Republican Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a law this week that bans state funding of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at state agencies and public universities and requires those institutions to have sex specific bathrooms.
Ivey signed the measure, SB129, on Wednesday after it easily passed both the state House and Senate. The legislation comes as DEI programs at institutions across the country have come under scrutiny for focusing on identity as opposed to merit.
“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.
“We have already taken action to prevent this in our K-12 classrooms, and I am pleased to sign SB129 to protect our college campuses,” she added. “Supporting academic freedom, embracing diversity of cultures and backgrounds and treating people fairly are all key components of what we believe in Alabama, and I am more than confident that will continue.”
The law will “prohibit certain public entities from maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and from sponsoring diversity, equity, and inclusion programs,” prohibit the “promotion, endorsement, and affirmation of certain divisive concepts in certain public settings,” and ensure that male and females have separate bathrooms at public institutions.
One of the divisive concepts included the belief that someone can be inherently racist or responsible for slavery because of the color of their skin. This concept has been widely promoted throughout the education system as students have been taught that all white people are racist or inherently an oppressor.
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Other divisive concepts banned include teaching the concept of white guilt and promoting the idea that it is racist to believe in meritocracy and hard work.
The measure was widely opposed by Democrats and liberal groups who claimed that it would be used to stop history teachers from talking about slavery and related topics. The legislation’s supporters said that the bill would not prevent anyone from teaching accurate history or discussing negative aspects of Alabama’s past.
States like Florida and Texas have already enacted similar legislation and Republican lawmakers in Congress have pushed to pull federal funding from medical schools that incorporate DEI into their admissions or instruction.