Diversity, equality and inclusion offices would be banned at private colleges that are part of a state scholarship program under a bill (HF 2488) advanced by the House.
College admissions or hiring practices that consider race or sex would be banned under the bill. It would also prohibit offices that have policies or trainings based on race, color or ethnicity.
Colleges that don't comply would lose access to the Iowa Tuition Grant. This year the program awards students up to $7,500.
Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, said taxpayer money should be supporting what he calls merit-based admissions.
“This goal will never be attained when we engage in discrimination through admission policies that function on anything other than merit,” Holt said.
Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, said the bill is a form of overreach and would hurt Iowa’s private institutions.
“If we implement this bill and remove the Iowa tuition grant program, we will see our private colleges failing across the state of Iowa,” Brown-Powers said.
Services to comply with state or federal law would not be included in the ban. Neither would student organizations or offices solely focused on new student recruitment.
Last year, the state spent nearly $54 million on the Iowa Tuition Grant.