The Idaho State Board of Education voted to ban diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI, across its public colleges and universities. The ruling goes into effect on June 30.
The board, which voted unanimously on Wednesday, barred state institutions from supporting any office, initiative, center or policy related to DEI ideology, a term the resolution defined as any approach that prioritizes identity characteristics over a student’s merit. As a result, initiatives focused on race, color, sexual orientation, national origin, religion and gender identity are in the crosshairs.
Some members expressed pause ahead of the vote. “I absolutely understand why we should be focused on the issues around DEI ideology,” said Kurt Liebich. “I think that on many campuses across the country, the way it has been implemented has created real problems. Where I get concerned is the unintended consequences of this action.”
Student perspective on DEI, on the other hand, was resoundingly clear. Of the 687 Idaho college students interviewed by the board ahead of the vote, about 80% opposed the ban.
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“We are housed under these centers,” said a Boise State University student who attended a board meeting earlier in December, according to KREM 2 News. “These are things that come as a second home to me in a state where I don’t see people like me a lot—that aren’t on the football team.”
Boise State had already closed its DEI office before the board’s vote. Likewise, the University of Idaho had been directed to close its centers focused on Black, female and LGBTQIA+ identities, as well as its office of multicultural affairs. At Idaho State University, the Office of Equity and Inclusion will be renamed the Office of Equal Opportunity.
What other states have banned DEI in 2024?
North Carolina, Alabama and Wyoming are the only other states to have eradicated DEI student support initiatives systemwide this year. The University of North Carolina System repealed such mandates across its 16 institutions in September, while Alabama signed a law effectively banning DEI across any public college or university in July. Wyoming legislators voted in March to gut any funding related to the diversity program at the University of Wyoming, the only four-year university in the state, USA Today reports.
However, flagship schools in other states have closed their DEI offices due to increasing pressure from lawmakers. Such schools include the University of Kentucky, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Other institutions, such as the University of Louisville and the University of Oklahoma, have renamed their DEI offices.
