FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear said Wednesday that the state will continue offering written driver's-license tests in 22 languages, reversing a recent decision by the Kentucky State Police to give the exams only in English.
At a Capitol news conference Wednesday morning, Beshear said he learned of Kentucky State Police's decision to quit offering the driver's license tests in foreign languages Tuesday night.
"In my judgment, that decision was incorrect." Beshear said. "So late last night I ordered that the decision be reversed."
The Herald-Leader wrote about the policy change in a story that appeared Tuesday night on Bluegrass Politics, the newspaper's Web site for political news, and on the front page of Wednesday's newspaper.
Kentucky has always been a welcoming state to legal foreign residents, Beshear said.
In a news release, Beshear said the decision to offer the written test in English only "did not reflect the values of this administration or the values that I think most Kentuckians share — as a state welcoming people to do business here."
In explaining his decision to continue offering the written tests in several foreign languages, Beshear cited the fact that Kentucky is an increasingly diverse state, with a growing population of people from other countries who are business executives, students and legal workers in industry and other places.
"We have attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment from all around the globe," Beshear said at the news conference.
Beshear said he disagreed with the decision of Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer to start offering the written test in English only as of June 1, but he said he still has full confidence in Brewer.
Beshear said that because the state has more than 33,000 state employees, decisions are made that he is unaware of or does not approve of. Beshear said he should have been told about the change before it was announced.
"Once in a while, we make a mistake," he said. "When I find out about a mistake, I think the way to handle it is to acknowledge that we made a mistake, correct it and move on."
The governor said Kentucky already requires that a driver's license shall not be granted to anyone who can't understand highway warnings or directional signs in English.
In response, Kentucky State Police spokesman Sgt. David Jude said late Wednesday afternoon that the KSP would follow Beshear's decision.
"We are more than happy to comply with the governor's directive to continue our license testing as normal," Jude said. "However, we want the citizens of Kentucky to know that we will continue to look for more efficient and effective ways to serve their needs."
Kentucky State Police officials said Tuesday that they made the decision to change to an English-only test, in part, because of cuts to the agency's budget. But officials couldn't say how much the move would save.
Jude said Wednesday that state police officials were trying to determine several issues regarding the tests, including how much it would cost to update the tests and how much the state would have saved by switching to English-only testing.
One of the reasons that state police officials decided to drop the translated written tests is that they have not been updated over the years as changes have been made to the English version. Also, state police officials giving the tests in foreign languages can't read the results and must grade them using answer keys previously provided by translators.
Beshear acknowledged that the translated tests now in use were old. He said they would be updated.
Currently, the Kentucky Driver's Manual is written in English only and is not offered in any other language. Also, the road-signs test and the motorcycle and commercial driver's license tests are offered only in English.
In the news release, the governor acknowledged the significant budgetary challenges confronting all of state government, including the criminal justice system, but he said there must be a balance between cutting costs and providing services. Kentucky is facing a shortfall of possibly $1 billion or more in the state budget cycle that starts July 1.
The Rev. Pat Delahanty, a longtime advocate for refugees in Kentucky, praised Beshear's decision.
"We're extremely pleased the governor reversed the policy," said Delahanty, associate director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky. "It's the right thing to do."
"Governor Beshear acted wisely and in a way that serves all Kentuckians, including those who have come here because of life-threatening situations in their own homelands," Delahanty said.
