BISMARCK — The North Dakota Senate voted on Wednesday to enshrine guidelines for academic tenure in century code in a surprise reconsideration of a failed bill.

Academic tenure gives professors a permanent position and protects them from being dismissed or fired without cause. The practice is intended to guarantee academic freedom because it protects professors from being let go for the type of research they are conducting or the papers they publish.

House Bill 1437

requires institutions of higher education to establish a tenure policy. Under the guidelines laid out in the bill, the institution’s president must implement a process for annual evaluations of nontenure, tenure-track and tenured faculty. They must also develop a procedure to evaluate post-tenure faculty at least once every five years.

The bill also states that the policy must define the outcome of an unsatisfactory review of post-tenured faculty, which may include removal from their position.

HB 1437 previously passed the House in a 84-5 vote. It failed on the Senate floor Tuesday in a 26-20 vote. However, one senator, Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston, was absent for Tuesday’s vote. When he was present Wednesday, he made a motion to reconsider the bill. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, enough senators changed their mind on the bill to pass it in a 28-19 vote.

The bill now goes back to the House for a vote of concurrence before it can go to the governor for a signature or veto.

Lawmakers said they were surprised the bill was brought back for reconsideration and the chamber had to take a small recess to prepare because the senate staff had not been informed that a reconsideration would be happening.

Multiple senators who changed their vote for the reconsideration said that they were on the fence about the bill but changed their mind after doing more research between days.

The bill received opposition testimony from representatives of the Council of College Faculties, the North Dakota University System, North Dakota State University, the University of North Dakota and Bismarck State College.

Many of the institutions of higher education took umbrage with the bill specifying how to structure a committee to evaluate post-tenure faculty. The bill mandates that each committee include the faculty member’s administrative supervisor, at least one ranking administrator, and tenured faculty making up no less than one-third and no more than one-half of the committee.

“HB 1437 represents an overreach into the governance of higher education in North Dakota, which is constitutionally vested in the State Board of Higher Education,” President of the Council of College Faculties Rachelle Hunt said in written testimony.

Sen. Jonathan Sickler, R-Grand Forks, said the Legislature nixed a similar bill on academic tenure during the 2023 legislative session due to concerns over its constitutionality. He said that after the bill was defeated, the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) took the concerns raised by the Legislature and spent over a year reviewing tenure practices at institutions of higher education in North Dakota.

He said that the SBHE’s Ad Hoc Committee on tenure had adopted most of the policies called for in HB 1437 since the bill’s introduction in January. He argued that the bill would institute a less-robust review process than what is currently being done by most institutions and expressed concern that the bill does not include any avenue for faculty to appeal the results of an evaluation.

“We need higher ed to be flexible,” Sickler said on the floor Tuesday. “By putting this in code, my concern is that we are locking the board into practice that will not work for it. We’re also putting a single process over a university system that has two-year campuses, polytechnic campuses, four-year institutions and research institutions where tenure policies may need to be different.”

SBHE member Kevin Black submitted written testimony in favor of the bill. He said that the amended version of the bill eliminates tenure as a “right” to continuous employment, clarifies post-tenure review, increases transparency and accountability, and is a step toward fixing the employee-employer relationship at institutions of higher education in North Dakota.

“We should not eliminate tenure, and I’m grateful for this bill’s amended approach,” Black said. “Working together, we can put the necessary guardrails around tenure policies that both drive accountability and reward our highest-achieving faculty members.”

Sen. Chuck Walen, R-New Town, who changed his vote between Tuesday and Wednesday, said he originally voted against the bill because he agrees with colleges taking care of issues such as tenure themselves. However, he added “after reading it, I’m going, this isn’t really hurting the colleges. It is just saying these are the steps to follow. And I thought that’s reasonable, so that was the reason for my (vote) change.”

Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, said that there had been significant friction between the university system and the executive branch decades ago, which established the independence of the SBHE.

