Meeting Public Comments

Courtney Collier

Vote YES on HSB 155Thank you for bringing this bill. Enough of the nonsense of DEI. We must prevent the waste of taxpayer dollars on DEI hires and departments, which serve to spread divisive and harmful false narratives including reverse racism. Some entities including schools are now trying to hide their DEI positions and departments by simply renaming them. America is a country that is color blind and based on character and merit.

Mandy Gilbert

Please support this bill! Our schools need to focus on each and every child based on individual need, not based on their immutable traits to provide a quality education. Our district paid over $130,000 per year for a DEI director that could have been better spent on reducing class size by hiring more teachers or providing resources needed for struggling students. In our district the most poor, disadvantaged, lower scoring children were not the ones DEI positiions were even focused on. Return to focusing on a quality education instead of political ideologies that were shoved on students by DEI positions.

Kory Fischer

I support this bill, please pass.Thank you.

Rick Phillips [PELLA PAC]

We support the passage of HSB155. Whenever we watch these raucous mobs protesting any common sense legislation proposed to protect the next generation, we dont see people articulating a respectable point of view. We see emotional in your face mob behaviors characteristic of fascism. Behind this behavior we can be assured DEI indoctrination is being utilized in schools and has been over the past decade. The best course of action is reverse engineering DEI out of the education system at all levels. A great first step to that reverse engineering is cutting all DEI funding and prohibiting the expenditure of existing funds for DEI recruiters and officers proselytizing innocent kids in our Iowa public educational institutions. We thank you, Rep. Wheeler, for your attention given to this important matter. A great catch, sir!

Evelyn Nikkel [PELLA PAC]

Absolutely PASS this important bill. Our taxpayer dollars are wasted on this social justice baloney. It is now US policy to recognize two sexes, male and female, and not to promote gender ideology or sexual orientation, two imaginary dividers of our people. US diplomats have strongly condemned these DEI terms and concepts as radical, immoral discrimination and demeaning categories being unfair and dangerous to women and girls. This fake ideology stands in defiance of biological reality. Do NOT waste our money on some fad that is already headed for the trash can. Thank you for bringing this bill and using our hardearned tax money for worthwhile actions that actually help Iowa citizens.

Stacy Volmer

Vote NO! House Study Bill 155 is not only unconstitutionalit goes against the fundamental moral values of fairness, dignity, and respect for all people. DEI programs help create environments where all individuals are treated with fairness, reflecting the belief that every person is valuable and deserving of respect.By banning funding for DEI efforts, this bill suppresses conversations about fairness and justice while making it harder for institutions to address discrimination. It also violates the First Amendment by restricting free speech and undermines the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which ensures fairness under the law. Additionally, it weakens compliance with federal civil rights laws that protect individuals from discrimination.A just society is one that ensures equal opportunity for all, rather than silencing efforts to address real issues. House Study Bill 155 is a step backward, and it must be rejected.

Mary Jobst

I strongly support this bill to protect children DEI ideology that divides, excludes, and indoctrinates.