Federal Judge’s Ruling Could Halt Mississippi’s DEI Ban In Schools

Across the country, several states have enacted bans on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in K-12 schools and higher education. Unsurprisingly, Mississippi is one such state, but a lawsuit filed by attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) could temporarily prevent it from being enforced.

The Clarion Ledger reports that the ACLU’s lawyers have requested that Federal Judge Henry Wingate put a restraining order on several state boards designed to enforce Mississippi’s DEI ban at K-12 schools and public universities. The ACLU has argued that enforcement of the ban should be halted due to the law having vague language, leaving open different interpretations of how it should be enforced. They also argue that the ban infringes on educators’ and students’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by restricting their speech.

The attorneys from the ACLU are representing several students and education advocacy groups. The ACLU has requested a 14-day temporary restraining order (TRO) on the ban and intends to file a motion requesting a second 14-day TRO as the issue is litigated. 

The state’s Assistant Attorney General Rex Shannon is representing the state boards targeted in the lawsuit and has argued the TRO shouldn’t be granted as it would infringe on the state’s sovereignty. Wingate repeatedly asked Shannon what harms the state would experience should he grant the restraining order, but Shannon said he didn’t have enough time before the case to provide specific harms. 

Wingate will make a decision on granting the restraining order in the next week.

Mississippi’s DEI ban did not pass without a fight. House Bill 1193 prevents Mississippi schools from having DEI programs and teaching “divisive concepts.” Sounds vague? Apparently, that was the point, which is concerning, as Mississippi’s DEI ban allows students, parents, and educators to sue schools if they feel the ban was violated. Should a school receive two violations, the state would withhold funds until the violations are corrected. 

From Mississippi Today:

People could only sue after they go through an internal campus review process and a 25-day period when schools could fix the alleged violation. Republican Rep. Joey Hood, one of the House negotiators, said that was a compromise between the chambers. The House wanted to make it possible for almost anyone to file lawsuits over the DEI ban, while Senate negotiators initially bristled at the idea of fast-tracking internal campus disputes to the legal system.   

The House ultimately held firm in its position to create a private cause of action, or the right to sue, but it agreed to give schools the ability to conduct an investigative process and potentially resolve the alleged violation before letting people sue in chancery courts.

“You have to go through the administrative process,” said Republican Sen. Nicole Boyd, one of the bill’s lead authors. “Because the whole idea is that, if there is a violation, the school needs to cure the violation. That’s what the purpose is. It’s not to create litigation, it’s to cure violations.” 

So much of American and global history consists of “divisive concepts.” So if a teacher says
“Slavery was bad,” or “Mississippi has a shameful history of lynching,” and a child’s parents disagree, the vagueness of the law seems as though it would allow them to file a suit claiming that Mississippi’s DEI ban was violated. So that then begs the question: are we just going to stop teaching about historical horrors because it offends the people who think they were a good thing? 

Democratic Rep. Bryant Clark, son of Robert Clark, the first Black Mississippian elected to the state Legislature since the 1800s, argued Mississippi’s DEI ban was unnecessary and particularly offensive given the state’s dark history in its treatment of Black people. 

 “We are better than this, and all of you know that we don’t need this with Mississippi’s history,” Clark said during the debate period. “We should be the ones that say, ‘listen, we may be from Mississippi, we may have a dark past, but you know what, we’re going to be the first to stand up this time and say there is nothing wrong with DEI.’”

Mississippi’s DEI ban is just one of many being enacted around the country. States such as Texas and West Virginia have passed similar laws banning DEI in K-12 and postsecondary education. Several colleges have already begun phasing out their DEI initiatives as a result of a “Dear Colleague” letter sent by the Department of Education threatening to withhold federal funding from schools believed to have DEI initiatives and programs. 

SEE ALSO:

Survey: High-Level Business Execs Say DEI Is Necessary

UNC Asheville Dean Of Students Fired For Pro-DEI Comments

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