Illinois requires public universities to implement ‘equity plans’
Governor Pritzker signed a bill into law requiring public universities to 'develop and implement an equity plan.'
The purpose of the bill is to increase 'access, retention, completion, and student loan repayment rates of minorities.'
Illinois is requiring its public universities to implement equity plans.
On June 7, Governor Jay Robert Pritzker signed House Bill 5464 into law.
The legislation requires public universities to “develop and implement an equity plan” with the purpose of increasing “access, retention, completion, and student loan repayment rates of minorities, rural students, adult students, women, and individuals with disabilities.”
The Illinois Board of Education will conduct periodic reviews of state universities “to determine compliance” with the law and require institutions to report student and financial data to the Board.
Introduced by Representative Katie Stuart (D), House Bill 5464 stated that “[t]he Board of Higher Education is authorized to collect and maintain data from any institution of higher learning, other than community colleges.”
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Corinn Crippin, a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, doesn’t think the new law is in the best interest of Illinois schools or their students.
“This is Illinois government over reach [sic] at its finest. Equity plans in higher education [are] just setting up a system that rewards ‘good enough’ with the same equity as ‘blood, sweat, and tears’,” Crippin told Campus Reform.
She added that if the Illinois “government would actually like to see the best for the next generation they would allow school of choice for elementary, [junior high,] and high school students.”
Campus Reform reached out to Representative Katie Stuart and Pritzker’s office for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
