Idaho's New DEI Ban in Higher Education: SB 1198 Fact Sheet

1. Bans DEI programs. After July 1, 2025, Idaho public higher education institutions cannot fund or maintain DEI offices, officers, or related programs. It explicitly bans any training, activities, and hiring initiatives that promote broadly defined DEI concepts, including things like unconscious bias, microaggressions, systemic racism, and gender theory.  
2. Bans required DEI courses. The law prohibits Idaho public higher ed institutions from requiring DEI-related courses as part of general academic degree requirements. There are exceptions, however: departments or degree programs focused on racial, ethnic, or gender studies are still permitted to require courses otherwise considered “DEI” related. 
3. Bans bias reporting systems. The law bans higher ed institutions from maintaining bias reporting systems. Bias reporting systems typically allow students, faculty, and other members of the university community to report instances of discrimination, harassment, hate, or bias. Bias reporting also helps ensure universities comply with internal nondiscrimination policies as well as federal nondiscrimination regulation and policy, like Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act (which protect against employment discrimination based on sex, race, and other immutable characteristics).  
4. Requires annual reporting. The law requires all Idaho public higher ed institutions submit a yearly report to the Idaho Attorney General’s office and the state legislature. The report must detail instances of noncompliance and explain violation remedies, or else certify compliance with the law.  
5. Redirects funds. The law allows any funds used to support DEI offices, programs, or officers instead be reallocated to “merit-based” scholarships. Universities have discretion over such scholarships; each institution can decide whether to establish such funding mechanisms at all, and the kinds of requirements and awarding processes for these merit scholarships, so long as the funds are used only for merit-based awards to in-state students. Funds reallocation for merit scholarships begins fiscal year 2026.  
6. Grants the Attorney General new authority. The Idaho Attorney General is responsible for enforcing compliance with the new law. Violations could result in harsh penalties, including up to 10 percent of the operating cost of the DEI program, or $50,000, whichever is greater.  
7. Allows students and faculty to sue. Students, faculty, and staff can file lawsuits against the university for implementing DEI programs and initiatives.

Because the new law includes some terms that aren’t well-defined, the practical impacts are difficult to predict. For instance, higher ed administrators and faculty may fear violating the law and be overly cautious about the kinds of content taught to students, leading to self-censorship or otherwise chilled academic speech. 

And while “DEI“ is broadly defined, the law is explicit about a few of its provisions. In particular, it states that after July 1, 2025, Idaho public colleges and universities cannot: 

1. Maintain or staff DEI offices, engage DEI officers or consultants, or fund DEI-related activities
2. Require students to take DEI-related courses to fulfill academic degree requirements
3. Incentivize faculty to include DEI content in their courses
4. Sponsor or promote DEI-related training  
5. Implement or maintain bias reporting systems

The law provides definitions of certain terms that your college will likely use to create new policy. Review your student handbook or speak with an administrator to familiarize yourself with how the law will be implemented at your school.  

Yes. The law includes exceptions for programs or trainings required by federal law, including Title IX and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new law also directly states it should not restrict academic freedom, discussion of race, gender, or other topics related to diversity/inclusion in the classroom. It should not impact any student organizations, programs, or activities that do not use state funds.

If you teach or are enrolled in an academic program that addresses topics of race, gender, or other concepts that may be considered “DEI” related, you should still be allowed to require what would otherwise be considered “DEI” courses. Speak to your program director, dean, or other academic program administrator for guidance about how the new law may impact course offerings, including required courses.

Students and faculty, even under the new law, have the right to academic freedom; the law states explicitly that universities should not interpret the law in ways that restrict academic freedom.  

Academic freedom is a concept closely related to the idea of free speech but there are important differences. The First Amendment, for example, grants freedom of speech to everyone equally. Academic freedom, meanwhile, involves discerning the educational value of ideas – whether the idea represents valid information based on scientific or other disciplinary standards and rigor. And unlike First Amendment speech rights, which protect the individual from government interference, academic freedom is regulated through collective determination, including peer review and disciplinary standards.    

Still, academics, researchers, and students have the right to access quality information about a wide range of ideas, including controversial, unpopular, and even politically charged concepts and schools of thought. In fact, the idea of academic freedom is meant to protect against government interference and censorship – again, even of controversial topics. In practical terms, this means the new law should not interfere with the discussion of race, gender, or other topics deemed to be related to DEI in the classroom.  

Similarly, students have the right to organize or maintain groups and clubs that may be considered DEI-related, as long as these clubs do not receive funding from their home university. That’s because the new law bans higher ed institutions from funding DEI-related programming, offices, and so on. Student clubs that are self-organized around racial justice or gender issues, and that do not receive any funding or other institutional support should not be impacted by the new law.