Text of MS HB 1609 (2025)

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE 2025 Regular Session To: Judiciary A By: Representative Hobgood-Wilkes House Bill 1609 AN ACT TO DEFINE TERMS; TO PROHIBIT PUBLIC LAND-GRANT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING FROM EXPENDING APPROPRIATED FUNDS TO ESTABLISH, SUSTAIN, SUPPORT, OR STAFF A DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION OFFICE; TO PROHIBIT PUBLIC OR LAND-GRANT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING FROM EXPENDING FUNDS TO CONTRACT, EMPLOY, ENGAGE, OR HIRE AN INDIVIDUAL TO SERVE AS A DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION OFFICER; TO ESTABLISH PARAMETERS FOR THE PROHIBITIONS ON OFFICES AND OFFICERS OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION AT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO ALLOW THE IHL BOARD TO REALLOCATE FUNDS THAT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPENDED ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION OFFICES OR OFFICERS IN FISCAL YEAR 2025 TO COVER CERTAIN MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS AND TUITION COSTS; TO PROHIBIT PUBLIC OR LAND-GRANT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING FROM REQUIRING DIVERSITY TRAINING; TO PROHIBIT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING FROM REQUIRING OR SOLICITING DIVERSITY STATEMENTS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES; TO PROHIBIT PUBLIC OR LAND-GRANT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING FROM GRANTING PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS BASED ON RACE, SEX, COLOR, ETHNICITY, GENDER, OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION; TO REQUIRE EACH PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING TO PRODUCE A REPORT CONFIRMING COMPLIANCE WITH THIS ACT; TO ESTABLISH A PROCESS FOR REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; TO ALLOW THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO FILE SUIT TO COMPEL COMPLIANCE; TO ESTABLISH A CIVIL CAUSE OF ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; TO ESTABLISH PROPER JURISDICTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the following words have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise: (a) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion" includes: (i) Any effort to manipulate or otherwise 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; (ii) Any effort to promote differential treatment of or provide special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity; (iii) Any effort to promote or promulgate policies and procedures designed and/or implemented with reference to race, color, or ethnicity; (iv) Any effort to promote or promulgate trainings, programming, or activities designed and/or implemented with reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation; and (v) Any effort to promote as the official position of the administration, the college, the university, or any administrative unit thereof, a particular, widely contested opinion referencing unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, anti-racism, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neo-pronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, racial or sexual privilege, or any related formulation of these concepts. (b) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion office" means any division, office, center, or other unit of an institution of higher learning or component thereof which is responsible for creating, developing, designing, implementing, organizing, planning, or promoting policies, programming, training, practices, activities, and procedures relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. "Diversity, equity, and inclusion office" does not include: (i) An office staffed exclusively by licensed attorneys (except for paralegal and secretarial support) and certified by the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi as operating with the sole and exclusive mission of ensuring legal compliance with the public institution of higher learning's obligations under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, applicable court order, or other applicable state and federal law; (ii) An academic department defined as a unit of a public institution of higher learning that exists primarily for the purpose of offering courses for degree credit and that does not establish policy or procedures to which other units of the public institution are subject; (iii) An office solely engaged in new student recruitment; and (iv) A registered student organization. (c) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion officer" means an individual: (i) Who is: 1. A full or part-time employee of a public institution of higher learning or component thereof; or 2. An independent contractor of a public institution of higher learning. (ii) Whose duties for the public institution include coordinating, creating, developing, designing, implementing, organizing, planning, or promoting policies, programming, training, practices, activities, and procedures relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. (iii) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion officer" does not include: 1. Any full or part-time employee who is a licensed attorney and whose sole job duties related to diversity, equity, and inclusion are to ensure compliance with the public institution of higher learning's obligations under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, applicable court order, or other applicable state and federal law; 2. Any faculty member while engaged in teaching, research, and the production of creative works; the dissemination of their research and creative works; or advising a registered student organization; or 3. A guest speaker or performer with a short-term engagement. (2) Public or land-grant institutions of higher learning in the State of Mississippi may not expend appropriated funds or otherwise expend any funds derived from bequests, charges, deposits, donations, endowments, fees, grants, gifts, income, receipts, tuition, or any other source, to establish, sustain, support, or staff a diversity, equity, and inclusion office or to contract, employ, engage, or hire an individual to serve as a diversity, equity, and inclusion officer. (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to cover or affect a public institution of higher learning's funding of: (a) Academic course instruction; (b) Research and creative works by the public institution's students, faculty, or other research personnel, and the dissemination thereof; (c) Activities of registered student organizations; (d) Arrangements for guest speakers and performers with short-term engagements; or (e) Mental or physical health services provided by licensed professionals. (4) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting bona fide qualifications based on