GOP bill would prohibit race-based UW grants and loans

On votes taken largely along party lines, the state Assembly last week passed several measures related to the UW System, including a bill to prohibit race-based higher education grants and loans, redirecting such programs as the minority teacher loan program and Lawton grants to favor disadvantaged students rather than minority students.

Other bills seek to enshrine student free speech protections into law and to ensure that high-performing in-state high school students have access to the UW System after graduation.

State Rep. Calvin Callahan (R-Tomahawk), who voted for the bills, said that, among other things, they would ensure that higher education grant programs are based on need and not race, and would guarantee admissions for top-performing students at UW-Madison and the rest of the UW-System.

Republicans crafted the bill on race-based programs after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that colleges cannot use affirmative action in admissions.

“The United States Supreme Court ruled on the issue of affirmative action earlier this year,” Callahan said. “To ensure our state’s grant programs are in line with the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, this bill revises the program to remove race as a factor and requires the criteria to be based on a student’s need. I am proud to have co-authored this legislation.”

Specifically, the bill would require Wisconsin to change race-based admissions programs to admission based on need, the latter of which would include students who face unfavorable economic, familial, geographical, physical, or other personal hardship.

But Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Milwaukee) said she was heartbroken over the vote.

“As a state we have made progress in addressing the systemic racism that has plagued our state for decades,” Stubbs said. “However, by passing this bill we are turning back pages of the history books and closing the gates to higher education for many minority students, in addition to pitting minority groups against each other.”

Stubbs cited several issues she had with the bill.

“Technically, this bill is not necessary because we are not in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on affirmative action,” she said. “According to the Wisconsin Legislative Council, the admissions case decision only applies to race-conscious admissions decisions. Race-conscious grants and loans are still legally permissible with the Supreme Court decision.”

In addition, Stubbs said, there is no definition for what would be considered disadvantaged. 

“This bill did not have a definition for disadvantaged in committee and even on the floor still does not have one,” she said. “This bill is incomplete. How are we even considering voting to pass an incomplete bill?”

Stubbs said diversity is a strength, and as a legislative body lawmakers have a responsibility to ensure that the workforce reflects the communities they serve. 

“Children of color deserve to see themselves reflected in the teachers, doctors, and dentists they encounter on a daily basis,” she said. “We also have a responsibility to support our students of color as they complete their studies and enter the working world. We must not pass legislation that will erode that support. It is therefore my obligation to oppose [this bill] and all other measures that will take away opportunities from our minority students and professionals.”

Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said the bill was an out-and-out attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

“We all know how important our universities are to our state,” Neubauer said. “But the GOP-led legislature is failing them. The majority party is ignoring the pressing issues our universities face while attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and micromanaging our schools.”

Instead of building schools and a state where everyone, no matter their background, has great opportunities and a sense of belonging, the legislature is sending a message that Wisconsin doesn’t welcome everyone, Neubauer said.

“Because of the actions of the majority party, hundreds of people across the university system are furloughed and losing their jobs,” she said, “We can’t keep our heads in the sand. It’s time to act and properly invest in campuses in every corner of the state.”

Free speech

Another bill passed last week on a party-line vote of 62-36 would establish a right to free speech on UW campuses. 

Specifically, the bill would not only prohibit UW schools and technical colleges from restricting a speaker’s First Amendment right to free speech but also require the UW System to conduct a biennial survey of students on their First Amendment rights and to submit the results to the Legislature.

Under the bill, a UW institution or technical college may not restrict speech protected under the First Amendment, if the speaker’s conduct is not unlawful and does not materially and substantially disrupt the functioning of the UW institution or technical college.

According to an analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), the institution also cannot restrict expressive activities on publicly accessible, open outdoor areas of its campus and indoor areas that have been designated as public forums, except classrooms while they are in use for instructional purposes, nor may it designate any area of a campus a “free speech zone” or otherwise create policies restricting noncommercial expressive activities to a particular area of a campus.

The institutions likewise cannot require a permit as a condition of being allowed to engage in expressive activities protected under the bill, or charge security fees as part of a permit application, based on the content of expression or anticipated reaction.

Finally, the LRB analysis states, institutions could not sanction individuals or groups for discriminatory harassment unless the speech targets its victim on the basis of a protected class under law, and is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars a student from receiving equal access to educational opportunities or benefits. 

If the institutions are found to have violated the free speech guarantees, they could be fined up to $100,000.

According to the Wisconsin Legislative Council, the bill also establishes due process guarantees for any student, employee, or organization involved in a disciplinary hearing at a UW or technical college institution. Under the amended bill, the analysis states, if such as institution is found to have violated the due process guarantees established by the bill more than once in a five-year period, that institution’s tuition must be frozen for a period of two academic years.

Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) said the bill was necessary because of the censorious conduct being allowed on college campuses around the country.

“Increased campus trends of using tactics such as the heckler’s veto to shout speakers down, disinviting a speaker by way of acquiescence to mob rule, and disproportionate security fees for some groups versus others threaten our commitment to The Wisconsin Idea” Nedweski said. “… “We must be committed to educating students on the nuances of free speech, to providing support for opposing views, and to creating environments that are conducive to a respectful, productive, and meaningful exchange of ideas.”

Republicans say another bill they passed would ensure that the best and brightest students from Wisconsin attend UW campuses by requiring those with a class ranking in the top 5 percent be guaranteed admission to UW-Madison and those with a class ranking in the top 10 percent be guaranteed admission to all other UW schools. 

Callahan said he was glad to support the proposals because they benefit not only students but the state as a whole.

“The UW System states that nearly 90 percent of in-state UW graduates stay here after graduation, and I know that there are many UW alumni working throughout the 35th Assembly District,” he said. “By improving the UW System, we can ensure that the next generation of workers in Wisconsin is prepared to lead us forward.”

The bills now head to the state Senate for their consideration.

Richard Moore may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.