By Aleksandra Appleton for the Chalkbeat Indiana .
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Chalkbeat Indiana-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration.

In a Ball State classroom on a recent Tuesday, Professor Sheron Fraser-Burgess told her class to brace themselves for the “really controversial” argument from their reading:

“There’s no such thing as reverse ‘-ism.’ Women can be just as prejudiced as men, but can’t be as sexist, because they don’t have the power.”

Then she invited the class to weigh in.

Her students were quick to disagree with that argument and with each other, as well as Fraser-Burgess, who leaned back against a desk and listened.

She said it’s critical to her that her students — potential future teachers — learn about prejudice, discrimination, racism, sexism, and other “isms,” before they step into their own classrooms and assume power over others. That power can turn personal prejudice into an “ism” they perpetuate, she told them.

But some fear a new Indiana law that drastically alters universities’ diversity policies could have a chilling effect on teacher prep classes like Fraser-Burgess’ multicultural education course. The result could be that preservice teachers are less prepared to use best practices, challenge their own assumptions, and work with students who come from a variety of backgrounds through practices like culturally responsive teaching, these critics say.

That’s not the intent of the new law, said Sen. Spencer Deery, a Republican and the architect of the statute, which compels universities to stress “intellectual diversity” alongside cultural diversity. It requires professors to present a variety of viewpoints in their curriculum, and imposes consequences for not doing so, including demotion and denial of tenure.

It also creates a complaint procedure for students and staff to report faculty who bring unrelated politics into the classroom to their universities. To a certain extent, that aspect of the law resembles a public web portal set up by state Attorney General Todd Rokita for parents to submit complaints about how schools address race, gender, and political ideology.

Pushing back on concerns that the law could shrink the pool of future educators, Deery said it could instead encourage students who currently don’t feel welcome on college campuses — namely, conservative students — to enroll.

“If we don’t recognize that some Hoosiers are not going into higher ed because they don’t feel like someone from their background is going to be respected, or they’re going to be exposed only to views of some paradigms, that’s a problem,” Deery said.

What does the new ‘intellectual diversity’ law do?

Universities are currently in the process of implementing the law known as SEA 202, which Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law in March.

During this year’s legislative session, lawmakers heard hours of testimony in opposition to SEA 202 from faculty and students who said it represented an overreach into university classrooms, and could force professors to teach flawed information.

They drew comparisons to similar laws on the books in Florida targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and said it could lead to brain drain in the state as faculty leave or decline jobs in Indiana, accept positions elsewhere, and take their grant funding with them.

This could have an outsize effect on faculty of color, who are often tasked with leading diversity initiatives, and already face more complaints from students about what and how they teach, said Russ Skiba, an IU professor who has led opposition to 202.

In teacher training programs, this could create a snowball effect on preservice teachers and their future students, said Alexander Cuenca, an IU professor who has written about the barriers facing teacher candidates of color.

“If students can’t see themselves in the classroom, if we’re scared to mention Black perspectives in social studies, why would they go into teaching social studies?” he said.

But Deery, who spent a decade working at Purdue University, said he wrote the bill after seeing data that conservatives were losing trust in higher education.

A 2023 survey of free speech on Indiana campuses by the state Commission on Higher Education found that 72% of students believed that politically liberal students were free to express their views on campus, compared to 55% who said conservative students could do the same. Overall, 78% of survey respondents said that generally, students are free to express their opinions at their universities.

Deery has also cited data showing that conservative students feel less welcome on campuses than other students think they might feel. This data was part of the free speech survey, but has not been released publicly, Deery said. The commission was not able to make this data available to Chalkbeat by deadline.

Deery said 202 doesn’t prescribe or prohibit specific curriculum, but instead requires that professors present the full spectrum of viewpoints that exist within their discipline.

It’s up to university boards and departments to decide how to implement that — and that could mean some curriculum is cut while curriculum from underrepresented viewpoints is added, he said. When it comes to teaching diversity, Deery said he believes that should include cultural, racial, and ideological diversity.

“It’s not about making students feel comfortable, but feel respected,” he said. “College should make you uncomfortable. But that doesn’t give you license to ignore some perspectives.”

How the law affects teacher preparation

As the discussion of sexism went on in Fraser-Burgess’ class, one student pointed out the growing number of female band directors as a sign of more equality in the industry. Another countered that someone should ask those directors about the sexism they’ve experienced in their careers.

One recalled that a male kindergarten teacher faced distrust from parents as an example of how sexism can affect men.

The discussion zeroed in on the pressure boys and young men face to be stoic and successful. It continued until the final moments of the class.

Fraser-Burgess said she aims to cultivate an environment where students feel heard and know they won’t face retaliation for disagreeing with her.

The objective of her course is to help preservice teachers understand how bias can emerge in education, and how students’ backgrounds may affect their school experience.

What concerns her most about the new law is the reporting mechanism that would allow students who feel uncomfortable confronting these topics to complain about her class to the university.

Under the law, universities would need to establish a procedure allowing students and staff to complain about faculty who have not fostered free inquiry and intellectual diversity, who don’t expose students to a variety of political and ideological frameworks, or who bring politics unrelated to their discipline into the classroom. These complaints would be referred to supervisors and human resources departments for consideration in tenure promotion decisions.

“I’m an African American teacher telling them they need to disavow racism to be a public school teacher. It can come across with much more intensity, it may seem I’m being political or ideological,” she said.

If these complaints chill classroom discussion, it would mean future teachers have less exposure to teaching practices that are good for all students, she said.

“If we’re not fostering an ability to live with others and appreciate how they contribute to our society, to question our own experience as right or the default, we’re weakening our democracy, which is based on difference,” she said.

