Republicans controlling the Iowa House have passed two bills that aim to reduce diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, in education and public life.
First in that vein, the House on Tuesday advanced a bill to ban state agencies, cities, counties and public schools from having offices and staff focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
It would also prohibit DEI offices and staff at community colleges, as well as private colleges that accept funding through the Iowa Tuition Grant. The legislature already banned D-E-I spending at Iowa’s public universities last year.
Democratic Representative Ruth Ann Gaines, of Des Moines, said she’s worked as a diversity trainer for educators for 46 years, and now she’s being asked to take the word “diversity” out of her courses.
Gaines says she’s put a lot of work into helping people understand and appreciate differences.
“Yes, things are changing quickly. And it saddens me. Because I feel that I am going to leave this world thinking that all the work that I have done is going to be eliminated,” Gaines said.
Republican Representative Henry Stone, of Forest City, says getting rid of DEI initiatives will help the nation heal and grow together. Stone said that will prevent people from judging each other based on the color of their skin.
*In the second House bill in the DEI realm, Iowa’s public universities would be blocked from requiring students to take classes with content about diversity, equity and inclusion, or critical race theory.
Such content includes material claiming colorblind laws or policies perpetuate oppression, or that a student is biased because of their race or sex.
Republican Representative Steven Holt of Northwest Iowa supported the bill. Holt said DEI is racist and divides the country.
“It is scapegoating entire groups of people -often teaching that white people are automatically oppressors. Nevermind character - doesn’t matter – if you’re white you’re automatically an oppressor, and people of color are automatically oppressed.,” Holt said.
Those two DEI measures will have to also be passed in the Iowa Senate to become law.
Relatedly, University of Iowa officials announced Tuesday they are closing the Division of Accessibility, Opportunity, and Diversity later this month, as part of following directives from the Board of Regents.
The division was previously the office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, before it was restructured last April. But now the university is doing away with most aspects of the division.
*Hour after hour, the impacts from a Siouxland blizzard piled up on Wednesday.
Before the brunt of snow struck just before sunrise, many schools had called off classes, and Sioux City was among many towns that declared snow emergencies for Wednesday or longer.
As the morning went on, roads were closed in varying places and power outages became widespread. The Woodbury County Emergency Management agency advised residents to stay off roads.
The National Weather Service reported the heaviest impact of snow and roads was in Woodbury, Plymouth, and Ida counties. The snow ended in many places by mid afternoon, but heavy winds have continued, so the Blizzard Warning remains in place until 7 p.m.
There were wind gusts of 59 mph at Storm Lake and 55 mph in Sioux City at noon. Five inches of snow fell in Sioux City.
The power outages reported by MidAmerican Energy were in such towns as Sioux City, Sloan, Lawton, and Moville, with about 9,000 homes impacted by 11 a.m, and 8,300 by 2 p.m.
After crashes along Interstate 29 near Sioux City, a portion of that major thoroughfare was closed for 70 miles south to Missouri Valley.
Siouxland had a mild winter through much of February, but this is the second blizzard in the area in two weeks.
*In other news, the Iowa House of Representatives with bipartisan support passed Governor Kim Reynolds’ proposal to restrict cell phone use in schools.
Under the bill, schools would have to adopt policies that ban the use of cell phones at least during instructional time. Parents could seek an exception for their child for health reasons. And there would also be exceptions for students who need an electronic device as part of their individualized education program.
Democratic Representative Heather Matson on Tuesday said she likes that the bill gives schools leeway to tailor their policies to local needs. She said cell phones cause “incredible distractions.”
Reynolds thanked the House in a statement. She says the bill will help students be fully engaged and achieve their highest potential in the classroom.
