Board of Regents reviews potential policy and bylaw changes after Education Department guidance; faculty urge pause

The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska convened a special meeting this morning to review proposed changes to system policies and bylaws prompted by a Department of Education communication dated Feb. 14, 2025, President Gold told the board. "Because of recent communication from the Department of Education ... dated 02/14/2025, we recommended ... that a special meeting be convened to address bylaws and policy changes," Gold said.

The discussion was informational; President Gold recommended that bylaw changes follow the board's two-agenda-cycle rule and that policy changes be reviewed with legal counsel before any vote. Gold said the system leadership and general counsel had reviewed potential edits and presented four policy items for consideration: Regents Policy 3.10.3 (equal opportunity employment), Regents Policy 5.2.0.1 (admission standards), Regents Policy 5.7.0.4 (tuition levels) and Regents Policy 5.8.0.4 (nonresident tuition remission for children of alumni). He urged the board to take time to review, consult stakeholders and consider pending litigation affecting federal guidance.

Why it matters: the Department of Education guidance and recent executive orders addressing diversity, equity and inclusion have prompted public universities nationwide to evaluate whether system policies and bylaws require revision. Changes to the Board of Regents' bylaws would require notice and action at a subsequent meeting; policy revisions can be enacted by board vote at a single meeting, making the distinction consequential for timing and process.

During public comment, seven faculty and campus-affiliated speakers told the regents the university should not preemptively strip language affirming diversity, equity and inclusion from policies or bylaws. Ted Hammond, a professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, described the federal grant Project RAICES and asked the board to understand the program before altering policy. "Project RAICES has been a grant, dollars 5,250,000.00 ... Dollars 2,800,000.0 of that has been the University of Nebraska side," Hammond said, adding that roughly one-quarter of the university portion was a local match and that the program provides 16 full scholarships as part of a grow-your-own teacher initiative.

Several academic speakers framed the Education Department guidance and recent executive orders as legally unsettled and warned that removing DEI commitments would harm students and the university’s mission. Crystal Garcia, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Administration, told the board, "This is not law," referring to the executive order and the Dear Colleague letter, and urged Regents to pause. Elizabeth Niehaus, a member of the University of Nebraska AAUP chapter and Department of Educational Administration, delivered a memo from legal scholars arguing that the executive order and related guidance are legally vulnerable and should not be treated as mandatory grounds for eliminating DEI efforts.

Other speakers emphasized research showing benefits of diverse learning environments and warned of practical consequences if institutions reduce DEI commitments. Stephanie Bondi, who studies higher education, said decades of research show that diversity and equity initiatives "support retention and graduation rates of all our students," and urged Regents to consult higher-education experts in addition to legal counsel. Daryl Hatch Tokaimaza and another faculty speaker identified as Bertie also urged the Regents to reconsider any preemptive policy rollbacks and to preserve policies that support community engagement, recruitment and student success.

President Gold summarized the administration's recommendation: present proposed policy and bylaw changes for board review, use the bylaw notice period for any bylaw amendments, and allow time for stakeholder input and for the legal landscape to evolve while court challenges and temporary restraining orders remain pending. He said leadership would continue reviewing campus-level policies and procedures to ensure compliance and alignment with the system review.

Votes at a glance: the board approved a motion to accept the minutes earlier in the meeting; the special-meeting discussion of policy and bylaw changes remained informational and no board votes on those proposals were taken.

What’s next: President Gold and system leadership will circulate the proposed policy edits for review; bylaw changes would be provided for information and returned for a later vote consistent with the Board of Regents' rules. Public commenters requested that the board delay any substantive removals of DEI language until legal questions are resolved and stakeholder input is gathered.