diff --git a/.github/workflows/ipywidgets-bokeh-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ipywidgets-bokeh-ci.yml
index 527aac6..8d3d493 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ipywidgets-bokeh-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ipywidgets-bokeh-ci.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
         node-version: [20.x]
-        python-version: ["3.12"]
+        python-version: ["3.13"]
 
     defaults:
       run:
diff --git a/ipywidgets_bokeh/kernel.py b/ipywidgets_bokeh/kernel.py
index f8ff626..290a4df 100644
--- a/ipywidgets_bokeh/kernel.py
+++ b/ipywidgets_bokeh/kernel.py
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@
 import json
 import logging
 
-from distutils.version import LooseVersion
-
 import ipykernel
 import ipykernel.kernelbase
 import jupyter_client.session as session
@@ -20,8 +18,6 @@
 from tornado.ioloop import IOLoop
 from traitlets import Any
 
-kernel_version = LooseVersion(ipykernel.__version__)
-
 SESSION_KEY = b'ipywidgets_bokeh'
 
 class WebsocketStream(object):