The Idaho State Board of Education on Wednesday unanimously voted to ban certain race- and gender-conscious policies, initiatives, and cultural centers at its public colleges.
Offices and centers focused on serving women, LGBTQ students, and students of color will likely be forced to close at the University of Idaho, Idaho State University, Boise State University, and Lewis-Clark State College by June 30, 2025. The institutions are also prohibited from asking employees or students to share their preferred pronouns.
Last year the board banned its institutions from requiring the use of diversity statements in hiring decisions. That action was later adopted by the State Legislature.
There are currently no state laws in Idaho prohibiting offices or centers dedicated to serving minorities at public colleges. The Chronicle has tracked more than 200 colleges and universities that have eliminated or made changes to DEI initiatives since January 2023. Of that number, 86 colleges have acted without laws in place.
“This is really about leading and choosing to lead, rather than wait for someone else to define the path that is best for our students and our institutions,” Joshua Whitworth, executive director of the Office of the State Board of Education, said ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
Whitworth said the board spent months consulting with college leaders, students, and community members about “DEI ideology,” which the board defines as any approach that prioritizes race, sexual orientation, religion, or gender identity over “individual merit.”
The board said in its meeting documents that the dissolution of such offices and centers will force administrators to support all students “regardless of their identifying characteristics.”
Advocates of identity-based centers have argued they offer essential catered resources, a sense of community, and academic support to underrepresented students through mentorship, scholarships, multicultural student organizations, and sex and cultural education.
“While the creation of multicultural centers is by no means a singular method for advancing students’ sense of belonging, it can serve as a critical step toward building a campuswide support system and infrastructure for engagement opportunities,” a 2023 report from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators found.
The Office of the State Board of Education said that student-led organizations, like the Black Student Union or Gender and Sexuality Alliance, would be excluded from the resolutions and still allowed to operate on campus.
The vote came after months of review, revisions, discussions, and pushback from college leaders, faculty, and students.
Earlier this month, student-government leaders in a letter pleaded with state lawmakers to save DEI programming at the University of Idaho, which will likely be required to shutter its Black/African American Cultural Centers, Women’s Center, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the LGBTQIA+ Center. Student-government leaders passed a resolution acknowledging the importance of diversity programming at the university.
The student government’s “main message moving forward is that, despite these centers not existing anymore, the Vandal Family still does. Students affected by this are welcome at the University of Idaho and an important part of our community,” Martha Smith, the student body president, wrote in a statement.
In the lead-up to the board meeting, the state board created an online portal for students to share their thoughts on programs, initiatives, and centers focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Of the 600 students who provided comments, 80 percent expressed opposition to DEI initiatives, the Office of the State Board of Education said.
“Conservatives (such as myself) are not welcomed on campus and are currently cast to the wayside to make room for diversity projects. Please end this madness,” one student wrote, according to a copy of the comments obtained by Idaho EdNews.
Samuel N. Penney, a member of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, spoke at the meeting and told the board its resolutions on DEI ideology would negatively impact Native American students.
He pointed out that according to a state treaty with Idaho’s Native American tribes, institutions cannot treat citizenship in a tribe as a personal identity characteristic.
“While we believe the definition in the resolution of programs to be eliminated does not apply to tribal programs, we are concerned [programs for Native American students] can be challenged,” he said.
According to guidance documents on the resolutions, the Office of the State Board of Education said institutions can still support cultural events, scholarships, and centers for Native American students.
In other actions, the board mandated that administrators remain politically neutral, and be publicly transparent about what is being taught in classrooms. Another policy banned administrators from canceling a “controversial” or “unpopular” guest speaker’s appearance for campus safety reasons.
Because many of the resolutions include arbitrary language like “politically neutral,” implementing them may be difficult, as they have been at other colleges.
“I’m hearing a strong commitment to provide services to all students,” said Kurt Leibich, a board member. “I do think there are going to be unintended consequences here that we’re just going to have to work through.”