Deery said colleges already have a number of ways for students to report complaints about professors, and that the reporting mechanism of 202 only standardizes the process. Deery also said he trusts schools to filter out bogus complaints.

But some say the threat of complaints is enough to chill speech. And preservice teachers are learning as much from observing their professors as they are from the course content, said Cuenca, the IU professor.

“They’re in front of me, watching me teach,” Cuenca said. “If it influences the way I am able to speak, it’s going to impact how they’re going to be able to do it.”

What culturally responsive teaching looks like in practice

In recent years, teachers in Indiana and nationwide have reported a hesitancy to approach topics about race and diversity in class amid attempts to ban such lessons.

But teachers say learning culturally responsive teaching — or connecting students’ backgrounds and experiences to the classroom — is still an important tool.

For one, it helps educators build relationships with students and their families, said Cynthia Diaz, a teacher at Enlace Academy, an Indianapolis charter school where more than 80% of families speak a language other than English at home.

For example, when her students read “When Stars are Scattered,” the story of Somali refugees resonated with many of them, Diaz said. But the book also offered an opportunity to invite families to discuss the book and their own stories of immigrating to the U.S., both with their students at home and at a school event.

Having an awareness of their students’ cultures, backgrounds, and experiences also allows teachers to pause and challenge their own understanding, Diaz said.

“It’s the ability to be reflective. When you’re in a silo, you think ‘this is what I was taught, what school was like for me, so this is what school should be like.’” Diaz said. “In my opinion, it should be about what school should look like for the students in front of you.”


Aleksandra Appleton wrote this article for Chalkbeat Indiana.


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Registration is open for the next information session for the Doswell School of Aeronautical Sciences at Texas Woman's University in Denton, where students accepted into the program will study to earn their pilot's license.

The school is the only woman-focused university nationwide with a professional pilot's program.

Clinton Grant, director of the school, explained the program.

"Once they go through all of the steps to get into the program and the semester starts within a week or so they're in an airplane flying," Grant noted. "It's not something they have to wait later as their junior (or) senior years before they get into it. We start them as quickly as we can. So it's a lot of fun."

The program is limited to 25 students in the fall and spring semesters. The next information session is April 11.

During the information session, Grant pointed out he tries to weed out the students who may not be serious about becoming a pilot. In addition to tuition and fees the cost of flight training could exceed over $100,000 and it can take up to seven years to earn a pilot's license.

"Most flight students, they'll become flight instructors," Grant observed. "They turn around and start teaching students to fly and that's how they build their hours. And then once they reach a certain amount of hours they'll be eligible to be employed by a regional carrier."

The aeronauts program is still in its infancy. The first classes were held in the fall of 2024. Grant added as they grow, they will have more options for students.

"We're going to get into some of the air mobility things as well as operations management or aviation management," Grant outlined. "There's a demand in the area for that. So, we will be heading in that direction next."

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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A strike set to begin today has been averted at Western Michigan University, Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine, known as WMed.

Its resident physicians reached a tentative deal with the medical school last week.

For nearly eight months, about 200 residents and fellows had been negotiating for improvements in working conditions, including higher salaries and stipends, and more time off.

Mitchell Batchelder - an organizer and field representative with the Resident and Fellow Alliance, the union representing the residents - said the strike notice seemed to prompt a greater willingness from WMed management to reach an agreement.

He emphasized several key aspects of the deal.

"They secured a three-year contract with guaranteed wage increases in each year," said Batchelder. "They got a meal stipend - you know, they're working 24-hour shifts and they need access to fresh, healthy food in order to bring their best while they're working those 24 hours."

He added that the agreement marks a historic milestone as the first private-sector medical resident contract in the state of Michigan.

Batchelder also stressed the impact such a contract could have on W-Med's future, as well as the community.

With this agreement in place, he predicted the institution will not only retain its current top-tier residents, but also attract new talent.

"From a long-term perspective, for these hospitals in Kalamazoo and for the community, this is a really, really great thing," said Batchelder. "Because it can be really hard sometimes to retain and attract qualified health care professionals. And I think this allows them to have an even stronger pitch to those folks."

Batchelder said he believed this private sector deal could also have a significant national impact on unions and labor laws - highlighting what he describes as the imbalance in current regulations.

He noted that many U.S. labor laws are structured in a way that tends to favor employers.



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This has been "National March Into Literacy Month" but it may become tougher over the summer to "march" into a public library and ask for help finding a good book.

An executive order signed this month by President Donald Trump requires staff and funding cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the agency funding libraries across the country.

One in five Maryland adults has low reading skills, according to the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and 36% of fourth graders read below grade level.

Sandy Keaton, 2025 conference chair for the State of Maryland Literacy Association, said building reading skills can start in the home and parents play a large role in their kids' reading journey.

"The best way to promote literacy is for you to be a reader and for your children to see you being a reader," Keaton emphasized. "The second thing I would say would be to read with your child. You can have him or her read a page to you, then you can read a page. You can have him or her read the entire page."

Nationally, Maryland's literacy rate is in the middle of the pack among states, at 28th.

The library cutbacks come as the National Center for Education Statistics found national reading scores had their largest decline in more than 30 years. Those declines were worse for already low-performing students.

For adults, Keaton suggested starting with a book you like or that is about one of your interests, and go from there.

"If they wanted to continue to build on that knowledge, there are so many exhibitors and vendors that have books that not only will help younger children but will also help the adults," Keaton added.

Keaton recommended librarians as a great resource for all ages to get into reading. They are trained to help people pick books to match their reading level and interests.


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