Government officials overseeing public colleges in conservative states say they’re looking for new common ground with Republican lawmakers who have banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Officials from Iowa, Idaho and Utah said Tuesday during a higher education panel in Washington that they have worked to build bridges with lawmakers and understand their concerns in recent years.

“Building that trust takes time, building that trust takes effort,” said Geoffrey Landward, Utah’s commissioner of higher education.

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Utah’s legislative Republican supermajority passed a law this year that bans DEI offices and instruction based on “personal identity characteristics” at state campuses.

That law took effect on July 1 and forced the University of Utah, Southern Utah University, Utah State University and Weber State University to close their DEI offices and cultural centers.

Alabama, Iowa, Florida, Texas and North Dakota have enacted similar policies over the past two years. Two bills are working through the Missouri Legislature, and Alabama recently passed a DEI ban that will take effect Oct. 1.

Officials from all 50 states were in Washington this week for the annual conference of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, a network of government agencies overseeing public colleges.

Those participating on a panel of conservative states with DEI bans said they stressed the need for an educated workforce in struggling rural areas to state lawmakers who have threatened to cut higher education funding.

“They want us to support students, everybody wants that,” said Rachel Boon, chief academic officer of the Iowa Board of Regents.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, signed an education funding bill with tightened DEI restrictions into law on May 9.

Those restrictions forbid public universities from taking official positions on “microaggressions,” “social justice,” “intersectionality” and “neo-pronouns” for transgender and nonbinary students.

The law also bans “any effort to promote or promulgate policies and procedures designed or implemented with reference to race, color, or ethnicity.”

In March, Idaho enacted a ban on public universities requiring prospective students and employees to adhere to “diversity statements.”

T.J. Bliss, chief academic officer for the Idaho State Board of Education, said it’s been challenging to establish a common definition of DEI as lawmakers push to end it.

He noted that some proposed bills have used the term interchangeably with critical race theory and social-emotional learning, two other concepts that conservatives have blamed for fostering reverse discrimination against straight White students.

“So it’s a little schizophrenic,” Mr. Bliss said. “We don’t know what they want.”

The bans come as Republican lawmakers in right-leaning states have passed a slew of bills targeting “divisive concepts” related to race and gender identity in public education.

Utah’s Mr. Landward said that while some conservatives view higher education as the enemy, “everyone understands” the need for colleges to train skilled workers and grant trade certifications.

He said he works in conversations with lawmakers to balance these concerns with the interests of college professors so that thousands of them don’t “storm the capitol” in Salt Lake City.

In addition to state DEI restrictions, public colleges have struggled to adjust to a Supreme Court ruling last year that ended race-based college admissions.

According to others who attended the SHEEO panel on Tuesday, colleges have worked to ensure a racially diverse student body through alternative means.

These include need-based acceptance policies based on income and direct admission policies accepting the top grade earners from public high schools in diverse school districts.

Dana Richardson, executive director of the Oregon Council of Presidents, said she favors screening college application essays one-by-one to look for diverse backgrounds and experiences.

“It requires a lot of time and resources to go through each application, but it’s worth it,” Ms. Richardson said.

Michael DeJesus, director of student success and access for the Southern Regional Education Board, said it’s also important to emphasize equal opportunity to lawmakers. His private-public compact produces research for universities in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

“The commonality is that folks want to have people educated to give back to their states and the country,” Mr. DeJesus said. “The data points to the need for everyone to have an equal opportunity to attend college.”