The Iowa Board of Regents will no longer consider the second reading of a draft board policy that would have banned the required courses that have “substantial content that conveys” Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion principles and Critical Race Theory.

The policy mimics a proposed Iowa bill that did not gain enough traction to become law this session. The regents negotiated with Iowa lawmakers last spring to bring many of their proposals through as board policy to allow them to ensure they work for the regent system.

Iowa Board of Regents President Sherry Bates released a written statement on Tuesday explaining her decision to remove it from the agenda for their July 30 board meeting at the University of Northern Iowa.

“This is an important issue, and we have heard people’s concerns,” Bates wrote in the statement. “After numerous thoughtful discussions, we have determined we will not consider the proposed policy at the July meeting. We will continue reviewing the feedback, and the Board will identify a future meeting to consider this issue.”

With pressure from the federal and state governments to root out DEI and “woke ideologies” from Iowa’s regents universities, the regents have made a number of policy changes to implement changes brought forth by Iowa lawmakers in the newly formed Iowa House Higher Education Committee last session.