Latest news with #SenateBill289
Chicago Tribune
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Indiana University closes DEI offices, ends programs on all campuses
Indiana University and its regional campuses have shut down diversity, equity and inclusion offices in the wake of state executive orders and legislation that follow the lead of President Donald Trump. On Friday, James Wallace, director of IU Northwest's Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs, couldn't be reached at his office phone number. On Thursday, IU officials in Bloomington issued a release saying it was taking steps 'to ensure the university is fully compliant with state and federal laws and guidance regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.' The release stated the DEI offices across IU's main campus in Bloomington and its regional campuses would sunset, effective Thursday. Aaron Pigors, IU Northwest's executive director of marketing and communications referred questions to Mark Bode, executive director of media relations and public affairs. Bode referred questions to IU's Thursday's press release. Within his first two days in office, Trump's initial executive order called for dismantling federal DEI programs. Another order ended affirmative action in federal contracting and directed layoffs for federal diversity, equity and inclusion staffers. Trump labeled them as 'illegal and immoral discrimination programs.' GOP states, including Indiana, have followed with similar bans on DEI programs. Gov. Mike Braun issued an executive order banning DEI initiatives in state government offices on his second day in office. In addition, he signed Senate Bill 289, which prohibits mandatory DEI training in K-12 schools and limits DEI programs in state universities. The law also allows individuals to sue public schools for DEI policies and programs. Earlier this month, Attorney General Todd Rokita sent a letter to the University of Notre Dame claiming its DEI policies may violate state and federal law. Ball State University and Ivy Tech Community College have already eliminated DEI programs in response to GOP edicts. IU's release also said its Office of Institutional Equity has transitioned to become the Office of Civil Rights Compliance, which more accurately reflects its work and mission to oversee the university's compliance with federal civil rights laws.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Consent added into sex education bill, anti-DEI bill pass in final days of Indiana legislative session
In the final two days of the session, the Indiana legislature approved last-minute changes to a sex education bill and passed an anti-DEI bill. Senate Bill 442, which addresses instruction on human sexuality, and Senate Bill 289, which addresses unlawful discrimination, were both authored by Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville. After the session ended Thursday, Byrne issued a brief statement that he championed legislation that aimed to 'promote educational curriculum transparency' and 'prevent unlawful discrimination.' 'I look forward to spending time this interim hearing from local constituents on how to continue to make Indiana a better place to raise a family,' Byrne said. In Senate Bill 442, a school board would have to approve any materials used to teach human sexuality for grades 4-12, and for the material titles to be posted online. The bill also requires elementary school students, if they participate in the lesson, to watch a three-minute ultrasound video of fetal development. In the final week of the session, Byrne said he would remove language in the bill that required teaching 'the importance of consent on sexual activity.' But, after receiving pushback, Byrne added the language about consent back into the bill. 'The primary goal of Senate Bill 442 is to promote transparency in sexual education curriculum by requiring that curriculum to be approved by school boards and posted publicly online. The new conference committee report, which I approved yesterday morning, will also retain language added by the House of Representatives, which would require schools to teach about the importance of consent to sexual activity in an age-appropriate way and teach about fetal development during pregnancy,' Byrne said in a statement last Tuesday. Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis, said he was glad that consent was added back into the bill. But, Ford opposed the bill because he didn't understand the specificity of watching a three-minute ultrasound video. Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said consent should be taught beyond just 'sexual activity between two individuals.' 'I don't know why there has to be some qualifier,' Yoder said. 