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SALT LAKE CITY — A new legislative proposal spurred by concerns with diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Utah's universities calls for a dramatic rethinking of how they operate, expanding their focus to all students in need of assistance.
Such programs would become "student success and support" offices, as described in the new legislative proposal, aiming to help students without regard to their racial or ethnic background or any other specific sort of identity indicator.
The proposal from Rep. Katy Hall and Sen. Keith Grover, unveiled Thursday as HB261, Equal Opportunity Initiatives, would also prohibit public universities from asking job applicants for "diversity statements." Amid concerns from some that conservative voices can be drowned out on university campuses, it also aims to enhance what the lawmakers call "academic freedom."
The measure is likely to spur plenty of debate in the Utah Legislature and comes as diversity, equity and inclusion programs draw fire from conservatives across the country who view them as exclusionary. As is, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are meant to help a range of students as they navigate college, including racial and ethnic minorities, the LGBTQ community, those with disabilities and others.
The Democratic leaders of the Utah Senate and House, Sen. Luz Escamilla and Rep. Angela Romero, issued a statement warning the measure could have "unintended consequences." They are working with legal advisers to parse the measure.
"It is crucial to recognize that this bill transcends race and ethnicity; it is about limiting opportunities for all Utahns. The impacts of this bill stretch far beyond higher education, directly affecting our public schools and all government entities," they said. "It is crucial to understand the message this bill sends to our communities, many of which have been historically marginalized and underrepresented."
Leading up to Thursday's release, there has been plenty of speculation about the possibility of measures focused on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Utah's universities. Hall, R-South Ogden, suspects the measure she and Grover are putting forward will be a priority when the legislative session starts on Jan. 16. The two lawmakers discussed the measure with KSL.com on Wednesday.
"I would say all eyes are on this bill," said Grover, R-Provo. There may be other measures addressing the topic, he said, "but this is the combined effort of both the House and the Senate."
Diversity, equity, inclusion advocates speak out for initiatives, a possible target of Utah lawmakers
Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have been targeted by conservative lawmakers across the country. Advocates described their importance in a panel discussion Saturday.Morphing diversity, equity and inclusion offices into "student success and support" offices, as described by Hall and Grover, is meant to underscore the fact that students across the spectrum can face issues that those programs have been designed to address. Hall cited the example of students struggling as the first generation in their families to go to college.
Some, Hall suspects, may see the proposal as defunding diversity, equity and inclusion programs, but she rebuffed that. "I know there's going to be a narrative, maybe, out there, 'You're defunding (diversity, equity and inclusion).' We're not defunding the universities," she said.
Universities, in particular, sometimes ask job applicants to provide written statements broadly addressing their work or thoughts on diversity, equity and inclusion. HB261 would prohibit that practice.
Requiring such statements is exclusionary, in Grover's view. "If you have an applicant say, 'I'm diverse in this way,' and it aligns with my heuristics or my past experience, then I may say, 'Oh, that person will gain employment,' which by nature is eliminating the opportunity for everyone to have access to that, which is not what we're about here in our country," he said.
The language in the proposal focused on academic freedom stems from concerns that certain viewpoints are absent on college campuses. College professors she's heard from "would like to see viewpoint diversity" on their campuses, Hall said, but lament that it is largely absent.
"Universities are bastions of free speech. They should be a place where ... students can go and bounce their ideas and their beliefs off of each other," she said. "What they have told us that they're seeing is kind of a homogenizing of the way people need to think on certain subjects. So free speech has kind of diminished. There isn't that pushback of ideas and the ability to engage in conversation of any type."
Grover said students should have free rein to speak out but that public universities, as institutions, "were intended to be neutral sites for exchange of ideas." Some universities have already been implementing change in line with proposed guidelines in HB261, he said, and he doesn't think it would be overly problematic to make the shift.
Hall last year crafted a bill aimed at diversity statements, though it ultimately stalled in the Utah Senate. Professors and other university officials subsequently reached out, urging her to continue her efforts, she said.
