Kansas lawmakers release $35.7 million in higher ed funding after colleges comply with DEI ban
Lawmakers in Kansas released $35.7 million in higher education funding after colleges and universities complied with a ban on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from being used in admissions and employment decisions.
Lawmakers in Kansas released $35.7 million in higher education funding after colleges and universities complied with a ban on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from being used in admissions and employment decisions.
According to the Kansas Reflector, Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly and other legislative leaders voted to release the funding on Tuesday.
State lawmakers in April pressured the Board of Regents to force colleges and universities in the state to affirm they don’t use DEI in faculty or staff hiring and admissions decisions in order to receive university operating grants.
Colleges and universities in the state were also forced to publish information regarding training or orientation programs at the institution.
Blake Flanders, president and CEO of the state Board of Regents, said that the DEI ban in admissions and hiring was met by the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Wichita State University and Emporia State University.
Kansas Board of Regents Chairman Jon Rolph said the measure was “our good faith effort in trying to listen to the Legislature.”
“It’s not something central to our practices around wanting student success and trying to fulfill our promises to people when we invite them onto our campuses,” Rolph said of the policy.
