Back in June, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill establishing a Board of Regents commission to review Iowa’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. As a result, ten recommendations were given, approved by the board late last week.
The changes to Iowa’s DEI programs include eliminating university-wide “DEI functions that are not necessary for compliance or accreditation,” reviewing “all college, department, or unit-level DEI positions to determine whether DEI specific job responsibilities are necessary for compliance, accreditation, or student and employee support services” and eliminating all that are not, and reviewing “the services provided by offices currently supporting diversity or multicultural affairs in other divisions of the university to ensure they are available to all students.”
The new rules prohibit Iowa’s public universities from requiring that employees, students, applicants, or campus visitors provide their preferred pronouns. The study group met over the course of the summer as it established its report containing the ten recommendations. The steps the Board of Regents have adopted include ensuring that employees, students, applicants, and campus visitors are not required to submit DEI statements or “be evaluated based on participation in DEI initiatives” unless the position is one required for “DEI-related compliance or accreditation.”
The Board of Regents also approved the development of a proposal “to establish a widespread initiative that includes opportunities for education and research on free speech and civic education.”