A bill in an Alabama Senate committee this morning would restrict diversity, equity and inclusion programs at state agencies and public schools and colleges and ban “divisive concepts” in classrooms.
Senate Bill 129, introduced Tuesday by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, defines diversity, equity and inclusion programs as any “where participation is based on an individual’s race, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, or sexual orientation.”
State agencies, schools and colleges can’t sponsor any such programs or require students or employees “to attend or participate in any diversity, equity, and inclusion program or any training, orientation, or course work that advocates for or requires assent to a divisive concept.”
Violators of the proposed law could be fired.
Federal, private and grant funding for such initiatives are barred under the bill too. The bill is on the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee’s 11 a.m. agenda today. It has 24 GOP co-sponsors.
The bill bans “divisive concepts” including that an individual might be inherently racist because of their race or skin color and “individuals, by virtue of race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin, are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race…” and that “slavery and racism are aligned with the founding principles of the United States.”
Barfoot has previously sponsored legislation prohibiting divisive teachings in classrooms and state workers’ training. In January, Barfoot told Alabama Daily News he and his colleagues were considering expanding the bill to include language targeting DEI initiatives but the conversations wouldn’t be rushed.
“We’re gonna make sure that we do it right,” he said. “We try to accomplish the goals that we set forward without hurting anybody. We want to make sure that it’s done the right way and then, certainly, we’ll have some conversations with some folks that may have opposition to it.”
The bill’s introduction Tuesday drew protest from Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham.
“You don’t realize (this bill) is going to wipe out the Office of Minority Affairs in the governor’s office,” Smitherman said on the Senate floor.
He said the bill was an effort to alter history, including slavery in the United States.
“You don’t want your kids to know how you treated us,” Smitherman said.
He said he was ready to slow action in the Senate for the rest of the session, and did so Tuesday. Senate leadership adjourned without passing any of the bills on the calendar, including Sen. Arthur Orr’s proposal to remove the state sales tax on feminine hygiene products and baby care items including diapers and wipes.
It bill also says colleges and universities must designate multiple occupancy restroom use based on an individual’s biological sex.
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