West Virginia is the latest state to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in education, but now the NAACP is going to court to stop this growing trend.
Inside Higher Education reports the ban is one of eight executive orders issued by West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey on only his second day in office.
The order came on the same day professors and students at the University of Alabama filed a lawsuit claiming a similar ban in their state prevents them from learning diverse points of view.
The NAACP also joined the lawsuit against the DEI ban in public colleges, local school boards, and state agencies.
“The freedom to teach, the freedom to learn, and the freedom for students to have rich extracurricular experiences without viewpoint censorship are core foundations of our higher education system and are zealously protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the lawsuit states, according to the College Fix.
Supporters of the ban describe it as a prohibition against what they consider “divisive concepts” like white privilege and mandatory DEI workshops.
Opponents call the ban a censorship bill.
Students argue they have lost “on-campus office spaces and university funding” because they believe in DEI.
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