“(Former) Gov. Langer was looking to fire faculty members at the research university in Fargo — and he was quite intrusive into that process — because he didn’t like some of the things he thought they were teaching,” Lee said. “The students rose up and they were successful in making sure that there would be a legal barrier between the Board of Higher Education and the executive branch in that case, but we are part of the legislative group that still shouldn’t be treading on those toes.”

BISMARCK — With the passage this week of a budget bill amendment that would allocate funding to specialized courts throughout the state, the Northeast Judicial District is one step closer to establishing an Indian Child Welfare Act Court in North Dakota.

The $125,292 allocation was previously removed from SB 2002, but after being asked to reconsider, the Education and Environment Division of House Appropriations added it back into the budget during a Tuesday committee hearing.

“If this is implemented, we would be the first ICWA Court in North Dakota — really addressing those unique needs of Native American families and upholding the intent of the law, which is to preserve those cultural connections and family unity whenever possible,” said Heather Traynor, who works for the North Dakota Supreme Court’s court improvement program. She testified in favor of the funding allocation.

Though they make up approximately 6% of the state’s population, Indigenous youth account for 26% of its foster care population, Traynor said. There have been many efforts throughout the last 15 years to determine how this disproportionate rate can be reduced.

Traynor, and others, believe ICWA court could be an answer.

The ICWA, a federal law established in the 1970s, was a response to the “unwarranted removal of Indian children from their families and tribal communities in alarming numbers,” according to the ICWA Law Center, an Indigenous legal services nonprofit organization.

Highlights of the act include recognizing tribal sovereignty, preserving Indigenous families and recognizing tribal and familial connections.

It requires higher levels of engagement to keep families together and, if that is not possible, to keep them within or otherwise connected to their communities, Traynor said.

The act describes placement preferences for Indigenous children as the following, in order of preference:

1. A member of the child’s extended family;
2. an Indigenous foster home licensed, approved or specified by the child’s tribe;
3. an Indigenous foster home licensed or approved by an authorized non-Indigenous licensing authority; or
4. an institution for children that is approved by a tribe, or operated by an Indigenous organization, and has a program suitable for the child’s needs.

The ICWA does not apply to all Indigenous youth. Rather, it applies to those who either are enrolled with a tribe or are eligible for enrollment, Traynor said.

“With ICWA, we look to protect the best interests of Native American children, and prevent unnecessary removal,” she said. “That’s why it was put into place. But it’s important that we focus on these efforts once they are removed, so that they can maintain that cultural connection with their Native American families and communities.”

Across the 23 states that have established their own ICWA courts as an intervention tool, the goal of timely permanency has been found to be more attainable, Traynor said.

Permanency is a living situation that is permanent and stable, and ideally preserves existing familial connections, according to the Child Welfare website, an official website of the Children’s Bureau and Child Welfare Information Gateway.

Benefits of an ICWA court would include the opportunity for a more family-based approach with earlier intervention and consistency in scheduling that would allow for a tribal presence at hearings, Traynor said.

Washington State Cougars (21-13, 15-7 WCC) at North Dakota State Bison (20-11, 11-6 Summit)

Fargo, North Dakota; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota State and Washington State play in the National Invitation Tournament.

The Bison are 11-6 against Summit opponents and 9-5 in non-conference play. North Dakota State is 1-0 in one-possession games.

The Cougars are 15-7 in WCC play. Washington State is eighth in the WCC allowing 64.8 points while holding opponents to 38.8% shooting.

Advertisement

North Dakota State scores 69.5 points per game, 4.7 more points than the 64.8 Washington State allows. Washington State averages 67.2 points per game, 2.5 more than the 64.7 North Dakota State allows to opponents.

TOP PERFORMERS: Avery Koenen is averaging 14 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Bison. Molly Lenz is averaging 9.3 points over the last 10 games.

Eleonora Villa is shooting 44.5% and averaging 13.6 points for the Cougars. Tara Wallack is averaging 13.6 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bison: 6-4, averaging 71.2 points, 32.9 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.0 points per game.

Advertisement

Cougars: 7-3, averaging 66.1 points, 33.4 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 40.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.6 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.