North Carolina Senate votes to eliminate DEI initiatives in public schools
The North Carolina Senate passed Senate Bill 227 on Tuesday, aiming to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives in public education to focus on core curriculum and free speech.
Senate Bill 227, titled 'Eliminating 'DEI' in Public Education,' seeks to prohibit the promotion of discriminatory policies and practices in public schools.
According to the WTVD, the bill's supporters argue it will ensure schools concentrate on essential academic subjects and foster an environment that respects diverse opinions.
'We do see an achievement gap between black and brown boys,' said Christina Spears, president of the Wake County Chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators, who opposes the bill.
'My focus is, who gets to decide what makes people uncomfortable?' asked Democratic Sen. Val Applewhite during a debate, expressing her opposition to the bill.
The bill prohibits schools from having a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office, division, designated employee, or any similar unit.
ALSO READ: Judge blocks ending of government support for DEI programs, citing free-speech rights
It is designed to comply with a Trump-era executive order, ensuring the state continues to receive over $3 billion in federal funding.
Supporters of the legislation argue that DEI programs require students to judge others based on race, sex, or other immutable factors, which they believe detracts from academic excellence.
'Our children are the ones disadvantaged when DEI policies take precedent over academic excellence,' said Sen. Michael Lee.
Opponents of the bill, like Christina Spears, argue that DEI programs have tangible benefits for students, particularly in addressing achievement gaps.
Raleigh resident Jessica Strauss expressed concern that banning DEI could harm young adults by pushing a false narrative.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration, where its future remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, another bill in the House proposes raising teachers' pay and reinstating education-based salary supplements.
VIDEO: Judge blocks ending of government support for DEI programs, citing free-speech rights
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Fast Company
37 minutes ago
- Fast Company
What DEI actually does for the economy
Few issues in the U.S. today are as controversial as diversity, equity, and inclusion —commonly referred to as DEI. Although the term didn't come into common usage until the 21st century, DEI is best understood as the latest stage in a long American project. Its egalitarian principles are seen in America's founding documents, and its roots lie in landmark 20th-century efforts such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act and affirmative action policies, as well as movements for racial justice, gender equity, disability rights, veterans, and immigrants. These movements sought to expand who gets to participate in economic, educational, and civic life. DEI programs, in many ways, are their legacy. Critics argue that DEI is antidemocratic, that it fosters ideological conformity, and that it leads to discriminatory initiatives, which they say disadvantage white people and undermine meritocracy. Those defending DEI argue just the opposite: that it encourages critical thinking and promotes democracy —and that attacks on DEI amount to a retreat from long-standing civil rights law. Yet missing from much of the debate is a crucial question: What are the tangible costs and benefits of DEI? Who benefits, who doesn't, and what are the broader effects on society and the economy? As a sociologist, I believe any productive conversation about DEI should be rooted in evidence, not ideology. So let's look at the research. Who gains from DEI? In the corporate world, DEI initiatives are intended to promote diversity, and research consistently shows that diversity is good for business. Companies with more diverse teams tend to perform better across several key metrics, including revenue, profitability, and worker satisfaction. Businesses with diverse workforces also have an edge in innovation, recruitment, and competitiveness, research shows. The general trend holds for many types of diversity, including age, race, and ethnicity, and gender. A focus on diversity can also offer profit opportunities for businesses seeking new markets. Two-thirds of American consumers consider diversity when making their shopping choices, a 2021 survey found. So-called ' inclusive consumers ' tend to be female, younger, and more ethnically and racially diverse. Ignoring their values can be costly: When Target backed away from its DEI efforts, the resulting backlash contributed to a sales decline. But DEI goes beyond corporate policy. At its core, it's about expanding access to opportunities for groups historically excluded from full participation in American life. From this broader perspective, many 20th-century reforms can be seen as part of the DEI arc. Consider higher education. Many elite U.S. universities refused to admit women until well into the 1960s and 1970s. Columbia, the last Ivy League university to go co-ed, started admitting women in 1982. Since the advent of affirmative action, women haven't just closed the gender gap in higher education— they outpace men in college completion across all racial groups. DEI policies have particularly benefited women, especially white women, by expanding workforce access. Similarly, the push to desegregate American universities was followed by an explosion in the number of Black college students—a number that has increased by 125% since the 1970s, twice the national rate. With college gates open to more people than ever, overall enrollment at U.S. colleges has quadrupled since 1965. While there are many reasons for this, expanding opportunity no doubt plays a role. And a better-educated population has had significant implications for productivity and economic growth. The 1965 Immigration Act also exemplifies DEI's impact. It abolished racial and national quotas, enabling the immigration of more diverse populations, including from Asia, Africa, southern and eastern Europe, and Latin America. Many of these immigrants were highly educated, and their presence has boosted U.S. productivity and innovation. Ultimately, the U.S. economy is more profitable and productive as a result of immigrants. What does DEI cost? While DEI generates returns for many businesses and institutions, it does come with costs. In 2020, corporate America spent an estimated $7.5 billion on DEI programs. And in 2023, the federal government spent more than $100 million on DEI, including $38.7 million by the Department of Health and Human Services and another $86.5 million by the Department of Defense. The government will no doubt be spending less on DEI in 2025. One of President Donald Trump's first acts in his second term was to sign an executive order banning DEI practices in federal agencies —one of several anti-DEI executive orders currently facing legal challenges. More than 30 states have also introduced or enacted bills to limit or entirely restrict DEI in recent years. Central to many of these policies is the belief that diversity lowers standards, replacing meritocracy with mediocrity. But a large body of research disputes this claim. For example, a 2023 McKinsey & Company report found that companies with higher levels of gender and ethnic diversity will likely financially outperform those with the least diversity by at least 39%. Similarly, concerns that DEI in science and technology education leads to lowering standards aren't backed up by scholarship. Instead, scholars are increasingly pointing out that disparities in performance are linked to built-in biases in courses themselves. That said, legal concerns about DEI are rising. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice have recently warned employers that some DEI programs may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Anecdotal evidence suggests that reverse discrimination claims, particularly from white men, are increasing, and legal experts expect the Supreme Court to lower the burden of proof needed by complainants for such cases. The issue remains legally unsettled. But while the cases work their way through the courts, women and people of color will continue to shoulder much of the unpaid volunteer work that powers corporate DEI initiatives. This pattern raises important equity concerns within DEI itself. What lies ahead for DEI? People's fears of DEI are partly rooted in demographic anxiety. Since the U.S. Census Bureau projected in 2008 that non-Hispanic white people would become a minority in the U.S by the year 2042, nationwide news coverage has amplified white fears of displacement. Research indicates many white men experience this change as a crisis of identity and masculinity, particularly amid economic shifts such as the decline of blue-collar work. This perception aligns with research showing that white Americans are more likely to believe DEI policies disadvantage white men than white women. At the same time, in spite of DEI initiatives, women and people of color are most likely to be underemployed and living in poverty regardless of how much education they attain. The gender wage gap remains stark: In 2023, women working full time earned a median weekly salary of $1,005 compared with $1,202 for men— just 83.6% of what men earned. Over a 40-year career, that adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost earnings. For Black and Latina women, the disparities are even worse, with one source estimating lifetime losses at $976,800 and $1.2 million, respectively. Racism, too, carries an economic toll. A 2020 analysis from Citi found that systemic racism has cost the U.S. economy $16 trillion since 2000. The same analysis found that addressing these disparities could have boosted Black wages by $2.7 trillion, added up to $113 billion in lifetime earnings through higher college enrollment, and generated $13 trillion in business revenue, creating 6.1 million jobs annually. In a moment of backlash and uncertainty, I believe DEI remains a vital if imperfect tool in the American experiment of inclusion. Rather than abandon it, the challenge now, from my perspective, is how to refine it: grounding efforts not in slogans or fear, but in fairness and evidence.
Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Boston Globe
The right's anti-DEI push masks an underlying prejudice
Many of those who summarily attack DEI have found a way to splash across news and social media an impersonal-sounding target, which often cloaks an underlying and blatant racism, misogyny, or homophobia that stands to affect the well-being of millions of lives. Neither the president nor the ruling party in Congress is inclined to transparently define the driving force for attacking DEI, which leaves it to the judicial system and to our free press to challenge those who attack DEI-related policies to explicitly define what they mean. Karl Kuban Plymouth
New York Post
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- New York Post
Sen. Cory Booker roasted by pundits who accuse him of making Nazi salute at political event
Right-wing pundits ripped New Jersey Senator Cory Booker for making a gesture that they likened Nazi salute at the conclusion of a speech Saturday night — and compared it to the move Elon Musk made that was ripped by liberals. The Garden State Democrat made the gesture at a Democratic convention in California — placing his hand over his heart and then gesturing to the crowd with a straight arm and an open hand above shoulder height. Internet influencers were quick to jump on Booker's salute, and wonder where the outrage is when there was so much criticism by Booker's fellow Democrats and others on the left of Musk. 4 Sen. Cory Booker speaks at the California Democratic Party's 2025 State Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calf. on May 31, 2025. AP 'If Elon Musk is a Nazi for doing this gesture.. Cory Booker is one too. Sorry, I don't make the rules,' one viral post read. 'Cory Booker did the thing. This is literally the Third Reich all over again. These are the darkest days ever. Democracy is doomed,' one user wrote sarcastically in a viral post. Some X users were more pointed in their criticism of the differing receptions Booker's and Musk's gestures each garnered from the pundit class. 'Same gesture. Different political party. Funny how that works,' Brandon Straka, founder of the Walk Away movement, wrote on X. 'This better be a national story for the next week!,' another X poster joked. 4 Booker makes the gesture, similar to the Nazi salute, during his speech. 4 Booker raises his fist in the air during his appearance in California. AP Former DOGE chief and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk infamously made a remarkably similar gesture at an inauguration celebration at the Capital One Arena back in January. 'Thank you for making it happen. Thank you, my heart goes out to you,' Musk said, placing his hand over his heart and then extending his arm to the crowd. Despite widespread public outcry over one-armed gesture's similarity to the Hitler salute, prominent figures in the Jewish community rose to Musk's defense. 'It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,' antisemitism watchdog the ADL wrote on X at the time. 4 Elon Musk gestures to the crowd during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on Jan. 20, 2025. AFP via Getty Images Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote supportively on X, '@elonmusk is being falsely smeared. Elon is a great friend of Israel.' Senator Booker's office did not respond to The Post's request for comment.
