Iowa’s Republican-led House advanced a package of bills this week that would reshape oversight of the state’s three public universities. Lawmakers would require all undergraduates to take American history and government courses, direct civics centers to identify qualifying classes, and empower the governor-appointed Board of Regents to flag and potentially eliminate courses that include diversity, equity, inclusion or critical race theory–related content. The measures also overhaul presidential selection: a committee of five voting regents would pick finalists from a closed pool and recommend candidates to the board, while nonvoting student, employee and public members would offer input but lack a vote. House Speaker Pat Grassley and Rep. Taylor Collins led the effort; critics warn the bills shift academic decisions from faculty to politically appointed regents and could chill course design and faculty governance. Faculty governance advocates note a potential collision between the civics mandate and the anti-DEI provisions: required American history or government courses that touch on systemic racism could be subject to removal. Implementation would place operational burden on campus civics centers and could trigger litigation over academic freedom and state control.