Tell Iowa Senate Leadership: Protect Iowa's public universities

At the beginning of 2026, members of the Iowa Legislature introduced nearly two dozen bills targeting higher education in the state. Many of the bills would erode free speech in the classroom, reduce student choices for courses of study, and eliminate university communities from having a voice in the selection of university presidents. We urge the legislature to reject the radical politics of these bills, whose ideas, and sometimes the exact wording, comes from national conservative groups outside of the state.

Among bills still under consideration this year are four that threaten serious damage to Iowa’s great public universities. Versions of each of these proposals have already been passed by the Iowa House, and it's now up to the Senate to reject them:

HF 2487 / SF 2303 – Would require the Board of Regents to “review” required core undergraduate courses for any mention of diversity, equity, inclusion, or critical race theory, and direct the institutions to remove such courses. These bills propose censorship by the state government over the speech and materials of university faculty. Not only would such a law erode educational quality and limit student course options, it would also violate Iowa state law and the Board of Regents’ own policies.

HF 2361 / SF 2232 – Would mandate the creation of core requirements in US history and government for all three universities. The Iowa Higher Education Coalition supports civic education, and notes that all three universities already have university core courses that address civic education. This bill hands authority over these courses to new civic centers at each university, which have never been part of the course development process, and risks turning these courses into narrow indoctrination. Moreover, a fiscal note from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency concluded that this law would cost $890,000 annually just at the University of Iowa, and have a nearly $2.1 million impact each year for all three regent universities.

HF 2245 / SF 2359 – For decades, Iowa’s public universities have had presidential search committees with a broad representation, including members of the Board of Regents, faculty, students, union leaders, community members, and alumni. These bills propose that presidential search committees consist only of five voting members of the Board of Regents, and make their work completely secret.

HF 2513 – Would bar Iowa's regents universities or community colleges from employing faculty or researchers holding H1-B visas (the type of visa designated for recruiting international applicants in "specialty occupations") if their home countries are designated by the US Secretary of State as "foreign adversaries." This would have immediate detrimental impact across our higher education system, and especially in STEM and health care programs that rely on the unique expertise of top international scholars recruited to Iowa from countries including China, Iran, Russia, or Venezuela.

Raising our voices makes a difference! Last summer following widespread criticism, the Board of Regents withdrew an unconstitutional anti-DEI policy. But, this year, some legislators keep trying to impose a similar extremist national agenda on our public universities.

Please contact Senate leaders today and let them know that politics should never dictate what students are allowed to learn or the careers they have the opportunity to pursue at Iowa’s public universities.

The Iowa Higher Education Coalition includes the following organizations: