Fight against DEI picks up steam nationwide
August 18, 2023
By Casey Harper
The Center Square
The legislative fight against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in education is picking up steam nationwide.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. introduced the Fairness in Higher Education Accreditation Act, which would ban accreditation officials from considering an educational institution’s DEI or affirmative action policies when determining accreditation.
DEI departments have exploded at universities in recent hears with a spike in new administrators who enforce liberal equity and racial policies at the educational institution. These programs usually embrace the idea of systemic racism, speak of the U.S. as a deeply racist nation, and push for the most aggressive side of the LGBTQ agenda.
In recent years, more and more federally recognized accreditation agencies have implemented DEI requirements for applicants, forcing schools to embrace progressive ideas on race and gender or risk losing their accreditation.
“Wokeness should not be mandatory,” Rubio said in a statement after introducing the bill, which the Florida senator argues “seeks to prevent a politicized Department of Education from further forcing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies into higher education.”