Commencing with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, and each succeeding fiscal year, the matching aggregate amount of institutional financial aid shall be at least equal to the match provided by eligible institutions under section 261.9, subsection 3, paragraph “a”, Code 2023.

Sec.

___.

19.1261K.1 Definitions.

As used in this chapter:chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

'Diversity,“Department” equity,means andthe inclusiondepartment - includes any of theeducation. following:

a.

Any effort to manipulate or otherwise influence the composition of the employees or student body with reference to race, sex, color, or ethnicity, apart from ensuring colorblind and sex-neutral admissions and hiring in accordance with state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

b.

Any effort to promote differential treatment of or provide special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity.

c.

Any effort to promote or promulgate policies and procedures designed or implemented to encourage preferential treatment of or provide special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity.

House File 856, p .

2 d.

Any effort to promote or promulgate trainings, programming, or activities designed or implemented to encourage preferential treatment of or provide special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

e.

Any effort to promote, as the official position of the state entity, a policy, program, training, practice, activity, or procedure referencing unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, anti-racism, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neopronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, racial privilege, sexual privilege, or any related formulation of these concepts.

"Diversit“Diversity, y, equity, and inclusioninclusion” office - means anythe division,same office,as center,defined orin othersection unit261J.1, ofas aenacted stateby entity2024 thatIowa isActs, responsiblech. for creating, developing, designing, implementing, organizing, planning, or promoting policies, programming, training, practices, activities, or procedures related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Diversity,1152, equity,§31. and inclusion office" does not include any of the following:

a.

An office staffed exclusively by licensed attorneys and paralegal and secretarial support for the licensed attorneys, and certified by the attorney general as operating with the sole and exclusive mission of ensuring legal compliance with the state entity's obligations under Tit.

IX of the federal Education Amendments Act of 1972, 20 U.S.C.

§1681 et seq., as amended, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.

§12101 et seq., as amended, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C.

§621 et seq., as amended, the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub.

L.

No.

88-352, as amended, or any other applicable federal or state law or a court order.

b.

An academic department within a public school that exists primarily for the purpose of offering courses and that does not establish a policy or procedure to which other departments of the public school are subject.

c.

An office solely engaged in recruitment.

House File 856, p.

3 d.

A registered student organization.

e.

An office that a state entity is required to maintain pursuant to a contract or agreement with a federal governmental entity.

"Diversit“Diversity, y, equity, and inclusion officer'office” means anthe individualsame whoas isdefined eitherin employedsection by261J.1, aas stateenacted entityby or2024 whoIowa isActs, anch. independent contractor of a state entity and whose duties include coordinating, creating, developing, designing, implementing, organizing, planning, or promoting policies, programming, training, practices, activities, and procedures relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

"Diversity,1152, equity,§31. and inclusion officer -does not include any of the following:

a.

Any employee who is a licensed attorney and whose sole job duties related to diversity, equity, and inclusion are to ensure compliance with the state entity's obligations under Tit.

IX of the federal Education Amendments Act of 1972, 20 U.S.C.

§1681 et seq., as amended, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.

§12101 et seq., as amended, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 2 9 U.S.C.

§621 et seq., as amended, the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub.

L .

No.

88-352, as amended, or any other applicable federal or state law or a court order.

b.

Any employee while engaged in teaching, research, or the production of creative works, the dissemination of the employee's research or creative works, or advising a registered student organization.

c.

A guest speaker or performer with a short-term engagement.

d.

Any employee that a state entity is required to employ pursuant to a contract or agreement with a federal governmental entity.

"Gender“Private identityinstitution -of higher education” means aan gender-relatedaccredited identityprivate ofinstitution aas person,defined regardlessin ofsection the256.183 person'sor assignedan sexeligible atinstitution birth.as defined in section 256.183.

5.

-Sexual orientation - means the same as defined in section 216.2.

6.

State entity - means the state, including but not limited to a state agency, department, division, board, commission, institution, or authority;

a city;

a county;

a township;

or any House File 856, p .

4 other political subdivision or special district in this state as established pursuant to state or local law.

2.___.

19.2261K.2 RestrictionsDiversity, onequity, useand ofinclusion moneys.office prohibited.

A stateprivate entityinstitution shallof nothigher expendeducation anyshall moneysnot, appropriatedexcept byas theotherwise generalprovided assemblyby federal or anystate otherlaw moneys derived from bequests, charges, deposits, donations, endowments, fees, grants, gifts, income, receipts, tuition, or anyaccreditation otherstandards, source to establish, sustain, support, or staff a diversity, equity, and inclusion office,office. or to contract, employ, engage, or hire an individual to serve as a diversity, equity, and inclusion officer.

Subsection 1 shall not be construed to cover or affect a stateprivate entity'sinstitution of higher education’s funding of any of the following:

Research or creative works by the stateprivate entity'sinstitution of higher education’s students, employees,faculty, or other research HF 856.909 (2) 91 -3- je/ns 3/5 personnel, and the dissemination of such research or creative works.

