Kentucky’s Senate advanced a bill that would make it easier for public college boards to terminate faculty for broadly defined financial reasons, including when programs or majors have low enrollment. The measure, HB 490, passed the Senate 30–7 and now heads back to the House for expected approval of minor changes. The legislation would allow terminations when institutions declare financial exigency, cite low enrollment, or claim “misalignment of revenue and costs.” Under the proposal, faculty would receive 30 days’ written notice and have an opportunity to respond, but the bill does not define key triggers such as “low enrollment” or how “misalignment” will be evaluated. Faculty and labor groups warned the bill could be weaponized beyond genuine emergencies. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) argued the language could enable boards to close academic departments and target research or faculty speech deemed ideologically inconvenient. For administrators and governing boards, the practical impact is straightforward: HB 490 shifts institutional risk calculations, increasing the likelihood that program viability assessments will translate into personnel actions even when enrollment and budget pressures are contested.