When Policies Remove Identity Safety: Anti‐DEI Laws, Prospective Students’ Perceptions, and University Messaging

ABSTRACT In a world of educational inequality, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives aim to boost the participation and success of marginalized students and act as identity safety cues on campus. A recent torrent of anti‐DEI legislative initiatives threatens this safety. Across three experimental studies, the current work examines the consequences of threat introduced via anti‐DEI policies in higher education and potential university responses. In Study 1 ( N = 639), participants anticipate compromised identity safety, worse performance, and report decreased interest in attending a university with an anti‐DEI (vs. control, pro‐DEI) policy. Study 2 ( N = 229) replicates results and demonstrates that both fewer expected resources and weaker multiculturalism mediate the policy's impact on outcomes; qualitative data corroborates findings. Study 3's ( N = 302) university messaging strategy shows public disapproval of anti‐DEI policies reinstates some identity safety. Findings highlight psychological and institutional costs of anti‐DEI laws, while advancing safety cue theory by illuminating impacts of cue removal.