IF.

Policies, programming, training, practices, activities, or procedures related to diversity, equity, and inclusion that are required pursuant to a contract or agreement with a federal governmental entity.

Subsection 1 shall not be construed as prohibiting bona fide qualifications based on sex that are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of theprivate statehigher entity.education.

3.___.

19.3261K.3 EnforcementEnforcement. — venue.

Any person may notifyreport thea attorneyprivate generalinstitution of ahigher stateeducation’s entity's potential violation of section 19.2.261K.2 to the attorney general.

The attorney general mayshall bringprovide annotice action against a state entity for a writ of mandamussuch report to compel the statedepartment entityand tothe complyinstitution withwithin sectionfifteen 19.2.days.

2.No later than thirty days after receiving such notice, the institution shall do one of the following:

A student enrolled in a public school, an alumnus of a public school, or an employee of a state entity alleging a violation of section 19.2 may bring a civil action for injunctive relief against the state entity to prohibit the House File 856, p.

5 state entity from continuing such violation.

3.

An action brought under this section may be brought in any of the following:

TheCorrect countythe inviolation whichand allprovide ordocumentation a substantial part of the eventscorrection orto omissionsthe givingattorney risegeneral toand the actiondepartment. occurred.

TheProvide countydocumentation into whichthe attorney general and the principaldepartment officedemonstrating that the action of the stateinstitution entityupon iswhich located.the report was based was not a violation of section 261K.2.

C.2.

TheIf, countyupon the conclusion of the thirty-day period provided in whichsubsection 1, the claimantinstitution resides,has ifnot complied with subsection 1, paragraph “a”, or provided documentation under subsection 1, paragraph “b”, that demonstrates to the claimantsatisfaction isof anthe individualattorney andgeneral residesthat a violation of section 261K.2 did not occur, the institution shall be ineligible to participate in thisthe state.tuition grant program under chapter 256, subchapter VII, part 4, subpart B, as of the next academic year beginning thereafter.

d.If either action is carried out by the institution by October 1 of an academic year, eligibility shall be restored as of the next academic year beginning after such action is carried out.

The countyattorney inHF which856.909 a(2) defendant91 resides,-4- ifje/ns the4/5 defendantgeneral isshall annotify individualthe andcollege residesstudent inaid commission to this state.effect.> 4.

Sec.Title page, by striking lines 1 through 4 and inserting <An Act prohibiting public entities from engaging in certain activities relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating a private cause of action, and including> 5.

EFFECTIVEBy DATE.renumbering as necessary.

This______________________________ divisionCOLLINS of thisDes Act,Moines beingHF deemed856.909 of(2) immediate91 importance,-5- takesje/ns effect5/5 upon enactment.

DIVISION II COMMUNITY COLLEGES — DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED Sec.

Section 261J.1, subsection 2, paragraph a, as enacted by 2024 Iowa Acts, chapter 1152, section 31, is amended to read as follows:

a.

() An With respect to an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents, an office staffed exclusively by licensed attorneys and paralegal and secretarial support for the licensed attorneys, and certified by the attorney general as operating with the sole and exclusive mission of ensuring legal compliance with the public institution of higher education's obligations under Tit.

IX of the federal Education Amendments Act of 1972, 20 U.S.C.

§1681 et seq., as amended, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.

§12101 et seq., as amended, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C.

§621 et seq., as amended, the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub.

L.

No.

88-352, as amended, or any other applicable federal or state law or a court order.

(2) With respect to a community college, an office ensuring legal compliance.

Sec.

Section 261J.1, subsection 3, as enacted by 2024 Iowa Acts, chapter 1152, section 31, is amended to read as follows:

3.

Public institution of higher education - means an House File 856, p .

6 institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents or a community college.

Sec.

7.

Section 261J.4, as enacted by 2024 Iowa Acts, chapter 1152, section 34, is amended to read as follows:

261J.4 Reporting.

Each public institution of higher education governed by the state board of regents shall, on or before December 1 of each year, submit an annual report to the general assembly and the governor that certifies the public institution of highcr cdu ation"s institution's compliance with this chapter.

Sec.

8.

2024 Iowa Acts, chapter 1152, section 36, is amended to read as follows:

SEC.

36.

FY 2025-2026 APPROPRIATIONS — REALLOCATION.

At the close of the fiscal year beginning July 1 , 2025, all unexpended moneys appropriated by the general assembly for the fiscal year that would have been expended by an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents on diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or diversity, equity, and inclusion officers on or after the effective date of this division of this Act are reallocated to the Iowa workforce grant and incentive program fund established pursuant to section 256.230, subsection 8 .

PAT GRASSL AMY SINCLAIR Speaker of the House President of the Senate I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and is known as House File 856, Ninety-first General Assembly.

Approved