State Assembly Republicans Approve Wide Range of Proposals Affecting Higher Education

Thursday, November 9th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(By Anya van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Public Radio) Assembly lawmakers on Tuesday approved a wide range of proposals that would affect higher education in the state, including an automatic-admission policy for the flagship campus at the Universities of Wisconsin and standardized rules around free speech on state campuses, which Republicans argued would expand intellectual diversity and Democrats warned would have a chilling effect.

According to Anya van Wagtendonk with Wisconsin Public Radio, lawmakers also approved changing higher education programs aimed at expanding minority enrollment so that they remove race-specific language and target students deemed "disadvantaged" instead.

The slate of higher education legislation comes amid a political battle over pay raises for most UW employees. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, has said those increases will be on hold until the UW System eliminates positions related to diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI.

Late last month, Gov. Tony Evers filed suit against Republican lawmakers, saying blocking the raises oversteps their legislative authority. On Tuesday, lawmakers unanimously approved pay raises for most other public employees. Democrats used that vote to call attention to the outstanding UW raises.

The proposal to change race-based programs would forbid schools to build programs that consider "the student's race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or religion." Those programs include certain grants and loans.

It comes months after the U.S. Supreme Court determined that race-conscious admissions practices at colleges and universities are unlawful. Rep. Nik Rettinger, R-Mukwonago, said the Wisconsin proposal builds upon that ruling in an attempt to make state colleges and universities "color-blind."

"It ensures that every applicant is evaluated solely on their individual merits, which is what these decisions should be based on: academics, extracurriculars, true financial need," he said.

Critics of removing such programs say that they exist to rectify historic injustices that have led to underrepresentation of certain groups from higher education, including elite institutions like the flagship UW-Madison.

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