State budget will limit diversity efforts at Kansas universities. Here's what else is included.

Under the state budget bill, Kansas' public universities would be barred from requiring employees or students to support or oppose diversity, equity and inclusion policies and from using DEI in weighing whether to hire workers who espouse those viewpoints.

Lawmaker sent the state's $17.9 billion spending blueprint to Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday, with increased funding for Kansas nursing homes and a new $2 million pot of money to support anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers.

More: Kansas lawmakers seek university funding info on diversity, equity, critical race theory

Lawmakers also negotiated the diversity, equity and inclusion language for the state's Regents universities, which include the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and four other regional schools.

Republicans say budget proviso bars veiled support for 'radical race-focused ideologies'

The language in House Bill 2184 is intended to bar what Republicans believe to be "oaths" that professors or students might be asked to sign onto. It states that academic freedom and teaching are not to be affected.

Sen. J.R. Claeys, R-Salina, had pointed to language in job postings where applicants are asked to offer materials or explain their experience in handling diversity issues.

"These DEI oaths are veiled litmus tests to ascertain support for radical race-focused ideologies," Claeys said.

Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the language would not have a material impact on the universities' operations.

Jon Rolph, chair of the Kansas Board of Regents, said in a statement that the universities were committed both to free speech and diversity initiatives.

"Those two commitments are not in conflict with each other," Rolph said. "We must respect and protect freedom of expression while also working to ensure that every student in our system can achieve success."

More: Diversity training? Kansas lawmakers say no in budget proviso for social worker licensing

Rep. Brandon Woodard, D-Lenexa, the top Democrat on the budget subcommittee for higher education, said he was pleased lawmakers did not use a more sweeping language proposal brought by the Senate.

But he added that the measure was attempting to will into existence a problem that is not there.

"This is yet another solution in search of a problem," Woodard said.

States across the country have adopted much more strident language on issues of race on college campuses. A Florida bill would prevent universities from spending funds to promote DEI at all and the University of Missouri system has eliminated diversity statements in job postings after legislative pushback.

Kansas legislators also sought to bar the Behavioral Science Review Board from requiring DEI programming or courses in critical race theory or anti-racism as a condition of licensure.

BSRB officials have defended the training requirements for psychologists and social workers as a way of avoiding stereotyping and helping those professionals serve diverse populations. Critics say that programming is divisive.

Lawmakers to boost anti-abortion centers, nursing homes in budget

The budget will add about $339,000 to the Stan Clark Pregnancy Maintenance Initiative, which provides money to organizations that support entities that help women bring their babies to term. It also will allow for services, which are currently capped at six months, to extend through 12 months after birth.

The House also added $2 million in Fiscal Year 2024 for a new program, proposed by Kansans for Life, that offers alternatives to abortion.

While supporters of anti-abortion counseling centers point to the services they provide to pregnant people before and after a child is born, critics say they can promote misinformation and can misleadingly lead women to believe they are tied to abortion clinics, even though most make clear they don't perform abortion services.

The new program could include creating a website listing of services and promote it through advertising on television, radio, the internet and elsewhere.

More: How Kansans for Life plans taxpayer money to benefit anti-abortion pregnancy centers

Billboards along I-70 and I-35 have been contemplated as a way to divert out-of-state people seeking abortions in Kansas away from abortion clinics and to anti-abortion centers.

Other states divert funds to centers, though most elect instead to set up a tax credit program for those who donate to the facilities, a policy Kansas is also considering.

Nursing homes, meanwhile, will see a $96 million funding boost, with the bulk of those funds being distributed based on the number of Medicaid recipients residing at a facility.

The money is designed to avert nursing home closures, with a LeadingAge Kansas report from last year stating that 32 locations have closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

State workers will have to wait and see if they get a pay raise

One item that was not included is a possible pay increase for state workers, which will be deferred to when lawmakers return o Topeka for their annual end-of-session wrap up in late April.

Rep. John Alcala, D-Topeka, voted against the bill, saying that grocery and health care costs are rising while some state employees are underpaid compared to market rates.

"We need to fix it, I wanted to fix it here in this bill," he said. "A lot of our employees are doing a lot more because of the understaffing.

More: Kansas legislators probably make less than you do. Should they change that in 2023?

Lawmakers believe this delay will give them more time to evaluate their options, with Kelly's budget pushing for an across-the-board pay hike of 5%. She also wanted a boost in funding for some job classifications to push the positions closer to market rate.

"I think it would be premature to have something," Waymaster, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said. "Because when we have a pay plan in place, it is ongoing. So, we want to see what the new numbers will be from the consensus revenue estimate group."

Lawmakers also passed a measure that would grant an independent commission the ability to review and adjust legislative pay and benefits. Gov. Laura Kelly has said she supports the measure.

"I think the commission is a very good idea," she said last month. "That is probably the only way we can get to a fair salary structure that meets the needs and allows people to run for the Legislature and doesn't put the legislators of that awful position of having to vote for a pay raise."

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas universities limited in diversity, equity, inclusion efforts