The State Board of Education on Thursday weighed a resolution to ensure Idaho’s four-year institutions don’t have offices or policies dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Colleges and universities are already prohibited from spending state funds on DEI programs, per Idaho law. And State Board policy prohibits requiring diversity statements in hiring and admissions decisions.
But Idaho lawmakers have recently renewed a persisting debate over DEI on Idaho campuses, including by launching a task force to study the issue. And the DEI resolution is meant to “dispel the focus on things that are not at the core of our mission in education,” State Board executive director Joshua Whitworth said.
The resolution makes the following directives to college and universities:
- Establish and maintain “equality of opportunity” for students, regardless of their personal identity characteristics.
- Ensure that “no central office, policy, procedure, or initiative is dedicated to” DEI, with a handful of exceptions related to compliance and eligibility for grant funds, athletics and academic research.
- Ensure that “student success centers are dedicated to all students”.
- Ensure that no employee or student is required to declare their gender identity or preferred pronouns.
The DEI statement is one of three draft resolutions that Whitworth presented to the board Thursday. Members are expected to vote on them after some fine-tuning.
Another resolution affirms that colleges and universities are required to maintain “institutional neutrality” when it comes to free expression and diverse viewpoints on campus.
A third resolution affirms that college and university presidents are “responsible for the well-being of the institutions,” and the State Board is responsible for holding the presidents accountable.
Click here to read the resolutions.
State Board members appeared receptive to the proposals. Member Cally Roach said they communicate that “we really do believe in these things, and we are doing this work.”
But some expressed reservations about the scope of the directive to close-up DEI-focused offices and programs. Board member Kurt Liebich suggested that Whitworth have further discussions with college and university leaders to find out what would be caught in the resolution’s net.
“The language could be interpreted so broadly that our institutions might go out and eliminate things that… (I) can’t support,” Liebich said. “I would hate to see this language interpreted in a way where we get rid of stuff that really makes a difference for our students.”
Whitworth said he plans to share the resolutions with the Legislature’s DEI committee. The task force held its first meeting last month and plans to convene again Dec. 2. He told Idaho Education News that he hasn’t received an invitation to meet with the committee but he’s had discussions with members.
Here’s what else the State Board did Thursday:
- Adopted revised graduation requirements that include a digital literacy class in lieu of a communication credit. The Legislature has final approval on the changes.
- Approved a $163 million request from the University of Idaho to renovate residence halls (1,408 beds) and construct a new apartment style building (408 beds).
- Welcomed new member David Turnbull, a Boise developer, who was appointed to the board last month by Gov. Brad Little. Turnbull’s appointment still requires confirmation by the Idaho Senate.
