Iowa State Capitol
The Iowa Tuition Grant Program provides Iowa residents between $7,500 and $8,500 in state funding annually to attend private, nonprofit colleges. Under the bill, universities could keep their DEI offices, but doing so would cost them eligibility for the grant program. Twenty-eight private colleges participated in the program last school year.
Rep. Steven Holt, who introduced the legislation, said the bill is aimed at ensuring merit-based admissions at Iowa's private universities.
"We want colorblind, sex-neutral admissions — meaning admissions will be based on merit," Holt said. "Once upon a time, that was the ultimate goal of the civil rights movement in this country, and I hope it will be our goal once again."
But critics pushed back on that framing. Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, argued that many of the private institutions receiving the grant are religiously affiliated — and that religion itself falls under the umbrella of DEI.
"If you look at all the things that come under DEI, religion is one of those things," Brown-Powers said. "All of us fit under DEI at some point."
Brown-Powers called the bill a "gross overstep" by the Legislature into private higher education, warning that cutting grant funding could destabilize private colleges across the state.
Several prominent Iowa institutions, including Drake University and Grinnell College, currently operate diversity, equity and inclusion offices. The bill passed the House 57-34 and now heads to the Iowa Senate.
