SB5227 mandates “diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and antiracism” training and assessments for faculty, staff, and students at public institutions of higher education, with the purpose of “eliminating structural racism.”
The House passed SB5227 on April 9, 2021, by a vote of 67 to 31. We have assigned pluses to the nays because training, as well as curriculum, in higher education is the responsibility of–and a fundamental right of choice retained by–the faculty, staff, and students themselves, not the government. Educational freedom, as with all other constitutional rights, is protected by the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment.