Intellectual Diversity Bill Killed in S.D. Senate

According to the South Dakota Politics[*1] blog, the bill requiring South Dakota universities to report on intellectual diversity was defeated on the last day of the session.

Not surprisingly, the bill became partisan, with the Democrats almost unanimously opposing it, mostly at the behest of the teachers’ unions, but some also listend to the ACLU, which also opposed it. The Democrats also know that the universities are their political allies, so it was no surprise they wanted to protect them from even the most minimal legislative oversight. The executive director of the Board of Regents, Tad Perry, was also hysterical in his attacks on the bill, even though he said he was happy to provide reports to the legislature (which he clearly is not). Several Republican legislators were furious with Perry for his grandstanding and he burned a lot of bridges.

The South Dakota universities really don’t need to alienate support in the Legislature, as there’s not much of that there to begin with.

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[Politics][*2] [Education][*3] [Current Affairs][*4] [South Dakota][*5] [Intellectual Diversity][*6]