education. 2
WHEREAS, KRS 156.148 grants the Kentucky Board of Education with the 3
authority to appoint the Commissioner of Education as the chief state school officer and 4
provides that the Commissioner shall serve at the pleasure of the board; and 5
WHEREAS, the Kentucky Board of Education has the duty to monitor the 6
performance of the Commissioner of Education and the Kentucky Department of 7
Education and ensure that both are properly serving the children and people of the 8
Commonwealth; and 9
WHEREAS, the current Commissioner of Education politicized the Kentucky 10
Department of Education by issuing guidance to Kentucky's schools advocating for, 11
affirming, and elevating the LGBTQIA+ lifestyle in curriculum; and 12
WHEREAS, the current Commissioner of Education has interfered with the privacy 13
rights of students and endangered their safety in distinctly private facilities by authorizing 14
the issuance of guidance to Kentucky's schools that identifies the prevention or 15
discouragement of a student from using a bathroom designated for the opposite biological 16
sex as an example of "systemic and social barriers" against transgender and nonbinary 17
youth that must be addressed; and 18
WHEREAS, the current Commissioner of Education has interfered with the rights 19
of parents to be kept informed on critical issues facing their children by authorizing the 20
issuance of guidance to Kentucky's schools that states "if a student voluntarily discloses 21
their sexual orientation or gender identity to an educator with the assumption that this 22
information is to be kept private, it is best practice for the educator to maintain that 23
confidence and keep this information confidential"; and 24
WHEREAS, the current Commissioner of Education has interfered with the 25
constitutional religious and conscience rights of teachers and other school staff and 26
caused a chilling effect on their free speech rights through the authorization of guidance 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1852
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to Kentucky’s schools emphasizing that teachers and other staff should "both recognize 1
and use a student’s preferred name and/or pronouns when these preferences are 2
requested" without any exception or accommodation being offered; and 3
WHEREAS, during a meeting of the House Standing Committee on Education on 4
Tuesday, February 7, 2023, the current Commissioner of Education reaffirmed his 5
position that if a teacher did not want to abide by the policies a school district has on 6
using students' preferred names or pronouns, then the teacher needs to find something 7
else to do, thus contributing to the teacher shortage in the Commonwealth; and 8
WHEREAS, the current Commissioner of Education has attempted, through 9
guidance and policy, to break the long-held tradition within the Commonwealth of 10
holding the bond between parent and child as sacrosanct by encouraging the concealment 11
of information about a child from that child's parents; and 12
WHEREAS, the current Commissioner of Education has further politicized his 13
position and alienated many parents, teachers, students, and taxpayers by utilizing his 14
office as a platform to condemn the General Assembly’s passage of SB 150 and promote 15
"a summit in support of LGBTQIA+ people and youth" that he intends for the Kentucky 16
Department of Education to hold at the taxpayer's expense; and 17
WHEREAS, the current Commissioner of Education’s actions have eroded the trust 18
and confidence of parents, teachers, other employees, and legislators; 19
NOW, THEREFORE, 20
Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 21
Kentucky: 22
Section 1. The Senate does hereby urge the Kentucky Board of Education to 23
dismiss the current Commissioner of Education, Jason E. Glass, from this critical post of 24
government for the improper interference with the rights of parents and the negative 25
impact of his statements and policies on teacher retention. 26
Section 2. The Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to transmit a copy of this 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1852
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resolution to the Kentucky Board of Education, 300 Sower Boulevard, 5th Floor, 1
Frankfort, KY 40601. 2