New law bans UW courses that promote “institutional discrimination”
The governor vetoed a separate DEI bill which he labeled an attempt to limit curriculum “with a sledgehammer without regard to what gets smashed.”
A new law will prohibit the University of Wyoming — alongside schools, community colleges and all other government entities — from “engaging” in any activity matching the legislation’s own definition of diversity, equity and inclusion.
It also bans UW from offering courses that “promote” the concept of institutional discrimination.
Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 147 into law Tuesday, announcing in the same letter he would veto Senate File 103, the other anti-DEI legislation introduced and passed by the legislature this session.
Gordon argues HB147 “offers a more effective and legally sound approach to achieving the same policy objectives” by providing “a more precise and enforceable policy.”
“Its definitions and balanced restrictions ensure accountability without creating unnecessary legal ambiguities or unintended consequences,” the governor writes. “Ultimately, there is no reasonable need for both acts.”
As HB147 advanced through the legislature, opponents warned the bill could have a “chilling effect” on classrooms.
The new law builds on prohibitions passed by last year’s legislature; in a footnote to the state budget, lawmakers forbade UW from spending state funds on an office of DEI.
SF103 — the DEI bill vetoed by Gordon Tuesday — would have forbidden the use of any funds, public or otherwise, on any diversity-oriented program.
The vetoed bill also included a seemingly unrelated $550,000 for a medical education partnership, which is not included in HB147 and will not be awarded to UW this year.
Gordon encouraged lawmakers to take up that funding request during the interim.
“I fully support training the future physicians Wyoming needs, however, this may be a more proper discussion for the Legislature to take up this fall in anticipation of the upcoming Budget Session,” the governor writes.
Defining DEI
The new law defines DEI as “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” and forbids government entities from engaging in any such program, activity or policy.
The definition provided for institutional discrimination is more expansive.
The law lists several “concepts” that individually qualify an activity or class as promoting institutional discrimination. These concepts run the gamut from commonly accepted definitions for racism or bigotry to popular conservative framings of academic ideas about privilege.
Those forbidden concepts include:
“That any race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin is inherently superior or inferior,”
“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,”
“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,”
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,” and
“That meritocracy or certain traits including a hard work ethic are racist or sexist.”
“This bill restores our state government to the colorblind approach that the constitution intends, that morality dictates, and that our national unity requires,” the bill’s sponsor, Cody Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (HD-50), told her fellow lawmakers during a House Education Committee hearing.
While signing HB147, Gordon vetoed SF103.
The vetoed legislation, sponsored by Torrington Sen. Cheri Steinmetz (SD-3), also took aim at DEI, aiming to “terminate and defund” diversity, equity and inclusion at UW and other government agencies.
In the letter outlining his decision to veto SF103, Gordon alleges the bill is confusing and could lead to lawsuits.
“This legislation is an attempt to limit curriculum and course requirements at the University of Wyoming and community colleges with a sledgehammer without regard to what gets smashed,” Gordon writes.
Specifically, the bill lacks the clear definitions found in HB147.
“This bill prohibits courses containing ‘related content’ but defines that term in reference to W.S. 9-2-1014.4(b), a section that does not define any concepts — only restrictions on government spending,” Gordon writes. “This circular lack of definition renders the provision legally unclear and difficult — if not impossible — to enforce.”
Both proposals passed with veto-proof majorities, but Gordon argues Wyoming needs only one such bill.
“Without clear guidance, institutions will struggle to interpret and comply with the law, potentially leading to unnecessary legal challenges and disruptions to academic programming,” Gordon writes. “If the Legislature is committed to addressing DEI policies in state institutions, [HB147] is the superior vehicle for achieving that goal.”
The view from UW
Last year, lawmakers included a footnote on the university’s budget, forbidding the institution from using state funds on its Office of DEI.
While the footnote did not require UW to outright close the office, that’s exactly what the university did.
It also launched an institution-wide review to root out requirements, offerings and programs that lawmakers might label “DEI.” UW President Ed Seidel said at the time the review would evaluate the university’s DEI-adjacent functions to “ensure that they promote merit and do not promote preferential treatment.”
In addition to dismantling its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, UW announced the cancellation of some diversity-oriented activities and reworked its Multicultural Affairs office.
Editor’s note: Parts of this story were published previously.
I really wish UW had fought back against the DEI attack last year. Instead, its quick capitulation emboldened and encouraged this escalation. Shame on Gordon and the legislature for this overreach.
Wow self-immolation by the legislature of the only uni in the State. How dumb can we get…what new professors or young eager students would want to be associated with a university that appears to be gleefully sliding into mediocrity?!?!