(b) No governmental entity shall:
(i) Engage in any diversity, equity or inclusion program, activity or policy;
(ii) Engage in institutional discrimination;
(iii) Require instruction promoting institutional discrimination;
(iv) Require any student, employee or contractor to attend or participate in any diversity, equity or inclusion program or training or any institutional discrimination program or training.
i) "Diversity, equity or inclusion" means any program, activity or policy that promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals or classifies individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin.
The bill’s definition is functionally equivalent to the current UW statement for Equal Opportunity and Prohibited Efforts approved by the Board of Trustees.
(iii) "Institutional discrimination" means any of the following concepts:
(A) That any race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin is inherently superior or inferior;
(B) That a person should be discriminated against or adversely treated because of the person's race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin;
(C) That the moral character of a person is determined by the person's race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin;
(D) That because of a person's race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin the person is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously;
(E) That by virtue of a person's race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin, the person is inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin;
(F) That fault, blame or bias should be assigned to members of a race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin;
(G) That any person should accept, acknowledge, affirm or assent to a sense of guilt, complicity or a need to apologize on the basis of the person's race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin;
(H) That meritocracy or certain traits including a hard work ethic are racist or sexist.
HB 147’s definition for “institutional discrimination” is also consistent with existing UW policy. The UW statement for Equal Opportunity and Prohibited Efforts approved by the Board of Trustees already prohibits programs, activities, or functions that “promote the position that the action of a group or an individual is inherently, unconsciously, or implicitly biased, privileged or inherently superior or inferior on the basis of color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”
This bill aligns with UW’s existing statement, but classrooms are not excluded, and no courses can be required that promote “institutional discrimination”.
UW Regulation 2-15 states, “Academic freedom in teaching protects the rights of Academic Personnel to teach according to their expertise. Academic Personnel are entitled to freedom in discussing their subject. Academic Personnel have a responsibility to ensure that their teaching is effective and consistent with the standards of the discipline, understanding that disciplines may have diverse points of view on any given subject. Teaching may involve controversial material; however, with academic freedom in the classroom, Academic Personnel also have the responsibility to respect others’ freedom to express disagreement and alternate opinions.”
Additionally, the University of Wyoming adheres to the principles of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) “Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure”.
Thus:
To respect students' ability to engage critically and express reasoned dissent while still holding them accountable for mastering the course content.
Scenario 1: An instructor provides lessons on the history of women’s suffrage and the equal rights movement.
Scenario 2: An instructor shares data on socioeconomic outcomes based on race. The instructor then states that negative societal outcomes for other races in the United States are caused by the white controlling class. They finally inform the room that white students should begin conversations with someone of another race with the assumption that they contributed to that person’s hardships.
As a political class, classification or identity, federally recognized Indian tribes and programs, trainings, degrees, classes or endowments related to federally recognized Indian tribes or Indian history, culture, language and traditions, are not diversity, equity and inclusion as defined by this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to federally recognized Indian tribes. For purposes of this section:
(i) “Federally recognized Indian tribe” means a tribal government and its citizens who have an acknowledged government to government relationship with the United States of America;
(ii) Federally recognized Indian tribes and their citizens shall be considered a political class, classification or identity. Tribes and their members shall not be considered a race or a racial classification.
To summarize, federally recognized Indian tribes are excluded from the “diversity, equity and inclusion” definition as well as references to race or racial classification.
As is consistent with UW commitments to academic freedom and freedom of expression, our focus will be on ensuring that UW remains a place where our students benefit from knowledge, critical thinking and deep dialogue, including on subjects of race, ethnicity, gender and national origin. Our emphasis is, and will continue to be, about learning and inquiry rather than advocacy. There are no topics that are banned from discussion, and we do not censor scholarly pursuits. The signing of this bill into law is an opportunity to reinforce our institutional values codified in UW Regulation 2-15 Academic Freedom:
“Teaching may involve controversial material; however, with academic freedom in the classroom, Academic Personnel also have the responsibility to respect others’ freedom to express disagreement and alternate opinions.”
We do not expect broad adjustments are needed across the curriculum. However, we will use this as an opportunity to reinforce our existing values and regulations. Academic Affairs will engage in an effort to educate all of our faculty and students about the new law and how it connects with the policies that we already have in place.
UW actively communicates the university principles on Freedom of Expression, Intellectual Freedom, and Constructive Dialogue, which include academic freedom, to the entire campus community. New students see a short video about these principles at New Student Orientation (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uUreA5-KQE). Students also receive reinforcing messages from the President, through micro-learning opportunities, and in the Student Code of Conduct.
Intentionally. In the very near future, this will include the following channels of communication to gather feedback, answer questions, and share direction:
A student FAQ page has been created for students who want to more deeply consider HB147.