LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed three bills focusing on racial equality, including one with a direct impact on Louisville's historically black college.
In 90 days, Senate Bill 270 will become law, creating a portal between Simmons College and Kentucky State University and clearing the way for certifying teachers.
"With the stroke of a pen today the Commonwealth will have put its money where its mouth is," Kentucky State University President Dr. M. Christopher Brown II said. "We will no longer be asking our citizens to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when we know they don't even own shoes."
It will also create a project with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to address health, wellness and food insecurities in African American neighborhoods around Simmons.
Simmons College President Rev. Dr. Kevin Cosby said the move will go a long way towards helping students get a better education and connect with educators who better represent them.
"Education is not what's expensive, ignorance is what's expensive," Cosby said. "The data shows that the more education you have the higher your income level is so not to have an education is a form of self sabotage."
Other bills signed include one focusing on the financial future of west Louisville and a partial ban on no-knock warrants following the shooting of Breonna Taylor.
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