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SALT LAKE CITY — The changes Utah's public universities must make to their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to comply with HB261 are underway.
The Utah Higher Education Commission discussed the process Thursday and formally tasked Utah Higher Education System Secretary Jeffrey Landward's office with overseeing the process. Landward has already looked into the matter and updated board members on the process at Thursday's meeting.
“There's quite a bit of provision in the law in terms of a long list of things we can't do and a long list of things we have to do,” he told them. He said he is working with the legal teams of the eight public universities affected by HB261 to develop the draft guidelines.
Officials did not go into specifics of the possible changes, but Landward said the language in HB261 is intended to ensure university officials “are not targeted” by lawmakers during the 2025 session. He emphasized the importance of following the spirit.
“What we don't want is for them to be so dissatisfied with our efforts to comply with the law that they try to re-enact laws that prohibit some of these things even more strictly. That's true,” Landward said.
Still, lawmakers understand it will be a slow and complex transition for universities. University officials have stressed that they are open to welcoming all students despite any changes brought about by HB261, but have been largely silent on specific potential impacts.
Utah lawmakers “understand that it's not like we can flip a light switch and it's going to take some time,” Landward said. The changes are expected to take effect by July 1, and a report outlining efforts to comply with HB261 is expected to be submitted in July 2025.
HB261 was one of the most contentious issues in the 2024 bill debate, which ended on March 1st. The Democratic minorities in the House and Senate vocally opposed the bill, but it still garnered the support of every Republican who voted.
The new law raises concerns from Republican lawmakers that diversity efforts are discriminatory because they typically focus on racial and ethnic minorities and other traditionally marginalized groups, rather than white people. It originates from. They argue that programming aimed at helping students thrive in college and graduate should be available to all students.
But critics argue that diversity programming helps students who have traditionally struggled in college, and that HB261 is a step backwards in protecting the civil rights of students and other people of color. ing.
HB261, among other things, requires universities to broaden the focus of their diversity efforts to all students who benefit from diversity, regardless of race, ethnicity, or other “individual identity characteristics.” It also prohibits universities from requesting “diversity statements” from job applicants and student applicants.
Notably, HB261's provisions do not extend to the classroom, Landward told board members and Utah university representatives.
“Importantly, we were able to exempt all of our academics, our curriculum, our teaching, our classrooms. So this has nothing to do with what you teach or how you teach, but this is an administrative “It’s focused on aspects,” he said. Researchers studying diversity, equity, critical race theory, and more can continue their efforts.
Additionally, while “pockets of trouble” in Utah partially spurred lawmakers to pursue HB261, much of the concern came from outside of Utah and from “national conversations and national perceptions.” He said that.
At Thursday's meeting, some university representatives spoke about the potential ramifications of HB261, including the possibility that it could prompt employee layoffs, that some students may not feel welcome at the university, and that “academic He expressed concern that “freedom” could be threatened. Some also expressed concern that the changes brought about by HB261 would negatively impact student groups that have historically benefited from diversity efforts.
Landward said the Utah Legislature is willing to revisit HB261 if necessary. “There is a commitment from them. They have said they are absolutely willing to work with us,” he said. Additionally, he said that while HB261 requires university officials to “change course,” it does not take funding away from higher education institutions.
