Michigan students caught in tug-of-war between state and federal government

Michigan college students could lose state financial aid if their institution does not adopt diversity, equity, and inclusion policies — and their institution could lose federal funding if it has one.

The Michigan Senate’s bill to fund university education, Senate Bill 167, were it agreed to by the House and signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, would limit financial aid to students whose college has a DEI program.

The bill “prohibits State financial aid awards to go to students enrolled at an institution that does not have a board-approved policy of inclusion and non-discrimination that includes race, ethnicity, citizenship, color, religion, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, ability status, or any other characteristic protected under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act,” said Josh Sefton, deputy director of the Senate Fiscal Agency, in an email to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

This means that students would be disqualified from certain scholarships and grants if their institution does not have a board-approved DEI program.

Sen. Thomas A. Albert, R-Lowell, objected to this provision during a session day held May 13.

“My amendment would cut language that discriminates against certain college students and attempts to push DEI on our universities,” Albert said, according to the Senate Journal. His amendment failed on a party-line vote, with Republicans losing to Democrats, who hold the majority in the Senate.

Students who enroll at a college or university that lacks an official DEI policy would be ineligible for state-funded awards, according to Albert.

Molly Macek, education policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, agreed with Albert.

“The bill would treat students differently based on the policies of the public university they attend,” Macek told CapCon in an email.

State benefits include competitive scholarships, tuition grants, tuition incentive programs, children of veterans and officers’ survivor tuition grants, and the Michigan Achievement scholarship, according to a note Albert included in the Senate journal.

Sen. Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat from Livonia, is the chair of the Senate Education Committee. She did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The Senate bill passed 19-18 on a party-line vote.

While the Senate bill would require colleges and universities to embrace DEI, federal officials hold an opposing view.

President Donald Trump used a Jan. 20 executive order to call DEI programs, “illegal and immoral” and called for their end.

Officials have moved to adopt this policy across the federal government, including at the U.S. Department of Education, which administers financial aid programs that gives students grants and loans. “The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in the Nation’s educational institutions,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, wrote in a Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague” letter posted online.

The federal education department will “assess compliance with the applicable statutes and regulations based on the understanding embodied in this letter,” Trainor wrote. Institutions that do not comply could lose federal funding, he concluded.

A federal court issued a preliminary injunction against the Dear Colleague letter on April 24. The underlying lawsuit is still being adjudicated.