The six flagship state universities of Kansas; Emporia State, Fort Hays State, Kansas State, Pittsburg State, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State will receive $2 million each after the Legislature certified that the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR), responsible for setting post-secondary education policy in the state, had re-defined “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI) and “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) to conform with directions from the U.S. Department of Education.
The board moved to define the phrase “DEI-related content” as “content that intentionally establishes and promotes the preferential treatment of groups based on race, color, gender, ethnicity, or national origin.” Meanwhile, “CRT-related content” will be defined as material that “presents racism as systemic within laws, policies, or institutions and promotes acceptance of that viewpoint, rather than presenting it as a subject of scholarly, historical, or legal study.”
However, discussions of race, racism, or the history of the civil rights movement do not constitute DEI nor CRT-related content under those definitions, KBOR General Counsel John Yeary told board members at a meeting ahead of the actions.
He added that the definition would not prohibit post-secondary educational institutions from complying with federal law or state law, including anti-discrimination laws.
The Kansas Legislature, through House Bill 2513, had withheld the $12 million until the State Finance Council (SFC) had certified KBOR’s compliance with the federal directive. That compliance covered these areas:
During fiscal year 2027, on or before July 31, 2026, the secretary of administration, in consultation with the governor’s department, shall certify to the members of the state finance council that all state agencies have:
(1) Eliminated any positions that relate to diversity, equity and inclusion;
(2) Eliminated any mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities relating to diversity, equity and inclusion;
(3) Eliminated any training requirements in diversity, equity and inclusion for any employee;
(4) Canceled any state grants or contracts relating to diversity, equity and inclusion; and
(5) Created standardized email signature blocks for state employees’ email accounts that do not contain gender identifying pronouns.
The SFC is made up of the governor, president of the Senate, the speaker of the House, the majority leaders of the House and Senate, the minority leaders of both chambers, the chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations.
