Iowa House advances legislation to remove DEI offices from private universities
The Iowa House Higher Education Committee approved a bill that would prohibit private universities receiving state tuition grants from maintaining DEI offices.
Supporters of the bill argued that voters have rejected identity politics.
The Iowa House Higher Education Committee recently advanced a bill that would restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices in private universities in the state.
Specifically, the Committee approved House Study Bill 60 by a vote of 7-4 Feb. 26, according to The Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“Elections have consequences, and this last November, Iowans resoundingly rejected identity politics, not only in the state of Iowa, but also across this country,” said Committee chair Rep. Taylor Collins. “The worst of which…were the DEI bureaucracies across the state and country, which we are now closing.”
“DEI is DOA (dead on arrival) in the state of Iowa,” Rep. Collins said previously about the legislation, according to The Des Moines Register.
The bill is entitled “An Act prohibiting private institutions of higher education that participate in the Iowa tuition grant program from establishing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices.”
“A private institution of higher education shall not, except as otherwise provided by federal or state law or accreditation standards, establish, sustain, support, or staff a diversity, equity, and inclusion office,” the bill states.
The proposed legislation only applies to dedicated DEI offices. The bill is clear that it “shall not be construed” to cover “academic course instruction,” “research or creative works,” “activities of registered student organizations,” or “arrangements for guest speakers and performers with short-term engagements.”
Campus Reform has previously reported that the bill is not without its opponents. One Drake University student accused legislators of trying to take universities “back to the 1960s.”
“You’re trying to take us back to the time where Black folks, where gay folks were not allowed to speak out and have their time, so if you want to sit at a different lunch counter, you’re more than welcome to do that, but I will not be doing that,” the student said.
The Iowa House Higher Education Committee is also considering House Study Bill 61, which would prohibit community colleges from receiving state funds if they have a DEI office.
Iowa is not the only state taking steps to further remove DEI programs and policies. The Arizona State Senate, for instance, recently passed a bill that would eliminate DEI courses at public universities.
Specifically, the Arizona proposal makes public universities “ineligible to receive state monies in any fiscal year in which the higher education institution offers one or more courses on diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Campus Reform has contacted Drake University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