'I think what's important here is we're teaching young people to be able to have agency and sense of self and be able to make those determinations no matter what.' The bill passed the Senate last Wednesday 35-12, with Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, and Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, and all Democrats voting against the bill. It passed the House 72-20 the same day. Senate Bill 289 prohibits 'discrimination' in state education, public employment and a licensing setting that 'is based on a personal characteristic of the person.' The final version of the bill exempts 'employment actions concerning participation in a public contract by a minority business enterprise, women's business enterprise, or veteran business enterprise, if the employment action is authorized by law.' Under the bill, schools can also make decisions around grants, scholarships or fee remissions based on 'personal characteristics' as long as those awards do not include any 'state funds or resources.' State offices and universities can't require employees to complete training or licensing 'asserting that, or endorsing the theory that,' a person with a certain personal characteristic is inherently superior or inferior to a person with a different personal characteristic; should be blamed for actions committed in the past; or has a moral character that is determined by a personal characteristic of the person. 'You can't fix discrimination with discrimination,' Byrne said. 'This bill is good for Indiana, and everybody should be judged by how hard you work.' In the bill, Earline S. Rogers, who was a former Lake County legislator, strikes the word 'minority' from the scholarship requirement and lists that those eligible for the scholarship 'reside in an underserved county in Indiana.' The bill defines five underserved counties: Lake, Allen, Marion, St. Joseph and Vanderburgh. Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, raised concerns about limiting the scholarship to five counties while aiming to 'fight discrimination.' 'It just doesn't make sense that the supermajority would pass a bill that discriminates against most of the counties in the state,' Randolph said. Yoder said Senate Bill 289 is a 'culture war bill,' The legislature should defend scholarships for minority students 'full stop,' she said, and said the bill discriminates against who can receive scholarships. 'I strongly continue to be opposed with this direct attack on truth and progress all in the name of unlawful discrimination. You can't put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig,' Yoder said. Sen. La Keisha Jackson, D-Indianapolis, said diversity, equity and inclusion benefits white women, people with disabilities and veterans before it benefits Black and brown people. As a Black woman, Jackson said tearfully it was difficult to have to complicate an anti-DEI bill as she listed the history of Black people, from the three-fifths compromise to Martin Luther King Jr. leading the civil rights movement. 'By eliminating DEI, we are limiting perspectives and ignoring the richness of our diverse state. Life is not black and white – there is nuance, and we must embrace the complexity that makes Indiana what it is,' Jackson said. Byrne said everyone in the Senate 'is 100% whole,' and he said he taught his three sons as they were growing up Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of judging a person based on the content of their character. 'I love every person for their personal characteristics,' Byrne said. 'I do love every person, even on the other side. I don't care what color skin you are, it has nothing to do with it.' The bill passed the Senate last Thursday, the final day of session, 34-16. It passed the House 64-26 the same day. akukulka@
Chicago Tribune
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Consent added into sex education bill, anti-DEI bill pass in final days of Indiana legislative session
In the final two days of the session, the Indiana legislature approved last-minute changes to a sex education bill and passed an anti-DEI bill. Senate Bill 442, which addresses instruction on human sexuality, and Senate Bill 289, which addresses unlawful discrimination, were both authored by Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville. After the session ended Thursday, Byrne issued a brief statement that he championed legislation that aimed to 'promote educational curriculum transparency' and 'prevent unlawful discrimination.' 'I look forward to spending time this interim hearing from local constituents on how to continue to make Indiana a better place to raise a family,' Byrne said. Sex education bill In Senate Bill 442, a school board would have to approve any materials used to teach human sexuality for grades 4-12, and for the material titles to be posted online. The bill also requires elementary school students, if they participate in the lesson, to watch a three-minute ultrasound video of fetal development. In the final week of the session, Byrne said he would remove language in the bill that required teaching 'the importance of consent on sexual activity.' But, after receiving pushback, Byrne added the language about consent back into the bill. 