sex which are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of public higher learning. (5) Any funds that would otherwise have been expended on diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or diversity, equity, and inclusion officers in Fiscal Year 2025 may be reallocated, at the discretion of the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, to merit scholarships for lower- and middle-income students, and to reduce tuition for in-state students. (6) None of the funds appropriated by this act for Fiscal Year 2025 may be expended by a public institution of higher learning until its governing board has filed a report with the Department of Education and made such report available for the public on its website. Such report shall disclose: (a) The steps taken to comply with this section by the governing board and its staff, the administration, staff, and faculty of the public institutions under the board's governance; (b) The number and job titles of the individuals deemed to be required by the public institution of higher learning's obligations to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, applicable court order, or other applicable state and federal law; and (c) Certifies that the public institutions of higher learning under the board's governance are fully compliant with this section. (7) (a) Any person may notify the Attorney General of a violation or potential violation of this section by a public institution of higher learning. (b) The Attorney General may file suit for a writ of mandamus compelling the public institution of higher learning to comply with this section. (8) (a) Any student enrolled in a degree program at a public institution of higher learning, any faculty member of a public institution of higher learning, or any alumnus or alumna of a public institution of higher learning may bring an action against that public institution of higher learning if it violates this section. (b) If the claimant shows that the public institution of higher learning violated this section, the claimant is entitled to injunctive relief. (9) (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action brought under this section may be brought in: (i) The county in which all or a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; (ii) The county of residence in this state for any one (1) of the natural person defendants at the time the cause of action accrued; (iii) The county of the principal office in this state of any one (1) of the defendants that is not a natural person; or (iv) The county of residence for the claimant if the claimant is a natural person residing in this state. (10) If any provision of this section, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this section and the application of its provisions to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. SECTION 2. (1) As used in this section, the following words have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise: (a) "Public institution of higher learning" means any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, public medical or dental unit, public state college, or other public agency of higher education located in the State of Mississippi. (b) "Mandatory" means a requirement of any kind imposed on a student, employee, or applicant for employment, including but not limited to: (i) A requirement, the nonfulfillment of which, may adversely affect the status, salary, or benefits of an employee or applicant for employment at the public institution of higher learning or component thereof; (ii) A requirement to participate in any administrative process or decision-making body of the university, such as a hiring committee; (iii) A requirement to participate in any otherwise available program sponsored by the public institution of higher learning or component thereof; (iv) A requirement to receive any generally available benefit offered by the public institution of higher learning or component thereof; (v) A requirement to live in any residential facility used exclusively for housing or boarding students or faculty; and (vi) A requirement for the application or receipt of any scholarship, loan, grant, financial aid, or forgiveness program. (c) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion" means these interrelated concepts: (i) Purporting to describe or expose structures, systems, or relations of power, privilege, or subordination on the basis of race, sex, color, gender, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation; (ii) Purporting to describe methods to identify, dismantle, or oppose such structures, systems, or relations; or (iii) Justifying differential treatment or special benefits conferred on the basis of race, sex, color, gender, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, including: unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgenderism, microaggressions, micro-invalidation, group marginalization, anti-racism, systemic oppression, ethnocentrism, structural racism, structural inequity, social justice, intersectionality, neo-pronouns, inclusive language, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender identity, gender theory, racial or sexual privilege, or related formulations of these concepts. (d) "Diversity training" means a training, seminar, discussion group, workshop, or other instructional program, whether provided in-person, online, or by any other means, with a purpose of advising, counseling, demonstrating, explaining, instructing, or teaching participants about diversity, equity and inclusion. "Diversity training" does not include: (i) An academic course offered for credit; or (ii) Activities of a registered student organization affecting only its members. (2) A public or land-grant institution of higher learning shall not make diversity training mandatory. (3) (a) Any person may notify the Attorney General of a violation or potential violation of this section by a public institution of higher learning. (b) The Attorney General may file suit for a writ of mandamus compelling the public institution of higher learning to comply with this section. (4) (a) Any student enrolled in a degree program at a public institution of higher learning, or any alumnus or alumna of a public institution of higher learning, may bring an action against that public institution of higher learning if it violates this section. (b) If the claimant shows that the public institution of higher learning violated this section, the claimant is entitled to injunctive relief. (5) Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action brought under this section may be brought in: (a) The county in which all or a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; (b) The county of residence in this state for any one (1) of the natural person defendants at the time the cause of action accrued; (c) The county of the principal office in this state of any one (1) of the