A legislative DEI “working group” is stacked with hardline conservatives.

Here’s the roster, posted recently on the Legislature’s web site:

• Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa (co-chair).
• Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale (co-chair).
• Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene.
• Sen. Julie VanOrden, R-Pingree.
• Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise.
• Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls.
• Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood.
• Rep. Elaine Price, R-Coeur d’Alene.

Hardliners appear to hold a working majority on the eight-member group.

All four House members have aligned with the Legislature’s conservative wing, especially on education topics. Ehardt, for example, has been one of the House’s most outspoken critics of campus diversity, equity and inclusion programs — using DEI as a talking point in debating against higher education budgets.

Toews, vice chair of the Senate Education Committee, is another hardline conservative.

Also notable: The Democrats landed only one seat on the committee. But that sole Democrat is likely to be a vocal counterpart to working group conservatives. Wintrow, the Senate’s minority leader, has worked for more than 30 years in higher education, largely at Boise State University.

It’s unclear when the working group will convene. No meeting dates have been set.

And it’s also not clear what the group will do — and whether its findings and recommendations will translate into proposals before the 2025 Legislature, which convenes in January.