"This trend is playing out right now in Kansas, where Republicans are using a budget bill to move forward a host of nonfinancial public higher ed measures that have worried faculty and could mean millions in cuts for public universities. But Republicans, who control both chambers, appear undeterred. The state's Democratic governor signed a budget bill into law last year that directed colleges to eliminate positions and activities related to "diversity, equity and inclusion.""
"Among other provisions, this year's legislation, called House Bill 2434, contains a mechanism-with garbled wording-that's apparently intended to withhold $2 million from each of the state's six public universities until they prove to the State Finance Council that they don't "require or constrain students to enroll in a DEI-CRT-related course" to earn a degree. Under the bill, the Kansas Board of Regents, which governs the universities, can exempt academic programs "whose title clearly establishes" that they're "primarily focused on racial, ethnic or gender studies.""
Kansas lawmakers are attaching nonfinancial higher-education measures to a nearly 400-page budget bill that could reshape public university operations and finances. House Bill 2434 includes a provision that appears intended to withhold $2 million from each of the state's six public universities until they demonstrate they do not require DEI-CRT-related courses for degrees. The Kansas Board of Regents may exempt programs whose titles clearly establish a primary focus on racial, ethnic, or gender studies. The legislation echoes language from another stalled anti-DEI bill. The budget also states that tenured faculty placed on a one-year improvement plan in fiscal year 2027 who do not satisfactorily complete it are subject to dismissal, reassignment, or other personnel actions as determined by the provost.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
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