Ala. governor signed a bill banning diversity initiatives [Video]

This week, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB 129 into law. It prohibits certain public entities from having offices that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

According to a description of the legislation, it also prohibits the promotion and endorsement of “certain divisive concepts in certain public settings,” and requires the designation of “multioccupancy restrooms based on biological sex.”

Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the PEN America advocacy network have criticized the bill.

“SB129 disrupts the work of student, staff, and faculty organizations at higher education institutions that rely on public funding from their university to develop DEI or culturally based programming,” said the ACLU. “This is not only a form of classroom censorship, it’s an anti-truth bill which curtails an education on systemic inequities, racial violence, and the historic efforts to gain civil rights and civil liberties for marginalized communities throughout our nation’s history.”

PEN America explained how the bill is expected to impact classrooms.

“This new language …