Rep. Lisonbee Doubles Down on False Anti-DEI Claims on Sen. John Johnsons Podcast, Leaving Utahns Behind
June 4, 2024, Salt Lake City - On May 29, Representative Karianne Lisonbee doubled down on her false claim that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs are harmful to Utah students. In a podcast with Senator John Johnson, Lisonbee claimed that HB 261, the DEI ban passed by Republican legislators this year, was necessary to increase beneficial educational outcomes. Lisonbee also co-opted the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to support her counterfactual argument. There is no substantive evidence for Lisonbee’s claims. In fact, DEI programs at Utah universities have been shown to improve outcomes for minority students.
Utah Valley University’s DEI programs resulted in increases in retention rates for women students (6% increase), Latino students (10% increase), Pacific Islanders (23% increase), and Veterans (37%).
The University of Utah Health Department’s DEI programs resulted in a 40% makeup of family medicine residents from diverse backgrounds, when it had been 0 in 2017.
SLCC achieved its goal of having its student body reflect the demographics of Salt Lake County, and enrolled the highest number of Latinos out of any university in the state.
Rather than work to support these beneficial programs, House Republicans banned them. Meanwhile, Rep. Katy Hall, the sponsor of HB 261, admitted that she did not have data to support her claim that DEI practices were harmful to students. Republicans in Utah’s Legislature have decided that DEI efforts must mean that white students are being left behind, even though the opposite is true: UVU saw an overall 24% increase in graduation rates during the tenure of its DEI programs.
The Utah Democratic Party shares the view of Bernice A. King, the CEO of The King Center and the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., that “people using ‘not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character’ to deter discussion of, teaching about, and protest against racism are not students of the comprehensive MLK.”
“There is no evidence to suggest that House Republicans’ anti-DEI efforts will improve student achievement,” UDP Chair Diane Lewis said. “Rather than waste Utahns’ time and tax dollars on banning successful programs, House Republicans should focus on issues that actually affect Utahns’ everyday lives.”
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For more information, contact Mason Hughes at press@utdem.org or +1 (801) 830-0645.
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