photo by: Chris Conde

Strong Hall Directory pictured here on Jan. 19, 2022, on the first floor of Strong Hall at the University of Kansas.

A budget bill passed by Kansas lawmakers on Thursday will create new questions about how University of Kansas officials can address issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

The budget bill — HB 2184 — approved by both the Kansas House and Senate includes language that would prohibit KU and other state universities from spending state dollars on diversity- and equity-related issues.

The language doesn’t specifically bar KU from operating its Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, for example, but it does put limits on how KU officials can interact with individuals on the issues of diversity and equity.

The bill’s language prohibits the spending of any state dollars used in an effort to get people to “endorse or oppose any ideology, including the ideology of diversity, equity or inclusion.”

The Journal-World has asked spokespeople at both the University of Kansas and the Kansas Board of Regents whether that broad language will allow KU to continue to operate its diversity and equity programs. A spokeswoman at KU said the university was still trying to determine the impacts.

“We continue to engage with the Kansas Board of Regents, our colleagues at the other Regents institutions, and state legislators to determine how the proposed legislation could impact our university,” spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said via email on Friday.

A spokesman for the Kansas Board of Regents didn’t immediately respond on Friday.

When the bill was discussed in committee earlier this legislative session, it often was characterized as a bill that would prohibit universities from using “loyalty oaths” that require job applicants to adhere to certain principles related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

However, the actual language in the budget bill is not limited to job applicants. The bill’s language covers “any applicant, employee, student or contractor.” The bill says none of those individuals can be made to “provide a statement articulating their experience, commitment to, or expertise in diversity, equity or inclusion …”

The budget bill has not yet become law. Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, could use her line-item veto power to remove the provision from the budget bill. However, the Republican-controlled Legislature also could attempt to override any veto from the governor.

State Sen. J.R. Claeys, R-Salina, reportedly has been the main proponent of the language in the Legislature. Claeys works as an adviser for Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and previously served as Kobach’s campaign manager. The bill would require KU and other state universities to file an annual report with Kobach’s office on how each university has complied with the new law.

The bill does provide some exceptions, including that nothing in the bill can be used to “limit or restrict the academic freedom of any faculty member or to prevent such faculty member from teaching, researching or writing.”

The prohibition on diversity and equity spending would apply to KU and the rest of the state’s Regents institutions, which include Kansas State, Wichita State, Emporia State, Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State. But the provisions also would apply to most other public institutions in the state, including Washburn University, community colleges and public technical schools. The language indicates the provisions would not apply to private universities and colleges in the state, even if they do receive state funding for some programs.