A bill passed by South Carolina House Republicans will prevent the state’s public colleges and universities from using diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a hiring and admissions metric.

House Bill 4289, which passed along an 84-30 vote in the South Carolina House of Representatives on March 27, disallows public colleges from “[expending] any funds appropriated or authorized to promise admission, benefits, or promote or engage in differential treatment to an applicant for admission.” 

The proposed legislation would also restrict schools from being able to “hire or promote a faculty member or employee, on the applicant’s or faculty member’s or employee’s commitment to or making a declaration of personal support for or disagreement with any political ideology or movement, including a promise or statement regarding diversity, equity, inclusion, or other associated political issues.”

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The bill also stipulates that public colleges and universities cannot “ask for or demand any such political promise or declaration from an applicant, or a faculty member or employee.” 

Further, the bill would prohibit schools from forcing faculty and staff to partake in DEI trainings. Schools would also be required to submit a report to the state detailing expenses related to DEI programs along with any complaints filed relating to violations of H.B. 4289.

The legislation was met with criticism from Democrats, such as State Representative Kambrell Garvin, who alleged that “[t]his bill stifles conversation. To me, there’s value in diversity, there’s value in equity, there’s value in inclusion. What this bill says is the progress and the strides that we have made obviously upsets many folks who have supported it,” reported ABC 15.

South Carolina State Representative Jordan Pace, one of the bill’s sponsors, pushed back on the opposition to the bill, telling Campus Reform: “The claim that minority students would be disadvantaged by this bill is absurd on its face. . . . Absolutely nothing in the bill restricts or bans any form of student programming. It just says that the [DEI] programs must be reported.”

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“The rest of this very short legislation simply prevents government universities from unjustly discriminating against employees and potential employees based on those individuals [sic] political views,” he continued. 

Following its approval in the House, the bill was introduced in the state Senate on April 2, where it is currently under consideration by the Committee on Education. Campus Reform has reached out to the University of South Carolina and state Representative Kambrell Garvin for comment. This article will be updated accordingly. 

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