31-03-2025
What is the 'Dismantle DEI Act'? How Tennessee lawmakers are targeting hiring initiatives with legislature
Tennessee lawmakers are looking to further dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the Volunteer State.
House Bill 622, known as the "Dismantle DEI Act," would mandate that local governments and publicly funded colleges and universities get rid of their DEI programs. The bill is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, and Rep. Aron Maberry, R-Clarksville.
If passed, the legislation would take away all DEI hiring initiatives in county, municipal and metropolitan governments in the state of Tennessee. It would also eliminate any diversity and inclusion programs for hiring at public institutions of higher education, including the University of Tennessee.
"The general assembly finds that local governments are at their most effective when the employees of the local government are the most highly qualified candidates for employment with the local government and that hiring decisions should be based on merit rather than any other metric," the bill reads.
Simultaneously, Tennessee Republicans are pushing another anti-diversity initiative that would eliminate affirmative action programs on state regulatory and health-related boards and commissions where the governor appoints the members. This would include the Board of Medical Examiners, Board of Nursing, Board of Occupational Therapy, Board of Dietitian/Nutritionist Examiners and more than 20 others.
Under House Bill 1237, such boards would no longer allow "racial preferences or racial quotas" in the composition of board members. The boards that currently are required to have at least one member of a racial minority or woman could get rid of that clause.
The governor would have fewer restrictions as to whom he could appoint under the proposed legislation.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Paul Rose, R-Covington, and Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville.
Stronger calls to eliminate DEI programs in Tennessee come as President Donald Trump looks to dismantle diversity programs at a federal level. On his first day back in office, Trump revoked a 1965 civil rights executive order to roll back authority long used to prevent employment discrimination by federal contractors, subcontractors and grant recipients.
The president has signed executive orders to eliminate DEI policies across much of the federal government. A number of the efforts are facing legal challenge in the courts.
Most recently, Trump targeted the Smithsonian Institution with a March 27 executive order that pulls federal funding from "exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy."
Trump has reversed decades of DEI initiatives in just a few months. But why?
According to the Trump administration, the president is "putting merit first," according to a recent news release. The administration called the federal DEI programs "radical and wasteful."
"President Trump is restoring fairness and accountability in federal hiring, and terminating DEI across the federal government," the news release said.
Cutting DEI programs was a key pillar of Trump's 2024 reelection campaign and a promise he has made good on in the early months of his second administration.
DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. It has a fairly open-ended definition and can be construed differently depending on a person's political ideology.
Generally, DEI is a conceptual framework that promotes the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially populations that have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination because of their background, identity and disability, according to the American Psychological Association.
Supporters of these diversity programs say they help companies hire and retain top talent and boost innovation and profits. Others consider the policies to be "woke," saying that they allow companies to hire based on race instead of merit. Critics believe DEI programs propagate 'reverse discrimination," that is, discrimination against white people.
USA TODAY reporter Jessica Guynn contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee lawmakers target DEI with two new bills. What to know
