An Iowa House higher education subcommittee has moved ahead a bill to codify general education requirements at state universities. (Photo courtesy of the University of Northern Iowa)
Despite questions about what “identity politics” entails and concerns about limiting what college instructors can teach in their classrooms, a bill to reimagine general education requirements at public universities has passed out of an Iowa House subcommittee.
House Study Bill 63 creates a new set of general education standards for the Iowa Board of Regents to implement at state universities, which includes requirements to take courses in English and composition, math and statistics, natural and social sciences, a world language, the humanities, Western heritage and American heritage. Certain exemptions were placed in the bill for students in programs that are three years or less or who are found to be in a complex area of study.
These general education courses cannot “distort significant historical events or include any curriculum or other material that teaches identity politics or is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States of America or the state of Iowa,” according to the legislation, but it states educators’ academic freedom will not be impeded upon.
Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison chaired the subcommittee, which included Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, and Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis.
Collins said during the meeting the general education requirements are “all over the place” when the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University’s policies are compared. While he said he encourages the Iowa Board of Regents to bring amendments forward to clean up language in the bill, it is important this legislation be passed in order to return universities to a “true liberal arts education.”
“I think there’s a way we can adapt this bill to make sure we are standardizing our core curriculum across the three universities, building a consensus about what our students should be learning and ensuring that we are actually returning to true liberal arts education I believe our higher education system was built on,” Collins said.
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One Iowa Director of Policy and Advocacy Keenan Crow said during public comments this legislation would limit academic freedom and restrict what ideas are allowed to be discussed on college campuses, effectively sheltering students from tough ideas that could help them learn to better evaluate arguments and come to their own conclusions.
“While I can appreciate all the language in here about not distorting historical events, which I agree with, what I don’t agree with is sheltering students from theories about systemic issues in our state or our country,” Crow said. “I know these theories will make folks uncomfortable, but this is ideological censorship in what should be an institution of higher learning.”
A parent of two teenagers also spoke at the meeting to express her concerns with the bill, which she said could limit the ability of college teachers and mentors to help her children explore new ideas and concepts, even if they do make them uncomfortable. That is one of their favorite things about the public education they’ve received so far, she said.
Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Executive Director Connie Ryan said the organization is “wondering why the Legislature is mandating what can be taught and what can’t be taught at our regents universities,” and the subjects being barred from campus through this bill are important in relation to the U.S. and its history.
Both Ryan and Wilburn brought up the lack of a definition of “identity politics” in the legislation, and Wilburn asked Collins how he came to these specific requirements for general education. Collins said he didn’t base them on any state’s established policies, but he believes these standards are what “each student should be learning as they’re going through higher education.”
Andy Conlin, representing the Cicero Institute and the Foundation for Government Accountability, said in comments supporting the bill that it isn’t doing anything really new in the nation, as several states have codified their general education requirements for universities.
To his knowledge, Wilburn said no Iowa educators or anyone involved in higher education in the state was consulted on this bill. He added that it feels like jumping the gun to enact legislation before even completing a review of what academic programs are already offered through general education at state universities.
“It just seems peculiar to me, in my personal opinion, that 11 of the 13 bills introduced to the Higher Ed Committee are not about an evaluation or assessment or review, they are specific actions such as this,” Wilburn said. “And so, at a minimum, it appears to me that this type of legislation will be premature.”
The legislation will move to the full higher education committee with support from Collins and Holt, who said lawmakers can look into putting a definition of “identity politics” into the code.
“Identity politics is teaching principles contrary to the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., teaching to judge by skin … color instead of character,” Holt said. “There’s a lot of that going on these days.”
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