Republicans Pull the Plug on Senate Bill Banning DEI in Georgia Schools — for Now

Yahoo

07-03-2025

Georgia Democrats celebrated late Thursday night after state Senate Republicans tabled a bill that would've pulled government funding from public schools and colleges that maintain diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Senate Bill 120 made headlines earlier this week after it advanced out of committee, sparking fears among some that initiatives aimed at increasing and promoting Black representation and tolerance in Georgia could be impacted.
Failing to get passed in the state Senate or the state House by Thursday's Crossover Day deadline means SB 120 won't be signed into law as a standalone bill this year, but it could still be added as an amendment to another bill that has advanced before this year's legislative session ends on April 4.
State Sen. Harold Jones, D-Augusta, said he was 'happy' when the chamber adjourned around 10 p.m. Thursday without bringing SB 120 to the full Senate floor. He said he and members of his party are 'cautiously optimistic' that the legislation won't be signed into law this year, but he's not letting his guard down yet.
'In the General Assembly, nothing truly goes away until Sine Die at midnight,' Jones told Capital B Atlanta on Friday, using the Latin term for the last day of the year's 40-day legislative session.
State Sen. Sonya Halpern, D-Atlanta, said the failure of SB 120 to advance was a win for Georgia students, educators, and businesses.
'This bill was never about fairness — it was about fear,' Halpern said via text message Thursday night. 'It sought to censor honest discussions, dismantle programs that create opportunity, and undermine our ability to compete in a diverse, global economy.'
The bill's author, state Sen. Marty Harbin, R-Tyrone, told reporters inside the Gold Dome Thursday night that he thinks the legislation had enough support to pass, but he and his GOP colleagues decided against putting it up for a full Senate vote at the last minute due to concerns over the language.
'We had some concerns, and we want to do it right,' Harbin said after the Senate ended its session.
In its present form, the legislation would bar local schools, members of the Technical College System of Georgia, and members of the University System of Georgia — which includes most public colleges and universities — from promoting, supporting, or maintaining DEI programs.
Supporters of SB 120 have echoed talking points championed by President Donald Trump and members of his administration in their efforts to dismantle DEI programs at the federal level. Harbin told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this week that SB 120 would 'restore academic excellence and fairness at Georgia's colleges.'
'For too long, DEI initiatives have moved beyond their original intent and have become ideological filters that stifle free speech, enforcement of group identity over individual merit and promote a culture of division rather than unity,' he said.
Critics have argued the SB 120's language is too vague and could unintentionally impact programs it wasn't meant to address, such as scholarships, internships, training programs, and student organizations that promote inclusion of marginalized groups, which includes white women, members of the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities.
'These spaces bring students of all backgrounds together in community,' Georgia Tech student Raine Rinehart, who serves as an organizer with the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, said in a statement cited by the ACLU of Georgia. 'On a campus full of people from countless backgrounds and countries, how can we thrive without programs that advocate for diversity?'
Harbin noted that other states, including Indiana and Iowa, have advanced bills seeking to ban DEI in schools this year. He didn't rule out adding SB 120 as an amendment to another bill that made the Crossover Day deadline, pointing out that state lawmakers get two years to secure passage of bills once they're introduced. He also didn't rule out presenting SB 120 again during next year's legislative session.
'This is a biennial [legislative session],' Harbin noted. 'We'd rather do it right than do it halfway.'
Jones acknowledged that white women have benefited the most from DEI programs, but noted that initiatives like affirmative action have also benefited Black Americans. He pushed back on the notion that Black people shouldn't care about DEI programs, calling it 'ahistorical.'
He said the reason DEI hasn't been more effective in the advancement of African Americans is because those who oppose DEI programs have been undermining them since the Civil Rights Movement.
'Ever since the inception of affirmative action, people have taken affirmative action to court to actually gut its principles,' Jones said. 'The better way to do it is actually enforce it instead of fighting against it.'
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