'The primary goal of Senate Bill 442 is to promote transparency in sexual education curriculum by requiring that curriculum to be approved by school boards and posted publicly online. The new conference committee report, which I approved yesterday morning, will also retain language added by the House of Representatives, which would require schools to teach about the importance of consent to sexual activity in an age-appropriate way and teach about fetal development during pregnancy,' Byrne said in a statement last Tuesday. Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis, said he was glad that consent was added back into the bill. But, Ford opposed the bill because he didn't understand the specificity of watching a three-minute ultrasound video. Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said consent should be taught beyond just 'sexual activity between two individuals.' 'I don't know why there has to be some qualifier,' Yoder said. 'I think what's important here is we're teaching young people to be able to have agency and sense of self and be able to make those determinations no matter what.' The bill passed the Senate last Wednesday 35-12, with Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, and Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, and all Democrats voting against the bill. It passed the House 72-20 the same day. Anti-DEI bill Senate Bill 289 prohibits 'discrimination' in state education, public employment and a licensing setting that 'is based on a personal characteristic of the person.' The final version of the bill exempts 'employment actions concerning participation in a public contract by a minority business enterprise, women's business enterprise, or veteran business enterprise, if the employment action is authorized by law.' Under the bill, schools can also make decisions around grants, scholarships or fee remissions based on 'personal characteristics' as long as those awards do not include any 'state funds or resources.' State offices and universities can't require employees to complete training or licensing 'asserting that, or endorsing the theory that,' a person with a certain personal characteristic is inherently superior or inferior to a person with a different personal characteristic; should be blamed for actions committed in the past; or has a moral character that is determined by a personal characteristic of the person. 'You can't fix discrimination with discrimination,' Byrne said. 'This bill is good for Indiana, and everybody should be judged by how hard you work.' In the bill, Earline S. Rogers, who was a former Lake County legislator, strikes the word 'minority' from the scholarship requirement and lists that those eligible for the scholarship 'reside in an underserved county in Indiana.' The bill defines five underserved counties: Lake, Allen, Marion, St. Joseph and Vanderburgh. Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, raised concerns about limiting the scholarship to five counties while aiming to 'fight discrimination.' 'It just doesn't make sense that the supermajority would pass a bill that discriminates against most of the counties in the state,' Randolph said. Yoder said Senate Bill 289 is a 'culture war bill,' The legislature should defend scholarships for minority students 'full stop,' she said, and said the bill discriminates against who can receive scholarships. 'I strongly continue to be opposed with this direct attack on truth and progress all in the name of unlawful discrimination. You can't put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig,' Yoder said. Sen. La Keisha Jackson, D-Indianapolis, said diversity, equity and inclusion benefits white women, people with disabilities and veterans before it benefits Black and brown people. As a Black woman, Jackson said tearfully it was difficult to have to complicate an anti-DEI bill as she listed the history of Black people, from the three-fifths compromise to Martin Luther King Jr. leading the civil rights movement. 'By eliminating DEI, we are limiting perspectives and ignoring the richness of our diverse state. Life is not black and white – there is nuance, and we must embrace the complexity that makes Indiana what it is,' Jackson said. Byrne said everyone in the Senate 'is 100% whole,' and he said he taught his three sons as they were growing up Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of judging a person based on the content of their character. 'I love every person for their personal characteristics,' Byrne said. 'I do love every person, even on the other side. I don't care what color skin you are, it has nothing to do with it.' The bill passed the Senate last Thursday, the final day of session, 34-16. It passed the House 64-26 the same day.
