The South Carolina House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ban public colleges and universities from requiring applicants for admission or employment to submit statements of agreement or disagreement with diversity, equity, inclusion or “any political ideology or movement.”
H. 4289 would prohibit these agencies from requesting such statements even from current employees. If you receive such a statement anyway, you will not be considered for admission or employment.
The bill also prohibits public agencies from requiring employees to undergo “training or other educational programs” on DEI.
This is one of several bills targeting DEI in state legislatures this year. But it's not as severe as other bills, such as a new Alabama law that prohibits professors from assigning courses that advocate certain “divisive concepts.”
The South Carolina bill does not revoke or prohibit funding for DEI offices or programs, but would require these universities to report annually their “total number of administrative positions and total operating expenses,” including a description of programs that support DEI.
The House passed the bill 84 to 30 on second reading Wednesday. This was a party-line vote, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats voting against. The House again passed the bill 77-30 on its third reading Thursday. That means the bill now heads to the state Senate.
that much South Carolina Daily Gazette They reported that Republican Representative Adam Morgan cited Boston University professor Ibram X to speak on the bill. How to be anti-racist “The only remedy for past discrimination is present discrimination.”
The South Carolina branch of the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus all oppose the bill. situation Rep. Ivory Thigpen, a Democratic Party member and chair of the national convention, was reported as saying, “Some people will think it’s 1964, not 2024.”