- The measure aims to ban discriminatory practices as promoted by DEI efforts while ensuring all academic engagement is based on merit.
Legislation to ban discriminatory practices in Mississippi’s public schools, community colleges and universities as promoted through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts is one step closer to becoming law.
State Senator Tyler McCaughn (R) amended HB 1193 on Monday to insert similar language outlined in SB 2515, adding the state’s public K-12 schools to the DEI prohibitions as was in the original House version of the bill. The amendment also removed the Senate’s call for a task force to further study the changes.
The purpose of the legislation is to prohibit state institutions of higher learning, community colleges and K-12 public schools from engaging in DEI practices while ensuring that employment, academic opportunities, and academic engagement are provided solely on individual merit and qualifications and not based on an individual’s race, color, class, sexual orientation, or gender.
Community colleges, universities, and public schools would be tasked with forming a complaint process should the bill become law. Any complaints filed under that process would be handled within 120 days. If the complainant is unsatisfied with the result, they can appeal to the Attorney General’s office.
Beginning in 2026, each institution, college or public school would be required to submit to their respective boards an annual report summarizing all reported incidents and the dispositions of those investigations and violations.
Senator McCaughn clarified that the bill does not abolish classes that focus on minorities, such as African American Studies or Asian American Studies, nor would it affect sororities or fraternities aimed at minority groups.
When Senator Sollie Norwood (D) expressed concern that the bill could negatively affect historically black colleges and universities. However, when asked about the impact of the bill, McCaughn’s response was brief.
“I would anticipate that it should not be providing that much as we should not be having that discrimination going on in our schools as it is,” McCaughn said, later adding, “At no point in here are we saying that a child who needs help won’t get help. We’re just saying that help is going to be colorblind and sex neutral, because that’s what should happen.”
McCaughn said the legislation was being considered to have the state provide guidance to its schools rather than await federal actions.
“I want you to understand and be clear that we’re not talking about what the federal government is doing right here,” McCaughn clarified. “What we are doing is doing what we can on a state level to provide the guidance to those state institutions so they are not out there fearing what they can and can’t do on their campuses.”
Senator Bradford Blackmon (D) said that since the aim is to level the playing field in college and university admissions, he suggested adding a ban to legacy admissions and doing away with athletic scholarships. In response, McCaughn simply said that the Senate could “look at it in the future” if that is what Blackmon wanted to propose.
Before the bill was passed, several senators rose to speak on the measure.
Senator John Horhn (D) spoke against the legislation, calling it the ending of “a second Reconstruction in this country.”
“By cloaking it in this idea that we are going to all be fair, and everybody’s going to be on a level playing field, when point in fact, the practical matter of things is that we’re not on a level playing field, we’re not even close,” Horhn said. “But this measure is going to put us that much further behind in terms of this country doing right by the people it used to do wrong by.”
Senator Angela Hill (R) told those in the chamber that lived through the civil rights era that “all we can say is that we can’t do anything about the fools or idiots of the past.”
“We’ve overcome a lot. Some of you may not think we have overcome as much,” Hill said. “I think people are plenty smart enough to do what we need to do based on their character without us having to nitpick what they look like.”
The bill was passed in the Senate by a vote of 34 to 14. The original House language passed 75 to 41 in early February.
McCaughn expects the measure to go to conference with the House to hash out details.
Jeremy Pittari
