Alabama governor Kay Ivey signed a bill into law on Wednesday effectively banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at public schools and universities.
The legislation, known as S.B. 129, prohibits local boards of education, public institutions of higher education, and state agencies from maintaining or funding DEI programs that promote “divisive concepts” such as guilting someone over their race or sex. Additionally, all public schools, universities, and agencies in Alabama have the authority to “discipline or terminate the employment of any employee or contractor who knowingly violates this act,” the legislation reads.
However, the law notes that no students, staff, or faculty organizations are prohibited from hosting DEI programs as long as they are not funded by the state. Universities may also teach or discuss divisive concepts objectively without endorsing those views.
The law, set to take effect on October 1, also requires public universities to designate bathrooms based on biological sex, not preferred gender identity.
“My administration has and will continue to value Alabama’s rich diversity, however, I refuse to allow a few bad actors on college campuses — or wherever else for that matter — to go under the acronym of DEI, using taxpayer funds, to push their liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe,” Ivey said in a statement.
The signing of the anti-DEI bill comes after Florida’s numerous steps to ban DEI. In January, the board of governors of the State University System of Florida officially banned its public universities from using state and federal funds for DEI programs. The University of Florida eliminated all DEI-related positions on its campus earlier this month.
These moves came nearly a year after Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill largely prohibiting Florida universities and colleges from spending federal and state money on DEI initiatives.
Also on Wednesday, Alabama lawmakers advanced legislation that would ban public-school teachers from leading discussions or lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity. It would also prevent schools from displaying Pride flags in classrooms. If passed and enacted, the bill would expand the ban from elementary school to all K–12 grades.
Critics have likened this bill to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, formally known as the Parental Rights in Education Act, claiming that such legislative measures limit the rights of transgender and LGBT individuals in school.