Meeting Public Comments

Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.

Comments Submitted:

02-10-2026

Jeffrey Anderson [Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church]

The IA Conf. UMC strongly opposes HSB 537. We have opposed all bills that have sought to prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) based on our strongly held religious beliefs that call us to advocate for policies in support of DEI. The majority of Iowas private colleges are affiliated with religious denominations, including our three UM affiliated colleges. The needbased Iowa Tuition Grant provided by the state, which is matched by the colleges, benefits students for whom a private college option might not otherwise be available AND saves the state money that it would spend if they attended a public institution instead. We see HSB 537 as attempt by the state to exert control over Iowa's private colleges, potentially putting their financial viability in jeopardy unless they disavow one of the strongly held beliefs they were founded upon. Last year the IA Senate recognized this would be a bad precedent and rejected this bill. We would ask the IA House to please do the same.

02-10-2026

Jeffrey Anderson [Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church]

The IA Conf UMC strongly opposes HSB 542 that would restrict topics defined as DEI from being included in certain courses at Regents institutions.It's an unfortunate but undeniable fact that discrimination based on race, sex, & gender has occurred in our country(and in our denomination), but we have not achieved a truly inclusive, colorblind society, and polices that aim to eliminate DEI are not neutral".The claim that merit must be the only factor considered begs the questions; merit defined as what and by whom? Many topics that would be prohibited from being discussed in this bill are ones we regularly hear preached about from our UM pulpits and that we discuss and wrestle with in our classes/studies. These topics are challenging, and some would say divisive, but being exposed to challenging topics, discussing them, thinking critically about them, and forming ones own conclusions describes the process of learning, not indoctrination. We would ask that you please reject HSB 542.