Groups sue Mississippi education boards over new DEI law

Associated Press

2 days ago

A coalition of civil rights and legal organizations filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Mississippi's education boards challenging diversity, equity and inclusion policies imposed by the Legislature at public schools, colleges and universities.
The complaint was filed Monday in the Southern District Federal Court by the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi and partner legal groups against the Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippi Community College Board, Mississippi State Department of Education and Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board. According to an ACLU press release, the lawsuit was prompted by concerned teachers, parents, students and organizations.
The lawsuit alleges that House Bill 1193, which was passed by the Legislature in April and is part of a national trend of anti-DEI legislative efforts, violates the First and Fourteenth amendments — which respectively constitutionally protect free speech and equal protection under the law — by imposing the government's views on race, gender and sexuality on students and educators.
It also claims that the vagueness of the law allows officials to enforce it 'in an arbitrary and discriminatory fashion,' and that it doesn't provide a clear process for rectifying violations.
Rob McDuff, a Mississippi Center for Justice attorney on the case, said the measure will force a complete revamp of various K-12, college and law-school courses, including Mississippi history, biology and English literature.
'It's one of the most ridiculous things to come out of the Legislature in a long time, and that's saying something,' he said. 'It's really going to alter education as we know it in Mississippi.'
A spokesperson for IHL said the board is reviewing the lawsuit and could not comment. A spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Education directed questions to the Mississippi attorney general's office.
Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, one of the bill's authors, declined to comment on the lawsuit when reached by Mississippi Today.
Jarvis Dortch, director of the ACLU of Mississippi, said in a press release, 'Members of the Mississippi Legislature may very well be incapable of having productive discussions on race, gender, or our state's history. That doesn't mean our educators and students aren't up to handling difficult conversations.
'The First Amendment protects the right to share ideas, including teachers' and students' right to receive and exchange knowledge,' Dortch said. 'Open and honest dialogue benefits all students and, if given a try, it would benefit the Mississippi Legislature.'
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This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.