Indianapolis Star
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Faith leaders urge Braun to condemn Beckwith's remarks on Three-Fifths Compromise
The Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, a group founded as part of the Civil Rights Movement, is asking Gov. Mike Braun to condemn Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith's statement that the Three-Fifths Compromise was "a great move." The 18th century law counted an enslaved person as 60% of a free person. The agreement made during the 1787 Constitutional Convention counted an enslaved person as three-fifths of a person when measuring states' populations for taxation and congressional representation. The measure was rendered unconstitutional in 1868 by the 14th Amendment , which granted equal protection and due process to all American citizens. Beckwith's statements came after an emotional debate over Senate Bill 289 on April 24. The bill curbs diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, allowing people to sue publicly-funded schools or government entities if they're required to undergo trainings that use a characteristic like race or sex to blame one group of people for actions in the past. During the debate, opponents said the bill ignores the U.S.'s historical legacy of discrimination, citing examples such as the Three-Fifths Compromise, Jim Crow laws and real estate redlining. After Thursday's debate, Beckwith took to X to post a video that he called a history lesson for Indiana's Senate Democrats. In the clip, which is just under four minutes long, Beckwith sits on the edge of his desk and speaks directly to the camera, arguing that the Three-Fifths Compromise actually worked against slavery rather than promoting it. "I would like to share with you, the Three-Fifths Compromise is not a pro-discrimination compromise. It was not a pro-discrimination or a slave-driving compromise that the founders made. It was actually just the opposite," Beckwith says. The compromise gave slave states less representation than they would have had if slaves were counted as people, preventing the constitutional enshrinement of slavery, he argues. He does not address the fact that the law increased slaveholding states' representation in U.S. Congress relative to their number of voters, making it difficult — if not impossible — to pass an amendment abolishing slavery. In their statement condemning Beckwith's interpretation of history, members of the faith coalition demanded Braun publicly denounce the remarks, mandate that Beckwith issue a formal retraction as well as an apology and affirm Indiana's commitment to an accurate education of history. "This language is not merely insensitive, it is an affront to human dignity and an echo of a racist ideology that sought to legitimize the inhuman treatment of Black people in America," a Friday news release from the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis reads in part. Beckwith — who is himself a pastor — has landed in hot water over social media activity before. A Feb. 6 post also about Senate Bill 289, which described "taxpayer-funded race hustling," caused a stir on the Senate floor. In October 2024, during his campaign for the lieutenant governor position, Beckwith called his female election opponent a "Jezebel spirit," while in a livestreamed interview, referring to the Bible's archetypal evil woman. Senate Bill 289 has passed through both chambers of the Indiana legislature with the House voting 64-26 and the Senate voting 34-16. It now awaits Braun's signature.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-DEI bill cracking down on ‘unlawful discrimination' en route to governor's desk
Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, defends a compromise provision shifting teaching scholarships named after Black former lawmakers to five teacher-strapped counties on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) A bill to limit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in schools, state government and health profession licensing advanced to the governor Thursday following a 64-26 vote in the House and a 34-16 tally in the Senate. Senate Bill 289 — authored by Republican Sens. Tyler Johnson of Leo, and Gary Byrne of Byrneville — was tweaked in the final days of the session to specifically outlaw 'discrimination' in state education, public employment and licensing settings that is 'based on a personal characteristic of the person.' Lawmakers also made last-minute changes to characteristics outlined in the bill, removing 'disability and status as a veteran' from the list. The 'personal characteristics' remaining in the bill are 'race, religion, color, sex, national origin, or ancestry.' 'You can't fix discrimination with discrimination,' Byrne said. 'This bill is good for Indiana, and everybody should be judged by how hard you work — and that's what this bill is about.' The latest draft exempts 'employment action(s) concerning participation in a public contract by a minority business enterprise, women's business enterprise, or veteran business enterprise, if the employment action is authorized by law.' A carveout also exists for colleges and universities. Schools can also make decisions around grants, scholarships or fee remissions on the basis of 'personal characteristic(s)' as long as those awards do not include any 'state funds or resources.' But state offices and universities would not be allowed to require employees to complete training — or licensing — 'asserting that, or endorsing the theory that,' a person with a certain personal characteristic: is inherently superior or inferior to a person with a different personal characteristic; should be blamed for actions committed in the past; or has a moral character that is determined by a personal characteristic of the person. Democrats remained opposed to the bill on Thursday — particularly in the Senate, where debate lasted nearly two hours. 'In a utopia, every human should be treated equally and should not be discriminated against based on their race, their gender, their creed, their nationality, their political identity,' said Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis. 'But this legislation is extremely harmful because it gives a blind eye to historical injustices by which generations of communities have been discriminated against.' 'It flips the script by saying we have no discrimination, we have no racism, and we should treat everybody equally. It ignores historical facts that continue to occur until this moment,' he continued. 'This legislation ignores that people have different starting points in their lives, and in most of our history as a country, it was our government that pushed people behind the starting line.' The legislation's passage comes on the heels of Gov. Mike Braun's executive order to replace DEI throughout state government policies and programming with 'merit, excellence and innovation,' or MEI. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
