Missouri lawmakers consider banning diversity hiring requirements for public colleges
Nicole Neville said that she has had teachers talk down to her because she is Black.
Neville, who hails from Columbia and is now in her second year of medical school at the University of Kansas, told Missouri lawmakers on Monday that she has proven those teachers wrong. And not only were they wrong, they illustrated what happens when employees are not vetted for diversity, equity and inclusion, she said.
“When you are not exposed to a variety of different people, you enter this echo chamber which allows you to think that you are correct and the people you are hurting deserve it,” she said.
The Missouri House Special Committee on Government Accountability on Monday held a hearing on two bills aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring standards in higher education.
One of the Missouri bills, filed by state Rep. Doug Richey, an Excelsior Springs Republican, would ban public colleges from requiring DEI statements from applicants, employees, students or contractors. Employees could be fired for violating the bill. The bill would not apply to academic research or coursework.
The bill, among other things, would ban colleges from requiring applicants to share their “views on or experience with race, color, religion, sex, gender, ethnicity.”
A DEI statement is a commitment to creating a diverse community and a culture of inclusivity, according to the Harvard University Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
The statement is typically intended to show the community that the fair treatment of all people — including racial minorities and LGBTQ people — is important to an organization or institution.
A second bill, filed by state Rep. Ben Baker, a Neosho Republican, was scheduled to be heard by the same committee later on Monday. It would restrict licensing boards, medical providers and medical schools from having DEI requirements.
Supporters of the legislation on Monday painted DEI statements as politically motivated and said job applicants should not be vetted based on their ideological beliefs.
Both bills, which target hiring diverse hiring practices, were filed by white men.
Conservatives in red states across the country have targeted DEI standards, arguing that the policies treat white people unfairly or prioritize social justice over merit and achievement. Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agency and public university leaders to ban DEI hiring policies, arguing they violate federal and state employment laws.
Lawmakers in other states, such as Florida, have filed bills that would ban all DEI initiatives at universities, including curriculum. The Florida legislation would remove “any major or minor in Critical Race Theory, Gender Studies, or Intersectionality, or any derivative major or minor of these belief systems.”
Richey, the Missouri bill sponsor, on Monday compared the use of DEI requirements in hiring to “a kind of loyalty oath.”
“The point of this bill is to prevent this kind of vetting that is ideologically focused in order to protect and preserve diversity of thought which on a university campus is critical,” Richey told the committee.
But state Rep. Marlon Anderson, a Black St. Louis Democrat, told Richey that his bill was an attempt to maintain the status quo and that it wasn’t alright.
“Things like this are going to stop amazing academic minds from matriculating and teaching in Missouri,” he said. “…It’s not okay.”
State Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, said that Missouri needs to keep its professors in the state and continue to encourage people to pursue higher education. She said Richey’s bill was a solution in search of a problem that doesn’t exist.
“We need to keep students here in Missouri. Missouri is becoming an increasingly diverse state. We have speakers of hundreds of different languages here in our state,” she said. “We have students from all different backgrounds and ethnicities, and recognizing and making sure that our professors are there to provide a welcoming environment.”
Richey acknowledged that his bill was related to the nationwide debate over DEI. He said he filed the bill after a group of University of Missouri-St. Louis professors witnessed DEI requirements and were “bothered by it.”
A spokesperson for UMSL did not immediately respond to a call and email for comment Monday.
In response to an email asking how the legislation would affect the University of Missouri, and whether the university uses DEI requirements in its hiring practices, spokesperson Christian Basi said it was the university’s longstanding practice not to comment or speculate on pending legislation.
