FRANKFORT — As anticipated, a last-second attempt to keep transgender people from teaching in Kentucky has failed.

Kentucky lawmakers wrapped up the bulk of their 2026 legislative session late Wednesday night, going home without bringing up House Bill 759 — a previously uncontroversial bill around alternative teaching certifications that got a late floor amendment that sought to block trans people from teaching altogether. 

Wednesday night was the deadline for Kentucky’s Republican-dominated legislature to pass any bills that Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear may veto in order to have enough time to override him during the final two days of session later this month.

It is possible HB 759 can come up for a vote during those last two days, but the amendment is still expected to be withdrawn prior to a vote on the unchanged bill. If the amendment somehow gets through, Beshear is likely to veto it and lawmakers would not be able to override him.

With the amendment’s failure, 2026 marked the first legislative session in a few years without any new anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Kentucky. 

Kentucky lawmakers filed nearly a dozen pieces of legislation this year aimed at the LGBTQ+ community, including restricting health care access, blocking trans people from using restrooms tied to their gender identity in government buildings, and limiting drag shows and performers. Almost all of them did not move in the legislative process. 

Sen. Gex Williams, R-Verona, initially filed the anti-trans teacher bill in early March as Senate Bill 351. It sought to keep trans people from getting and keeping teaching certifications, requiring anyone reported as potentially being trans to undergo medical exams and to provide those results to state education officials in order to stay in the classroom. 

Health professionals would’ve also been required to use outdated psychological terms and criteria to diagnose those who are trans, potentially meaning labeling them as “mentally ill” despite modern health standards disagreeing with that assertion. 

SB 351 did not move in the legislative process, and Williams withdrew the bill last week. He quickly filed the same language as a floor amendment to HB 759 in hopes of passing it there. 

Filing an existing but failing bill as a floor amendment is a legislative maneuver called piggybacking, and it is against the Senate’s rules. Sources repeatedly confirmed to Queer Kentucky that the Senate planned on enforcing those rules and Williams would either withdraw the amendment or it would be ruled out of order. 

When lawmakers gaveled in Tuesday, they were quick to take HB 759 off of the consent calendar where it was scheduled for a quick and easy vote, but they never added the bill to the orders of the day so it could get a full floor vote and so the amendment could be formally axed.