Diversity, equity and inclusion programs would be banned in North Carolina’s public schools under a bill filed by one of the top Republican leaders in the state legislature.
On Monday, Senate leader Phil Berger filed Senate Bill 227, titled “Eliminating ‘DEI’ in Public Education.”
“We cannot teach our nation’s history without acknowledging our past,” Berger said in a news release. “But we can teach history without forcing our educators and students to embrace and adopt ideologies inconsistent with equality.”
The endorsement of the chamber’s top leader is a sign that Senate Republicans are almost certain to advance the bill.
If the measure becomes law, traditional public school districts and their schools, as well as charter schools, would be prohibited from having DEI offices or employees.
In addition, the legislation would ban the teaching of what it calls “divisive concepts,” which include the following:
—One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex.
—An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive.
—An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.
—The United States was created by members of a particular race or sex for the purpose of oppressing members of another race or sex.
—All Americans are not created equal and are not endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Those are similar to concepts called out in legislation that was passed in 2021 but vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper. Another bill passed in 2023 in the House but was not voted on in the Senate.
The main difference is the new legislation includes a requirement that public schools eliminate DEI offices. For instance, it would target programs such as the Wake County school system’s Office of Equity Affairs.
Trump targets DEI
Berger’s bill would prevent teachers from discussing concepts such as “white privilege,” in which white people have unfair advantages over others solely due to their race. The bill says teachers can’t promote that privileges should be ascribed to a race or sex.
In the past, similar legislation was labeled an anti-Critical Race Theory bill. But now it’s being promoted as an anti-DEI bill in line with what the Trump administration is doing at the federal level.
President Donald Trump has signed executive orders removing DEI offices and programs from federal agencies. He’s trying to withhold federal funding from groups that have DEI programs.
The state’s public schools have already lost tens of millions in dollars in federal teacher training grants after the U.S. Department of Education accused the recipients of promoting “divisive ideologies.”
State Superintendent Mo Green has advised the state’s public schools to “avoid overreacting” to the Department of Education’s Feb. 28 deadline to eliminate their DEI programs.
Republicans could face uphill battle overriding likely veto
While Berger’s bill, if taken up, is likely to pass both chambers of the Republican-dominated legislature, it’s less clear whether it will ultimately have the votes to become law.
In November, Republicans lost their supermajority in the House by one seat — stripping them of their power to unilaterally override the governor’s veto.
If Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoes the bill, Republicans would need to recruit at least one Democrat to vote with them to override the veto.
Last week, in response to a separate anti-DEI bill filed in the House, Rep. Garland Pierce, a Scotland County Democrat who has at times voted with Republicans on social issues, said “there’s no way Democrats could break on a bill like this.”
But, even if Democrats are united in opposing the bill, they have to show up to vote.
A supermajority is determined by the members present in the chamber — not the overall number of lawmakers. If Democrats miss a vote, Republicans could exploit their absences to override a veto — as happened in 2023 during a vote on a gun rights bill.
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