Henry Stone:

Someone’s lying. That’s what I’ve discovered after trying to free my state’s higher-education system from “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Instead of complying with a DEI ban we passed into law earlier this year, the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine says it’s forced to maintain these programs or it will lose its accreditation, essentially killing the institution. Yet accreditors say that isn’t the case, even as they give quiet cover to universities. If federal reforms don’t stop these shenanigans, virtually every part of higher education may soon wriggle free of state DEI bans.

I co-sponsored Iowa’s ban on DEI, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed in May. As an Asian-American, I’m well aware that activists have used this ideology to discriminate against people like me, especially in higher education. Our legislation aimed to right this wrong and provide equal treatment to everyone by banning public institutions, including Iowa’s three public universities, from having DEI offices, programs and staff. I thought that our law would soon drive DEI from our college campuses and state government.

I was wrong. In early November, the Iowa Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s public universities, issued a report on compliance with the law. It laid out, in detail, how DEI initiatives have been shut down statewide. But in the fine print on page 78, I learned that Carver College is keeping its Office of Health Parity open. The office proudly declares on its home page that it “strives to achieve excellence through the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

The Board of Regents says its hand was forced by accreditors. These are private institutions that decide whether universities and graduate schools can grant degrees. Iowa’s DEI ban exempts programs that accreditors deem necessary, and accreditors have significant leverage over state lawmakers. If they withdrew their approval from one of our state universities, the political blowback would be severe. No lawmaker wants to be accused of killing a beloved state institution. In other states, including Missouri and Tennessee, the threat of losing accreditation has delayed and even prevented the passage of DEI bans.