A coalition of Indiana civil rights and community leaders say a controversial piece of higher education legislation would unfairly target Black professors and students.
Senate Bill 202 proposes a spate of changes that aim to erase the perception among some that colleges and universities are unfriendly to conservative students. But critics say the bill would create a culture of fear among professors and dampen free speech on campuses.
“Our leaders don’t seem to recognize how SB 202 turns Indiana back towards its deeply racist past … but the citizens of Indiana certainly do,” Sadie Harper-Scott, president of the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP, said in a press release Monday, March 4.
The bill passed out of both chambers last week and will head to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk.
Most conversation about SB 202’s proposed changes has revolved around proposed post-tenure faculty reviews and requiring professors to include a wide range of perspectives, a concept coined as “intellectual diversity.” Students would be able to report their professors if the student feels they’re not showing a wide enough range of views.
The bill also would require universities to report to the General Assembly how much they spend on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts annually and would forbid colleges from taking stances on political issues that are unrelated to the school’s “core mission.”
Gwendolyn Kelley, interim education chair for the Indiana NAACP, told Mirror Indy she was “appalled” when she heard about the legislation. She said the concept of intellectual diversity is designed to limit freedom of expression on campuses, especially for Black students and professors.
“My interpretation is, don’t talk about diversity,” Kelley said. “Don’t talk about equity. Don’t talk about inclusion, because someone could report you.”
[Learn about how the conversation surrounding Senate Bill 202 began]
As of Tuesday afternoon, Holcomb had not committed to meeting with a group of religious and civil rights leaders, including the NAACP’s Harper-Scott and Pastor David Greene of the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, despite multiple requests since Friday morning.
Holcomb’s spokesperson said the governor did not refuse to meet and that the group was connected with the legislative director on Friday, as is the typical process for the office.
‘An effort to silence and punish’
SB 202 doesn’t specifically address or prohibit teaching or discussion about issues of race and racism. But critics say that it would create a culture of fear that would chill free speech and fuel fear of punishment, especially for Black professors.
“It’s hard to not see this for what it is — certainly an effort to silence and punish, and throw water on the voices who would have those types of conversations,” Leslie Etienne, director of the Africana Studies department at IUPUI, told Mirror Indy.
Etienne, who teaches about African-American history and culture, said he worries about being required to show a range of opinions on issues of race and racism.
“How am I supposed to see the other side of Klansmen marching down the street in Nashville, Tennessee?” Etienne said. “If I have to have that conversation with students, what am I supposed to say?”
Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, told Mirror Indy that intellectual diversity, to him, simply means broadly teaching a range of scholarly views.
“I was very clear, unlike some states, to design a bill that would neither mandate or prohibit the teaching of anything,” he said. “By asking faculty in their reviews to explain the ways that they have demonstrated intellectual diversity and created a culture of free expression, that is a very different thing from telling them that they have to be balanced or teach the other side of any particular issue.”
A national trend
Indiana’s legislation is part of a nationwide trend. Similar bills that would limit tenure have been introduced in Texas, Ohio and Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation into law in May 2023.
Unlike Indiana, Florida’s law prohibits the state from spending any money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Fueled by this legislation, the University of Florida eliminated all its DEI staff last week. Texas passed a similar law in 2023 — though separate from its failed attempt to end tenure — that prohibited universities from establishing DEI offices.
Although Indiana’s bill does not directly prohibit discussion, funding or teaching about issues of race, identity or equity, critics say it’s a slippery slope.
“In the context of this bill, being within a national movement to attack DEI,” said Russ Skiba, a former IU professor who co-founded the University Alliance for Racial Justice, “you have to look at where it’s ending up in places like Florida and Texas.”
Deery told Mirror Indy that he feels it’s reasonable to ask public schools to report how much they’re spending on diversity efforts.
“By creating a consistent definition and a consistent reporting process, we can measure the effectiveness and the quantity of it,” he said.
As of Tuesday, SB 202 was awaiting signatures from Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch and House Speaker Todd Huston. After that, Holcomb will have seven days to veto the legislation or sign it into law.
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus.
Contact Mirror Indy reporter Claire Rafford at claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X/Instagram @clairerafford.
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