The Mississippi Senate passed a bill Thursday that would eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from the state’s universities, a priority elevated by Republican President Donald Trump. 

Senate Republicans passed the bill with a party line 34-14 vote. The move comes a day after the House advanced a sweeping anti-DEI bill of its own. The move lays the groundwork for negotiations between the House and Senate. The measures passed by each chamber differ in who they would impact, what activities they would regulate and how they aim to reshape the inner workings of the state’s education system.

The Senate bill defines DEI as any effort to influence the composition of the faculty or student body with reference to “race, sex, color, or ethnicity, apart from ensuring colorblind and sex-neutral admissions and hiring in accordance with state and federal anti-discrimination laws.”

It would ban all campus training and programs deemed to violate that definition.

The bill’s prime sponsors, Tyler McCaughn, R-Newton and Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, have argued the proposed law will clean up inefficiencies in Mississisppi’s higher education system and return the admissions and hiring process to a merit-based system.

“Abolishing DEI policies does not mean we are abandoning diversity,” McCaughn said. “It means that we are refocusing …We’re refocusing on excellence.”

In addition to banning DEI initiatives, Senate Bill 2515, titled the “Requiring Efficiency For Our Colleges And Universities System,” or REFOCUS Act, would create a task force to look for inefficiencies in the state’s higher education system. 

The task force would seek to shed light on Mississippi’s lower rate of postsecondary degrees than other states, what can be done to prepare for a declining number of high school graduates attending college and other questions. 

Senate Democrats, as their colleagues in the lower chamber argued Wednesday, said DEI programs were created to correct for centuries of discrimination against minorities and women.

“I want you to understand that when we talk about diversity, equity and inclusion, it is not a matter of having unqualified people or you missing an opportunity,” said Democratic Sen. Rod Hickman. “What diversity, equity and inclusion does is it is a mechanism that opens the door for me that your fathers or your grandfathers or somebody down the road opened for you.”

The legislation would impact all of the state’s community colleges and public universities. The House version extends to K-12 schools. The House bill would also bar universities from offering certain courses. The Senate bill has an exemption for scholarly research or creative works.

The House bill contains a provision absent from the Senate version that would force all public schools to teach and promote that there are two genders.

The proposals also differ in how they would be enforced. The Senate bill would direct universities to develop an internal complaint and investigative process for looking into those accused of violating the law. Only students, faculty and contractors would be able to file complaints. The House bill threatens to withhold state funds based on complaints that anyone could lodge. It would empower people to sue schools accused of violating the law.

DEI programs have come under fire mostly from conservatives, who say the programs divide people into categories of victims and oppressors, exacerbate antisemitism and infuse left-wing ideology into campus life. DEI also has progressive critics, who say the programs can be used to feign support for reducing inequality without actually doing so.

But proponents say the programs have been critical to ensuring women and minorities aren’t discriminated against in schools and workplace settings. They argue the programs are necessary to ensure that institutions meet the needs of increasingly diverse student populations.

Trump promised in his 2024 campaign to eliminate DEI in the federal government. One of the first executive orders he signed did that. Some Mississippi lawmakers introduced bills in the 2024 session to restrict DEI, but the proposals never made it out of committee.

The House and Senate now have the ability to take up the other chamber’s proposal as they potentially work toward a final bill.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The House on Thursday passed a bill to make it easier for K-12 students to transfer to other public schools outside their home districts, advancing a policy priority for House Speaker Jason White.  

House Bill 1435 passed the GOP-majority chamber 67-46, with partisan crossover supporting and opposing the legislation. Four Democrats joined the Republican majority to support the proposal, while 10 Republicans joined with the Democratic minority to oppose the bill. 

Most Republicans who opposed the measure either represent north Mississippi, a region that has historically invested in and protected public schools, or represent the suburban area of Rankin County. 

“I know what’s best for my child,” Rep. Jansen Owen, a Republican from Poplarville who authored the bill, told his colleagues. “Every parent in this room knows what’s best for their child, and the people of Mississippi know what’s best for their children. Not school personnel, not principals not superintendents.”

Mississippi currently has a very limited form of “open enrollment” that allows students to transfer from their home district to a nearby school district. However, the transfer requires the approval of both the home and receiving school districts. 

Under the House-approved legislation, a student could request to transfer to another school district outside their home district, and the receiving school district would have 60 days to either accept or reject the student’s application. The home school district could no longer prevent the student from transferring to another district. 

Rep. John Faulkner, a Democrat from Holly Springs who is Black, said he worried the proposal could bring re-segregation of schools because families with means would flock to well-performing school districts while poorer families would be locked in low-performing school districts.  

