Iowa Regents to evaluate eliminating DEI, CRT course requirements

The Iowa Board of Regents will consider a policy proposal at an upcoming meeting to eliminate mandatory courses in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Critical Race Theory (CRT).

“A student shall not be required to take a course that has substantial content that conveys DEI or CRT to satisfy the requirements of a major, minor or certificate unless the Board has approved it as an exception,” the proposed policy says.

[RELATED: Purdue ‘sunsetting’ DEI, will revise programs focused on ‘underrepresented’ groups]

The board will consider the proposal at its upcoming meeting scheduled for June 10-12. If the members approve the policy, it will take effect on June 30, 2026.

The proposed course policy provides comprehensive criteria for what constitutes DEI and CRT.

According to the proposal, DEI could mean “instruction that conveys the following concepts as primary principles: unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, antiracism, systemic oppression, social justice, heteronormativity, gender theory, racial privilege or sexual privilege.”

Meanwhile, the document defines CRT as “an academic and legal framework that denotes that systemic racism is part of American society and is embedded in laws, policies and institutions.”

Per the proposed policy, universities can request exceptions for degrees possessing “substantial DEI or CRT content.” 

Gender and Women’s Studies departments at public Iowa universities would likely be required to seek such exceptions.

[RELATED: Penn Medicine ends ‘gender-affirming care’ surgeries on minors]

The University of Iowa’s Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies department describes the subject as “an interdisciplinary field that promotes social justice and full citizenship by asking when and how gender intersects with sexuality, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, globalization, and physical ability in ways that can exclude and oppress, but that can also enrich cultures and expand opportunities.”

The department’s undergraduate major requires courses in “Introduction to Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies” and “Diversity and Power in the US.” Students must also take either “LGBTQ/Queer Studies” or “Theories for Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies.”

Likewise, Women’s and Gender Studies students at Iowa State University must take courses in one of three areas: “Communication and Cultural Representation,” “Identities and Sexualities” or “Leadership and Social Justice.”

Similarly, core courses for Iowa State’s undergraduate major in Women’s and Gender Studies’ include “Gender Justice,” “Feminist Theories” and “International Perspectives on Women and Gender.”

Campus Reform has contacted the Iowa Board of Regents, the University of Iowa and Iowa State University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.