```

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 608 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 608

Recognizing the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts 
                          in higher education.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2023

 Mr. Veasey (for himself, Mr. Allred, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. Johnson 
of Georgia, Ms. Norton, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Crockett, Mr. 
Payne, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. 
  Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Castor of Florida, 
Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Soto, Ms. Barragan, Mr. 
 Cardenas, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Evans, Ms. Brown, 
  Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. McGarvey, Mrs. McClellan, Mr. Carson, Ms. 
 Clarke of New York, Mr. Takano, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Moulton, 
Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Wilson of Florida, 
     Mr. Horsford, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Carter of 
Louisiana, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Frost, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Jacobs, 
 Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Strickland, Ms. Kuster, Ms. Stevens, Ms. 
Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mrs. 
   Beatty, Mrs. Torres of California, Ms. Porter, Ms. Plaskett, Mrs. 
Fletcher, Ms. Titus, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Case, Ms. 
     Dean of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Casar) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
                               Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Recognizing the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts 
                          in higher education.

Whereas one of the primary goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in 
        higher education is to create a learning environment where all students, 
        faculty, and staff succeed and thrive;
Whereas, while students of color receive the greatest benefits of having 
        educators that look like them, diversity benefits everyone;
Whereas, when students experience a sense of belonging on campus, their 
        academic, health, and engagement outcomes improve;
Whereas having different and divergent perspectives can create positive learning 
        outcomes;
Whereas academic freedom is a cornerstone of a college or university's mission, 
        allowing faculty, staff, and students to pursue their curiosity and 
        interests, free from political interference or intrusion, and advance 
        the public good;
Whereas diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts strengthen an institution's 
        ability to recruit, hire, develop, promote, and retain the Nation's 
        talent and remove barriers to equal opportunity;
Whereas providing full opportunity to the Nation's talent is vital to the health 
        of the Nation's economy and crucial to addressing the ongoing critical 
        needs in the Nation's businesses, hospitals, classrooms, and other 
        economic and social endeavors;
Whereas historically disenfranchised groups have faced barriers in participating 
        in the classroom setting as students, faculty, and staff;
Whereas a growing body of evidence demonstrates that diverse, equitable, 
        inclusive, and accessible workplaces yield higher performing 
        institutions of higher education;
Whereas strong higher education programs help educators recognize the value and 
        unique aspects of what makes each student different, and help them 
        embrace those differences in the classroom;
Whereas many institutions of higher education across the country, including 
        minority-serving institutions such as historically Black colleges and 
        universities, Tribal colleges and universities, and Hispanic-serving 
        institutions, struggle to recruit and hire a more diverse teaching 
        workforce;
Whereas investing in and providing guidance on cultural competence and antibias 
        trainings and resources for hiring managers help develop initiatives 
        that increase the racial diversity of the workforce;
Whereas States can improve retention of teachers of color by investing in 
        programming that provides ongoing support and growth opportunities, and 
        improves poor working conditions that disproportionately impact teachers 
        of color;
Whereas State legislatures are attempting to dismantle diversity, equity, and 
        inclusion initiatives at institutions of higher education;
Whereas the notion that diversity, equity, and inclusion policies favor one 
        demographic group over another ignores Federal antidiscrimination law; 
        and
Whereas prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, as well as related 
        trainings and consideration of race, gender, or ethnicity in hiring 
        decisions, threatens the academic mission of institutions of higher 
        education and the ability of institutions to provide a diverse and 
        inclusive learning environment: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the importance of diversity, equity, and 
        inclusion efforts at institutions of higher education;
            (2) acknowledges the importance of diversity, equity, and 
        inclusion pursuant to the House rules of the 118th Congress;
            (3) champions diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, 
        including implicit bias training, common ground training, 
        facilitated conversation, cultural sensitivity, community 
        engagement, and antioppression training in higher education; 
        and
            (4) supports and acknowledges the importance of academic 
        freedom for faculty, staff, and students at institutions of 
        higher education
                                 <all>
```