“This pushes families toward an illusion of choice rather than pushing equality for all,” Faulkner said. 

Owen, who is white, disagreed with Faulkner because he said the bill would allow open enrollment for all students, and the legislation prohibits school districts from discriminating against applicants over their race, sex and income level. 

READ MORE: Senate education chairman says Senate doesn’t currently support easing public school transfers

School districts receive funding through local property taxes and the state government. The state funds under the bill would follow the student from district to district, while the funds from local property taxes would stay in their original district. 

Under the proposal, the state would pay the difference to the receiving school district if a student transferred. Lawmakers said they plan to allocate $5 million for transfers for the first year if the proposal becomes law.

READ MORE: Sending taxpayer money to private schools advances in Mississippi House

Rep. Omeria Scott, a Democrat from Laurel, attempted to amend the bill by removing the $5 million fund. She said it is unfair for the state to “subsidize” students who want to live in one area but attend school districts in another location. The House defeated her amendment. 

The bill now heads to the Senate, where the lieutenant governor will likely refer it to the Senate Education Committee for consideration. 

Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, on Monday, killed a similar proposal to the one the House passed and said he doesn’t think such a proposal can currently pass the upper chamber.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The federal grant spending freeze, announced in January then rescinded by President Donald Trump and blocked by federal judges, could have catastrophic impact on federally dependent Mississippi, should it be re-enacted.

Magnolia State agencies, according to a report by its legislative watchdog agency, spent $10.9 billion in federal grant assistance in fiscal year 2023, covering everything from agriculture to solving violent crime and helping veterans. Nearly every state agency, from the Governor’s Office — which received $11.6 million for the period — on down spends federal grant money.

For scale, the entire annual state general fund budget is about $7 billion.

State Rep. Daryl Porter, D-Summit, requested the report from the legislative committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review and received the rundown on the fiscal impact of a freeze in federal funds.

Some highlights of the report include:

• Mississippi received $270 million for health programs, not including the $5.7 billion it received for Medicaid services or the $40 million for mental health programs.
• Mississippi received billions in U.S. Department of Agriculture aid, including $376.7 million for feeding school children, $70 million for Women, Infants and Children nutrition programs, nearly $2 million for inspecting meat and poultry, $5.9 million for soil and water conservation and $3 million for forestry assistance.
• The U.S. Department of Defense helped Mississippi’s National Guard and military operations with nearly $119 million. It helped the state’s veterans affairs efforts with nearly $52 million, including nursing home care for veterans.
• Mississippi’s economic development agency spent $44.6 million in federal grant money.
• Public safety in Mississippi received nearly $29 million in federal grants including $15 million for transportation safety and millions for fighting drug trafficking and homeland security programs.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation provided the state grants of nearly $751 million.
• Mississippi’s Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks received nearly $19 million.

A memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from the executive office of the president to heads of federal agencies announcing the freeze last week directed them to “temporarily pause all activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”

A follow-up memo said the previous one “is rescinded,” and, “If you have questions about implementing the president’s executive orders, please contact your agency general counsel.”

The freeze last week left those who rely on federal grants uncertain what to do, including those at Mississippi universities who perform research with federal grant dollars. A biology professor reportedly questioned whether researchers could purchase food for their live animals.

In a statement last week, Gov. Tate Reeves said, “We are closely monitoring the situation and are in communication with federal authorities to ensure that critical services for Mississippians continue without interruption. Our priority is to safeguard the well-being of our residents, especially those who rly on federally funded programs.”

On Wednesday, Mississippi U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, called for new Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem to provide assessment of how a federal freeze would impact homeland security programs, such as those “that, among many other things, support first responders, provide security funding to houses of worship, and provide grants for towns and cities to secure their networks.”

In a statement Thompson said: “Trump’s extreme funding freeze — straight out of Project 2025 — will not only take money from families and children to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, it will have disastrous consequences for our national security. Since the September 11 attacks, we have wisely invested — and continue to invest — in dozens of homeland security grant programs to keep all of our districts safe from terrorism and prepare for disasters.”

Mississippi is perennially among the top most-federally-dependent states, with more than 40% of its annual budget coming from federal dollars. The state receives a nearly 3-to-1 return for every dollar in federal taxes it pays, and annual federal per-capita payments to the state are nearly $7,000.

One recent study said Mississippi had nearly 18,400 people employed in federal jobs, nearly 5,000 more than in neighboring Arkansas, with a similar population.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.