Senate Education Committee chair offers no guarantees for House higher ed bills
The chair of the Iowa Senate Education Committee said Thursday he will work to assign the majority of bills coming from the House Higher Education Committee to a subcommittee meeting out of respect for its efforts, but did not make any promises about what could make it to, and through, committee.
Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, said in an interview he hasn't been 'intimately following' legislation brought forward by the new committee, though they have kept him included in discussions.
The House Higher Education Committee is a new group formed before the start of the 2025 legislative session with Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, as chair. It has passed through a number of bills aimed at creating new courses, centers and standards of education at public universities and limiting diversity, equity and inclusion in all facets of higher education in the state.
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'They obviously believe it's an important issue, so out of respect, I'm sure that we'll give most of them at least a subcommittee, and a public hearing as a result,' Evans said. 'Whether they make it through committee and onto the floor is yet to be seen. It'll be … based on feedback that we receive during those subcommittees.'
Evans said Thursday he was in the process of reviewing bills sent to the Senate after House debate Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Private university leaders see negative consequences to Iowa Tuition Grant, DEI actions
Democrats and Republicans argued over the content and intent of legislation that would establish a center for intellectual freedom at the University of Iowa in order to increase diversity of thought. The House GOP majority also passed a bill that would bar state entities from maintaining DEI offices and officers, as well as require private colleges to eliminate their DEI offices or risk losing Iowa Tuition Grant dollars.
What the public needs to understand, Evans said, is that having two committees in the House for K-12 and higher education means a high number of bills from both groups are going to the Senate Education Committee.
While he hasn't done an exact tally, Evans estimated the number of bills the committee will receive from the House at between 80 and 85. Only two weeks remain to move House bills out of the Senate committee before the next legislative deadline. Evans said the likelihood of all of these bills making it through subcommittee and committee to reach the Senate floor 'isn't very good.'
'We're gonna have to do some filtering,' Evans said. 'Sometimes that leaves good ideas on the table, sometimes it eliminates maybe some good ideas, or ideas that people were passionate about. But, you know, that's the process.'
Iowa Legislative Black Caucus calls on public to speak up about opposition to anti-DEI bills
One topic of interest Evans said he shares with the House committee is a review of public university academic programs to see how they line up with state workforce needs. Legislation requiring universities to conduct a review and submit a report to the General Assembly were introduced in the House and Senate, with House File 420 passing through committee in February. Senate Study Bill 1024 was recommended for passage by a subcommittee in January.
As the Iowa Board of Regents has already directed the universities it oversees to begin such a review, Evans said there isn't any need for legislation directing them to do so.
Evans said he had no specific priorities addressing higher education coming into this session, but he wasn't surprised to hear about the new committee's formation.
When the new higher education committee was announced in November, Collins said a review of Iowa's colleges and universities to ensure they're completing their mission and spending tax dollars responsibly was 'long overdue.'
Evans said the Legislature has done a good job of working with community colleges to examine their programming and offer opportunities for students to enter high-demand job fields, and a similar review of state universities would be helpful.
'I'm not opposed to taking up some of those issues and giving a hard look at them,' Evans said.
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