The unrelenting conversation about Senate Bill 202

As SB 202 sits on Gov. Holcomb’s desk, watch a state rep square off with Sen. Spencer Deery on his controversial higher ed reform bill. Meanwhile, questions persist about the DEI aspects of the bill

The conversation about Senate Bill 202 – an Indiana higher education reform measure passed by the General Assembly and awaiting consideration by Gov. Eric Holcomb – isn’t letting up, for sure.

Evidence: Check this week’s episode of “Indiana Lawmakers,” a weekly WFYI panel interview where state Sen. Spencer Deery, a Republican who represents a district that includes Purdue’s West Lafayette campus, continued to defend a bill that takes on perceptions that the state’s campuses aren’t conducive to conservative thought as it deals with tenure and tenure review for faculty.

In it, state Rep. Sheila Klinker, a Lafayette Democrat, casts more doubt on the bill. But it’s state Rep. Ed DeLaney who comes full-bore, picking up where the Indianapolis Democrat left off in Indiana House debate of Senate Bill 202, challenging Deery on several fronts, saying the West Lafayette Republican is “the guy that starts a fire so he can put it out.”

“It’s not a solution, it’s a threat,” DeLaney said, pulling from his jacket an op-ed Deery wrote last week to defend SB202. (DeLaney referenced this passage from Deery’s justification for SB 202: “By any measure, the current system fails to adequately recruit, retain, and cultivate conservative scholars who are then empowered to foster robust, unretaliated debate. That should concern all of us, regardless of our politics.”)

“Where are you going with this?” DeLaney asked Deery, questioning whether the bill suggested some sort of conservative quota system. (Deery rejected that notion.) “Who’s going to decide who’s conservative enough? Do you think you’re going to do that? You can’t do that, and more importantly, you shouldn’t do that.”

Here’s the full back-and-forth:

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On that note, the following piece is in response to an op-ed by Sen. Spencer Deery in a March 6 edition of Based in Lafayette, “Deery: In defense of SB 202, Indiana’s higher ed reform bill.” It comes from Russ Skiba, a professor emeritus at Indiana University and former director of The Equity Project at Indiana University.

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Op-ed: But What about Civil Rights?  A response to Sen. Deery’s defense of SB 202

By Russ Skiba / professor emeritus, Indiana University

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In his recent commentary published here, Sen. Spencer Deery, a West Lafayette Republican and author of Senate Bill 202, attacked several of what he described as myths about the bill.  But his defense falls short, not so much for what it addresses, as for what it fails to mention:  The serious concern expressed by civil rights and faith-based leaders and citizens throughout Indiana that SB 202 is, at heart, racist.

It is surprising that in neither in this statement, nor in news reports, does Deery respond to extensive charges by the Indiana civil rights community that SB 202 is highly discriminatory – both in what its sanctions are levied for (talking about racism and discrimination) and who will be most harmed by the bill (faculty of color). The Statement on the Civil Rights Impact of SB 202, signed by over 1,000 Hoosier residents and endorsed by 70 Indiana organizations, stated that “the draconian penalties that SB 202 seeks to impose for promoting discussion about cultural diversity will drastically reduce intellectual diversity in Indiana’s colleges and universities, and will do so in a way that discriminates against entire segments of our population.”

The NAACP stated that it was “appalled” by the bill.  “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,” said NAACP Indiana President Sadie Harper-Scott.

To respond to the bill’s critics in the civil rights community, Deery could address these questions:

What really is “intellectual diversity?” Deery and other proponents of this bill claim that “intellectual diversity” is meant to guarantee freedom of speech on university campuses.  But the origins of the term “intellectual diversity” suggest its intention was quite different from that claim.  The phrase was coined by hyper-conservative faculty David Horowitz, who exhorted his conservative students to use it to “turn the language that the left has deployed so effectively” against their opponents.  It would be interesting to know how Deery came upon the term, and whether that was his primary purpose in applying it.

Does the Indiana Commission for Higher Education free speech survey really support contentions about free speech at Indiana universities? Last fall, the Commission for Higher Education released a survey of all undergraduates attending Indiana colleges and universities.  Deery has consistently claimed that the results show that conservative students are not free to present their views.  The Commission for Higher Education report says no such thing.  Rather, it shows that three-quarters of Indiana undergraduates feel their school highly values freedom of speech.  Fully 70% believe that speakers on their campus present a wide variety of viewpoints. A majority of those surveyed believe that almost all groups—male/female, White/Black/Latino, liberal/conservative—have the freedom to speak their mind on their campus (with the exception of Native Americans).

Isn’t this bill really about DEI? Civil rights leaders claim that the target of the bill is really diversity, equity and inclusion, and the data seem to support their argument.  The Chronicle for Higher Education includes SB 202 in their list of copycat bills introduced in 28 states this spring with the goal of attacking diversity, equity and inclusion.

If this bill is not about DEI, why are there provisions in the bill that specifically threaten DEI practices at universities? The bill prohibits universities from considering any statement about diversity, equity, and inclusion in student or faculty in admissions, hiring or promotions.  It also requires universities to make a report to the state on their total expenditures on DEI.  Critics have called that the beginnings of a slippery slope eventually leading to the actions like those at the University of Florida, that recently began mass firings of all DEI employees.

What would you say to Indiana’s civil rights and faith-based leaders, who firmly believe that “intellectual diversity” is simply a code word for attacks on DEI? SB 202 contains numerous sanctions, including reprimands, demotion, and even firing for faculty who violate its provisions. As part of the nationwide conservative assault on DEI, many are afraid that these sanctions are intended to threaten faculty speech about racism and discrimination.  Said Pastor David Greene, president of Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, “This bill is a direct attack on diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI. It is the ability for a student who doesn't want to hear about DEI or anything related to that to challenge the professor, and he or she could lose their tenure.” 

What would you say to faculty and graduate students of color who may be planning to leave Indiana in droves when this bill is implemented, about SB 202? Florida has seen a dramatic exodus of faculty in response to the climate created by its anti-DEI bills — nine of 12 of its universities have seen increases in faculty resignations since the Gov. Ron DeSantis attacks began, some by almost 30%.  The New York Times reported that faculty of color were most at risk for leaving in response to such bills.

How will this impact major initiatives planned by Indiana universities to recruit top faculty of color to their campuses? In 2021, Indiana University announced a $30 million campaign to hire new faculty of color.  How will they explain to candidates of color that, if they come to Indiana, they will face a system that allows students to report them to the administration for speaking in class about their history and heritage, with possible consequences of reprimand, demotion, or firing?

These are the questions that ought to be put to Sen. Deery.  In justifying SB 202, he should explain to any Indiana citizen concerned about fairness and equity how they are mistaken when they see this bill as an about-face putting Indiana squarely on a path back to its tragically racist past.

Skiba is a professor emeritus in the School Psychology program at Indiana University and former director of The Equity Project at Indiana University.

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More coverage

Here’s some of the coverage in recent weeks, as Senate Bill 202 went through the Indiana House, via Based in Lafayette:

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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.