defendants that is not a natural person; or (d) The county of residence for the claimant if the claimant is a natural person residing in this state. (6) This section shall not be construed to: (a) Limit the academic freedom of any individual faculty member to direct the instruction within his or her own course; or (b) Prohibit any program or training scripted by licensed attorneys and required to comply with the public institution of higher learning's obligations under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, the Age Discrimination of Employment Act, as amended, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, applicable court order, or other applicable state and federal law, provided the public institution of higher learning makes the materials for the program publicly available on the public institution of higher learning's website. (7) If any provision of this section, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this section and the application of its provisions to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. SECTION 3. (1) As used in this section, the following words have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise: (a) "Diversity statement" means any written or oral statement discussing: (i) The applicant or candidate's race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation; (ii) The applicant or candidate's views on, experience with, or contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion; marginalized groups; anti-racism; social justice; intersectionality; confessing one's race-based privilege; or related concepts; (iii) The applicant or candidate's views on or experience with the race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation of students and co-workers; or (iv) The applicant or candidate's views regarding any theory or practice that advocates for the differential treatment of any individual or groups of individuals based on race, sex, color, gender, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation. (2) No diversity statement shall ever be required or solicited as part of an admissions process, employment application process, hiring process, contract renewal process, or promotion process; or as a condition of participation in any administrative or decision-making function of any public or land-grant post-secondary educational institution of the state. (3) No public or land-grant institution of higher learning shall grant preferential consideration to an applicant, teacher, employee, or student for opinions expressed or action taken pertaining to another individual or a group of individuals in which the public institution's consideration is based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation of those other individuals. (4) Nothing in this law shall be construed to: (a) Prevent a public institution requiring applicants and candidates: (i) To disclose or discuss the content of their scholarly research or creative works; (ii) To certify compliance with state and federal anti-discrimination law; (iii) To discuss pedagogical approaches or experience with students with mental or physical disabilities; or (iv) To affirm fidelity to or provide an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the State of Mississippi and the United States. (b) Prevent an applicant or candidate from providing, of his or her own initiative, any information described in paragraph (a) of this section. (5) Every public university's Office of General Counsel shall annually transmit a report on compliance with this law in writing to the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Mississippi. (6) (a) Any person may notify the Attorney General of a violation or potential violation of this section by a public institution of higher learning; and (b) The Attorney General may file suit for a writ of mandamus compelling the public institution of higher learning to comply with this section. (7) (a) Any student enrolled in a degree program at a public institution of higher learning, any faculty member of a public institution of higher learning, or any alumnus or alumna of a public institution of higher learning may bring an action against that public institution of higher learning if it violates this section; and (b) If the claimant shows that the public institution of higher learning violated this section, the claimant is entitled to injunctive relief. (8) Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action brought under this section may be brought in: (a) The county in which all or a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; (b) The county of residence in this state for any one (1) of the natural person defendants at the time the cause of action accrued; (c) The county of the principal office in this state of any one (1) of the defendants that is not a natural person; or (d) The county of residence for the claimant if the claimant is a natural person residing in this state. (9) If any provision of this section, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this section and the application of its provisions to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. SECTION 4. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no public or land-grant institution of higher learning shall grant preference to any applicant for admission or employment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. (2) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting bona fide qualifications based on sex which are conducive to the normal operation of institutions of public learning. (3) (a) Any person may notify the Attorney General of a violation or potential violation of this section by a public institution of higher learning. (b) The Attorney General may file suit for a writ of mandamus compelling the public institution of higher learning to comply with this section. (4) (a) Any student enrolled in a degree program at a public institution of higher learning, any faculty member of a public institution of higher learning, or any alumnus or alumna of a public institution of higher learning may bring an action against that public institution of higher learning if it violates this section. (b) If the claimant shows that the public institution of higher learning violated this section, the claimant is entitled to injunctive relief. (5) Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action brought under this section may be brought in: (a) The county in which all or a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; (b) The county of residence in this state for any one (1) of the natural person defendants at the time the cause of action accrued; (c) The county of the principal office in this state of any one (1) of the defendants that is not a natural person; or (d) The county of residence for the claimant if the claimant is a natural person residing in this state. SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.