In quite a few non-blue states, we find higher-education-reform efforts moving forward, as legislators and boards respond to the way leftists have turned colleges and universities into platforms for “progressive” indoctrination. The Martin Center has been running articles on those states, and today we take a look at Arizona.
Timothy Minella of the Goldwater Institute begins:
As a battleground state in our national political contests, Arizona is also ground zero in the fight over the future of higher education in America. Higher-ed-reform advocates have notched several victories in Arizona recently, but the forces in favor of the status quo have stubbornly resisted many of these efforts, leaving much still to be done. Effective and lasting reform will require either a significant course correction by the state’s universities themselves, or else the direct intervention of the Arizona legislature or the Arizona Board of Regents (or both) to exercise more aggressive oversight, especially regarding curriculum and employment.
One important measure is a prospective amendment to the state constitution that would close a loophole that allows higher-education officials to bypass the law against racial discrimination. Another important measure now in place is a ban on using “diversity statements” to discriminate against anyone who doesn’t adhere to the leftist worldview.
And of course, there is the battle against DEI courses that preach that leftist worldview. Minella wants to see them gone, but without trampling on academic freedom. He writes:
Fortunately, there is a way to prevent universities from requiring courses of dubious value while protecting academic freedom. The Goldwater Institute and Speech First have developed the Freedom from Indoctrination Act, a model policy to ensure that no student is forced to take courses promoting DEI concepts like microaggressions and intersectionality. This model policy may be adopted by state legislatures or boards of state universities (or both).
Read the whole thing.