(The Center Square) – The University of Louisiana Monroe is changing parts of a mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion course in order to comply with federal directives that call for the elimination of the ideology.
The course in question is “CURR 2001: Educational Foundations for Diverse Learning Environments.”
After The Center Square reported on a Goldwater Institute report highlighting how at least three Louisiana public universities require DEI courses for education students, the University of Louisiana Monroe officials told The Center Square that “upon review of this course, the ULM Office of Academic Affairs has amended the course description to better reflect the content of the course.”
The original description of CURR 2001 read: “This course provides an orientation to teaching that includes legal and organizational aspects of public education; history and philosophy of education; and provides multicultural insight to support the educational needs of diverse students in their learning environment,” according to a screenshot.
The updated description is relatively similar except for the last phrase that says that the course “provides the knowledge and understanding of different values and insights to support the educational needs of all students.”
ULM officials told The Center Square that “like many institutions, we at The University of Louisiana Monroe…have been in the process of reviewing our course catalogs and other materials to ensure compliance with the Trump Administration’s Executive Orders and Department of Education’s Dear Colleague letter relating to DEI programming and language.”
ULM officials explained to The Center Square that the title of CURR 2001 “has not been altered, as we feel it aligns with our current accreditation requirements.”
ULM has not yet responded when asked whether the contents of CURR 2001 have changed or remain the same as before.
According to a May 2025 Goldwater Institute report concerning several Louisiana schools requiring DEI courses to graduate from some degree programs, ULM’s CURR 2001 is required for Elementary Education majors.
The Goldwater Institute is a “free-market public policy research and litigation organization,” according to its website.
ULM officials told The Center Square that the purpose of CURR 2001 “is not to indoctrinate students with a specific DEI ideology, but to educate them about the various types of student needs and learning styles they will encounter in the classroom when they become teachers.”
“ULM is committed to compliance with federal and state mandates regarding DEI-related terminology included in courses within our academic programs,” ULM officials said. “We will continue to review our course catalog and make necessary adjustments.”
Other schools found to be requiring DEI-related courses for certain degree programs are the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and McNeese State University, as stated by Goldwater’s report.
The Goldwater Institute has not yet provided comment for The Center Square when asked what its response to ULM updating its DEI course is.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump released several executive orders calling for the termination of diversity, equity and inclusion, while the U.S. Department of Education wrote a Dear Colleague letter stating that race-based treatment of students is unlawful, as The Center Square reported.
