Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill into law Wednesday barring public schools and universities from having offices to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
The bill, which was introduced in February, also prohibits publicly funded schools from promoting and endorsing “certain divisive concepts” as well as requiring bathrooms to be based on “biological sex.” Ivey signed the bill into law after it passed 75 to 28 in the state House of Representatives and said the bill was designed to stop a “liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe,” according to CNN.
Ivey also noted in a statement to CNN that the law does not change the fact that her administration “will continue to value Alabama’s rich diversity.” The law is set to go into effect on Oct. 1.
Additionally, the legislation prohibits students, employees and contractors from being required to attend any “training, orientation, or course work that advocates or requires assent to a divisive concept.” The bill lists eight “divisive concepts” including the idea that “any race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin is inherently superior or inferior,” or that moral character, inherent racism, or “fault, blame, or bias should be assigned” based on “race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin.”
Other states have also begun to crack down on DEI practices, such as the Iowa Board of Regents in November 2023 ordering all DEI programs at the state universities be eliminated, with limited exceptions for programs in line with federal regulations. In March, the University of Florida closed its “Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, eliminated DEI positions and administrative appointments, and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors” after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law in May 2023 to ban DEI at state-funded universities.
Ivey’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Kate Anderson on March 20, 2024
