Kansas Regents approve DEI classroom policy for university courses

KU professors now have a formal state line to judge when classroom material crosses into DEI-CRT territory after the Kansas Board of Regents unanimously approved a new policy in Topeka on Wednesday. For Lawrence, the immediate effect is practical: departments at the University of Kansas may have to review syllabi, degree maps and required courses before the new school year begins.

The policy says DEI-related content is material that intentionally establishes and promotes preferential treatment of groups based on race, color, gender, ethnicity or national origin. It says CRT-related content is material that presents racism as systemic within laws, policies or institutions and promotes acceptance of that viewpoint rather than treating it as a scholarly, historical or legal study. Under that framework, KU can still teach about systemic racism in required courses, but faculty cannot push students to accept that idea as fact.

That distinction matters for the classroom work most KU students encounter in Lawrence, especially in history, political science and other required courses that deal with race, law and public policy. KU Chancellor Doug Girod warned that ambiguous language would make it hard for faculty to know what is allowed, while Regent Peter Johnston said the definition needed to be narrow enough that historians and political scientists could keep studying these subjects without running afoul of the law. Chief academic officers from Kansas universities asked for a clearer revision, but regents did not adopt it.

The budget proviso behind the rule requires the regents to adopt the policy before the 2026-27 school year and directs universities to certify by the end of July 2028 that degree programs do not require DEI- or CRT-related classes, except for limited programs whose titles clearly focus on racial, ethnic or gender studies. That gives KU a long compliance runway, but it also adds uncertainty for hiring, retention and student recruitment at one of Douglas County’s largest employers, where faculty will be watching how far the new definitions reach into actual course design. The policy follows earlier 2025 guidance that already pushed state universities to eliminate DEI positions, programs and training.