The Idaho State Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday to ban offices and initiatives focused on fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion across the state’s public universities and colleges.
The board directs Idaho’s higher education institutions to “establish and maintain equality of opportunity for all students regardless of personal identity characteristics,” according to the resolution’s text. It also forbids the institutions from creating “central offices, policies, procedures, or initiatives [that] are dedicated to DEI ideology” and charges them with ensuring that “no employee or student is required to declare gender identity or preferred pronouns.”
The state body defines DEI ideology as “any approach that prioritizes ‘personal identity characteristics’ (race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, or gender identity) over individual merit,” the resolution states.
The move comes one week after Boise State University announced its Student Equity Center and Gender Equity Center were scrapped over Thanksgiving break.
“We all have heard the conversations taking place this year across the nation related to diversity, equity and inclusion and higher education,” university administrators said in an email to students during finals week in anticipation of the DEI resolution. “The Idaho State Board of Education has developed resolutions for Idaho universities, and we have provided feedback. We remain steadfast in our commitment to serving all students while seeking to be responsive to our governing board’s expectations.”
In place of the DEI offices, Boise State will open a new Student Connections and Support Center where students can access helpful resources like crisis interventions and case management.
The board’s resolution also bans the use of diversity statements in hiring and admissions decisions. Originally adopted in April 2023, the resolution primarily focused on DEI statements in hiring practices. It was later amended to restrict diversity statements in both hiring and admissions, as the Idaho legislature passed legislation earlier this year to achieve the same goal.
In addition to banning DEI, board members passed a separate resolution to protect free speech and expression and mandate political neutrality on campuses.
“Institutions shall maintain political neutrality, protect speakers’ rights to free expression, protect the safety of those participating in constitutionally protected speech, introduce campus communities to diverse viewpoints, and establish programs designed to educate students and faculty about the institutions’ role as the marketplace of ideas,” this particular resolution reads.
There was another resolution on strengthening governance in the institutions, which was unrelated to the board’s efforts to scrap DEI and preserve free speech.
The board introduced drafts of the three new resolutions last month to receive feedback from university leaders and students in the state. All changes will be implemented by June 30.
“I believe our actions as a Board today are a strong signal to all Idaho students that our institutions are prepared to meet whatever needs they have when they walk through the door,” said Idaho State Board of Education president Dr. Linda Clark. “I am looking forward to seeing our universities implement these resolutions while we continue working on the issue as a Board.”