A Last-Ditch Republican Attempt to Ban Trans Teachers Failed in Kentuckyhttps://www.them.us/story/a-last-ditch-republican-attempt-to-ban-trans-teachers-failed-in-kentucky 🔗Samantha Riedel (2 April 2026)
A Republican proposal to ban transgender people from teaching in Kentucky has failed, after the measure's main sponsor broke state legislative rules in a failed last-minute gambit.
A long-shot proposal from State Sen. Gex Williams — a GOP lawmaker, not everyone's favorite secret agent gecko — is now dead in the water, after the state Senate did not vote on HB 759 Wednesday night, per Queer Kentucky. The bill was reportedly removed from the Senate's consent calendar on Tuesday and was not rescheduled for further discussion or votes. The bill could theoretically come up for a vote during the last two days of the 2026 session next week, but Republicans would not have enough time to also override a likely veto from Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who has repeatedly vetoed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation while in office (though he allowed Republicans to ban health care funding for trans prisoners last year).
In March, Williams introduced a floor amendment to HB 759, an unrelated bill about teaching certifications, as Queer Kentucky reported. The amendment would have prevented anyone in Kentucky from obtaining or renewing a teaching certificate if they had ever been "treated for or diagnosed with" a non-disabling disorder. In order to effectively bar trans people from teaching, Williams was using a 1987 version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) which still classified "transsexualism" and "transvestic fetishism" as disorders. It would also have compelled health professionals to use the outdated DSM definitions and forced any teacher accused of being trans to undergo a mental health examination.
