Alabama’s GOP-led legislature passed a sweeping new measure on Tuesday that would ban state funding for diversity programs at public universities and other government entities, an effort opponents say would undo decades of advancements in civil rights.
Lawmakers in the state Senate overwhelmingly passed the new bill, which, if signed into law, would broadly ban programs that advocate for “divisive concepts.” Public universities, state agencies and local boards of education would not be allowed to use state funding for diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs. And the bill would also ban transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identities.
The measure now heads to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk.
Democrats have expressed alarm about the broad language used in the bill, specifically the ban on “divisive concepts.” As written, the measure would ban teaching that links “fault, blame or bias” to any race, religion, gender or nationality. The bill would also bar instruction that a person is “inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, religion, sex ethnicity or national origin.”
Any teacher or employee that violates the bill would be subject to disciplinary action or termination. The bill does note that DEI programs are allowed on campuses as long as no state funds are used to sponsor such programs.
Democrats in the state expressed deep concern about the bill on Tuesday, pointing to the state’s racist past.
“It is allowing our racial ethnicity, and the significance of our skin color, to be slowly stripped away, in every shape, form or fashion,” state Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D) said on the statehouse floor, per the Alabama Reflector.
“The advancements that we have made — race relations, human rights, social rights, social justice — in this country,” she added, “They’re slowly rolling it back.”
Civil rights groups have condemned the measure. PEN America called the bill a “pernicious educational gag order” that would lead to campuses “devoid of intellectual freedom.” And the ACLU of Alabama said the passage was a “blow” for students, activists and everyday Alabamans who “showed up to oppose these bills.”
Republicans have increasingly targeted DEI programs since former President Donald Trump passed an executive order in 2020 attacking such efforts, saying they are divisive programs meant to cater to the left. In Alabama, the bill’s sponsors said the measure would help higher education “return to its essential foundations of academic integrity.”
“This legislation will build bridges to celebrate what people have in common, not erect walls that silo people into the idea that their race, religion, and sexual orientation solely define who they are and how society should view them,” state Sen. Will Barfoot (R) said in a statement last month.
Florida and Texas passed similar legislation, which prompted some colleges to eliminate DEI-related positions to comply with such regulations.
If signed into law, Alabama’s new measure would go into effect on Oct. 1.