Governor Beshear vetoed Senate Bill 1 in an effort to protect Kentucky students, but lawmakers quickly overrode the veto.
We wrote to the Kentucky General Assembly to express our concerns and outline the legal obligations lawmakers have to students with disabilities. Students with disabilities have the right to fair and safe access to public education under the Kentucky Constitution and two federal laws: the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Schools are obligated to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure this safe and equal access. Unfortunately, the General Assembly has chosen to ignore our advice and our students' rights.
Ending the statewide school mask mandate would open the doors for districts to discriminate against some students with disabilities. Allowing districts to ignore simple and effectively precautions like masking could force some students with disabilities to choose between their health and seeking an education.
Read our letter in the PDF below.
Thank you to Governor Beshear and the 30 lawmakers who voted to protect all of Kentucky's students.
Bill Movement:
- Introduced: 9/7/21
- Passed Senate Committee: 9/9/21
- Passed Seante: 9/9/21 (Vote: 28-8)
- Accepted by House: 9/9/21
- Passed House Committee: 9/8/21
- Passed House: 9/9/21 (Vote: 69-24)
- Sent to Governor: 9/9/21
- Vetoed by Governor: 9/9/21
- Action by General Assembly (Lawmakers can override a veto with a constitutional majority of 51 votes in the House and 20 votes in the Senate).
- Veto overridden in Senate: 9/9/21 (Vote: 21-6)
- Veto overridden in House: 9/9/21 (Vote: 69-24)
View which lawmakers voted to pass Senate Bill 1 initially and voted to override the Governor's veto in the PDF's below or here (pages 1, 10, 11, and 12).
