McLean County Times

Illinois State Rep. Dan Caulins (R-Decatur) has criticized Illinois State University (ISU) for pushing the Democrats' political agenda after the school established a new graduation requirement for students. 

Caulkins shared his thoughts about students having to pass a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) course to be eligible to graduate in a Facebook post this week. 

"Naturally, this requirement was recommended by...wait for it...ISU's Campus Climate Assessment Task Force," Caulkins said in the post. "Just additional proof that public schools have become nothing more than indoctrination Petrie dishes for the Left. A Heritage Foundation study shows that university DEI programs are ineffective, overstaffed and squander significant amounts of taxpayer money."

ISU's Academic Senate voted to approve the IDEAS — or Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access in U.S. Society — requirement back in October, a release on the university's website said. The requirement will take effect next year. 

The requirement can be fulfilled by completing an IDEAS-approved course at ISU or an approved Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum course, a recent WGLT report said. It can also be fulfilled with a baccalaureate-oriented associate's degree for those attending an Illinois community college.

The idea for the requirement stemmed from 2016 when the Campus Climate Assessment Task Force found through feedback that "there was kind of a missing piece in our curriculum for students," Rocio Rivadeneyra, associate dean of ISU's College of Arts and Sciences, told WGLT. "That we didn't really have a class that all students had to take that focused on domestic diversity, the issues we have with diversity here in the U.S."