Kentucky lawmakers advanced a bill that would expand when public colleges can terminate faculty, drawing warnings from major academic labor and faculty groups. The Kentucky Senate passed HB 490 with a 30–7 vote, allowing terminations for broadly defined financial reasons including low enrollment and “misalignment of revenue and costs.” AAUP and AFT objected that the language is vague enough to be “weaponized” against academic programs and speech unrelated to genuine fiscal emergencies. The bill would require 30 days’ notice and a chance for faculty to respond, but it leaves key definitions such as “low enrollment” and revenue-cost misalignment undefined. The measure moves back to the House for consideration of Senate changes, making this a near-term governance and academic freedom flashpoint for Kentucky’s public sector higher education system.