Providing for general education requirements for undergraduate students at regents institutions and including applicability provisions

This bill requires the state board of regents (board) to develop and adopt a policy establishing general education requirements for undergraduate students. The bill provides required content of the policy. The general education requirements shall include required coursework in English, mathematics and statistics, natural sciences, social sciences, the humanities, western heritage, and American heritage. The bill provides minimum semester hours for each subject and specifies additional requirements for certain subjects. The general education requirements shall not exceed total semester hours. The bill provides additional standards for the general education requirements, including standards for transfer students. The bill requires the board to adopt a policy to ensure that courses that satisfy the general education requirements do not distort significant historical events or include any curriculum or other material that teaches identity politics or is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States of America or the state of Iowa. The policy shall not limit the academic freedom of any course instructor to direct the instruction within the instructor’s course or limit the free discussion of ideas in a classroom setting. The bill provides that the general education requirements shall not apply to a student completing a degree program that is designated by a regents institution as a degree program of three years or less in duration. The bill authorizes the board to waive one or more general education requirements for a degree program if the board determines the program is in a complex field or requires an increased amount of focus on the courses related to a student’s major. The bill authorizes any person to notify the attorney general of a regents institution’s potential violation of the requirements of the bill. The attorney general may bring an action against an institution for a writ of mandamus to compel the institution to comply. The bill applies to students beginning enrollment at regents institutions in academic years beginning on or after July 1, 2027.