New PA legislation would block colleges from requiring DEI courses
Republican State Rep. Stephenie Scialabba introduced a bill in Pennsylvania to stop universities from mandating DEI-based courses and trainings.
Another bill she introduced would require public colleges to make reports on foreign travel, including the cost, duration, source of funds, and the 'benefit' to Pennsylvania.
Earlier this month, a Pennsylvania state representative introduced a bill last week designed to prohibit Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) mandatory courses and training at universities across the state.
Introduced by Representative Stephenie Scialabba, House Bill 2041 would prohibit Pennsylvania colleges from requiring students to take “diversity courses,” defined as “a program of study that is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political or economic inequities.”
The bill could also ban colleges from forcing students to undergo “diversity training,” such as those “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political or economic inequities.”
[RELATED: Anti-DEI bill to end mandated ‘divisive concepts’ passes KY Senate]
“Recently, Penn State University funded a trip to Ghana where they taught Ghana citizens about gender as a social construct in farming,” Scialabba stated according to a recent press release. “The best use of those dollars would be for something that helps Pennsylvanians.”
Another piece of legislation Scialabba introduced, House Bill 2040, would require that such foreign trips by students and faculty at public colleges also include a report that includes the “cost, duration, rubric, source of funds, the purpose and the benefit” for the state of Pennsylvania.
Scialabba also cited a University of Pittsburgh policy that requires students to “complete one course that is designated as a Diversity course.”
“Additionally, I learned that the University of Pittsburgh is requiring undergraduate and graduate students to complete diversity training,” she also said.
“These concepts and courses should be offered as electives and should not be forced upon students, especially where the pedagogy is unbalanced with a mandatory course of counterthought,” she argued. “Holding degrees, credit hours and education hostage to these ideas is not only underhanded, but also un-American.”
The Pittsburgh website defines “diversity courses” as those that “focus centrally and intensively on issues of diversity, and do so in a manner that promotes understanding of difference.”
“The courses may address, though not be limited to, such issues as race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religious difference, ability difference, and/or economic disparity,” the description continues.
If passed, both bills would take effect in 60 days.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania State University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
