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The measure would forbid courses that include anything that “relates contemporary American society� to issues including whiteness, institutional racism, unconscious bias, gender identity social justice, race-based reparations and gender-based inclusion.

And that’s just a partial list of what’s included in the proposal written by Mesa Republican Sen. David Farnsworth.

There is a lot of money at stake. The University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ currently gets $334.7 million from the state general fund, while ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State University gets $377.8 million and Northern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ University receives $127.7 million. Community colleges overall get $88.5 million.

The preliminary approval in Phoenix on a voice vote in the Republican-controlled Senate came the same day about 150 protesters at the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ called on the university to keep funding and supporting DEI programs.

The UA, under threat of federal funding loss from the Trump administration, which has ordered an end to DEI programs it calls illegally discriminatory, took down two diversity-related websites and removed the phrase “Committed to diversity and inclusion� from a statement used on its websites and email signatures. On Tuesday, a petition that more than 1,500 students, faculty and staff signed their names to was sent to UA administrators, urging them to reverse those actions.

“In this political moment, the integrity of our university is on the line, and if the leadership of our university will not stand up to defend it, then it is up to us to do so,� said Ben Armentrout, a first-year PhD student in optical sciences, at Thursday’s demonstration. “We are fighting because our jobs and scholarships are under attack, we’re fighting because spaces that we go to find community and the celebration of our cultures are under attack.�

“Without any of these measures becoming law, the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has begun to preemptively comply,â€� Armentrout added.

Austin Willis, a junior studying Spanish Portuguese and political science, said, “What is happening here is not just a budgeting decision, it is an attack on Black and all marginalized students.�

“This is not about money; this is about erasure,â€� said Willis, who is president of the undergraduate Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ chapter of Iota Phi Theta.

Farnsworth, meanwhile, told the Senate Education Committee, which reviewed his bill, that he got an eye-opening lesson when he signed up at Rio Salado Community College to go after his bachelor’s degree in elementary education.

“It was recommended I take a course on cultural diversity,’’ Farnsworth said. That required he purchase a copy of Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society.

He read to colleagues some of what he found. “Through the hidden curriculum of value-laden rules, both the formal and hidden curricula often reinforce the values of the dominant culture which includes white, middle-class, heterosexual, English-speaking, able-bodied and Christian norms and values,’’ he quoted from the book.

“And this is teaching teachers so they can teach our students,’’ Farnsworth said.

The senator said people should be sensitive to the feelings of others and treat each other as brothers and sisters, but he said that’s not what’s being taught here.

“I believe strongly that this course, this required course, does not encourage acceptance or, as Martin Luther King Jr. said — I’m not going to quote — to appreciate each one of us for the value of our character and not the color of our skin,’’ Farnsworth said.

There were other references in the book he said were inappropriate, such as talking about WASP — white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant — being the dominant culture in America.

“It goes on to say, ‘Today, WASPs are worse because they lack modesty, humility, chivalry and public spiritedness,’ ‘’ Farnsworth said. Then there are references to men historically being treated as superior to women, that they tend to speak before and over women in meetings, “and the dominant culture in the U.S. is the WASP culture and the norm against which citizens are judged and expected to assimilate.’’

No one from either the university system or the community colleges, whose state funding would be at risk, turned out to testify against the measure.

A spokeswoman for the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Board of Regents, which oversees the three public universities, would say only that members “are actively engaged at the legislature and working close with lawmakers and the governor’s office on bills relating to our universities.’’

But the measure did draw draw questions from Sen. Catherine Miranda, a Laveen Democrat.

Miranda pointed out that Farnsworth said he does believe in the idea of diversity, equity and inclusion. So why, she asked, does he want to financially penalize community colleges and universities that teach such concepts?

Farnsworth said the issue is what is taught here.

“If we offered a course that was fair and unbiased and stimulated the value of appreciating diversity, I would be totally supportive of it,’’ he said. Instead, he said, “I was shocked. This book is biased.’’

The only person who did testify against the measure was Alberto Plantillas of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Students Association. He said it would “hinder enrollment and inclusivity programs for veterans, disabled Americans, female students and members of the LGBTQ+ community.’’

“It promotes a conformist revision of history, ignoring the country’s ongoing issues with discrimination and violence against marginalized groups,’’ Plantillas said.

“I’m not opposed to diversity training,’’ Farnsworth responded. “I realize that there is prejudice in the world. But we just have to do it very carefully and make sure it’s correctly done without a bias on one side or the other.’’

The legislation does have an exception for a course “that identifies or discusses historical movements, ideologies or instances of racial hatred or race-based discrimination.’’ That specifically includes slavery, removal of Native Americans from their lands, the Holocaust and Japanese-American internment during World War II.

Senate Bill 1694 now needs a final roll-call vote in the Senate before going to the House.

At the UA protest, Allie Parker said her work at a women and gender resource center has strong value for “marginalized students and minorities and every person at the U of A,� by providing resources including a study space, free printing, and menstrual and safe sex products.

Of the U.S. Department of Education’s targeting of such programs under the Trump administration, Parker said, “It definitely was disheartening. ... And it just felt very quick. It usually takes forever to get ... laws and things like that put into place.

“It was kind of a wake-up call. I’m like, Whoa. This is the new administration. This is the new political climate. Things are rapidly changing, and we need to stay proactive, instead of just being reactive.�

Brandon Rogers, a freshman studying astronomy and physics, said, “It is amazing that so much can happen in a week, so many people can get organized within a week and come out (to protest). I feel like that’s a very, very clear sign of how much this matters to the U of A community, how much we truly believe in the fact that strength comes from the diversity of our campus, and that this is a struggle and a fight that has stakeholders everywhere, because we are all included in diversity, equity and inclusion.�

Ky’Jah Greene, a senior, told the crowd, “Our joy is resistance, out solidarity is power, and no policy, no executive order, no attempt to turn back the clock will ever take that away from us.�

UA’s spokesperson, Mitch Zak, said last week, “We are taking a measured approach toward ensuring compliance with new policies and procedures that will impact higher education institutions in the coming weeks and months. As a public institution, we will continue to adhere to all applicable laws at the local, state, and federal levels. We will continue to uphold our university commitment to fostering a campus environment where everyone can thrive as we advance our academic, research, and service missions.