DEI Ban for K-12 and Higher Education (H. 3219)

This bill threatens colleges and universities with the complete loss of state funding for administering certain programs that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

This bill is similar to a proposed DEI ban that failed to pass in the previous session (H. 4289), but it is more expansive, poses a more draconian threat to funding, and imposes limits on DEI programs for K-12 schools in addition to colleges.

We oppose this bill because: South Carolina’s institutions, especially its educational ones, remain subject to de facto segregation and profound inequality. Every forward step meets a backlash, and in recent years we have seen politicians attack any program that seeks to address inequality.

The motivation of this bill is clear, citing a report from the right-wing American Enterprise Institute to portray remedies to institutional racism as racist in and of themselves. We are not fooled.