House Bill 127

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT STATE SUPPORTED POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE PURVIEW OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING OR THE MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD FROM SOLICITING PLEDGES OR EXPENDING AMU FUNDS, REGARDLESS OF THE SOURCES FROM WHICH SUCH FUNDS ARE DERIVED, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING OR IMPLEMENTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES FOR STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. State-supported postsecondary educational institutions under the purview of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the Mississippi Community College Board shall not solicit pledges, except pledges to uphold general and federal law, the United States Constitution and the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, or statements or commitments for or against certain viewpoints about diversity, equity and inclusion, Critical Race Theory rhetoric or political identity or ideology, as part of any hiring, promotion, disciplinary, or evaluation process, including:

(a) As part of applications for employment, promotion and tenure applications, conditions of employment, job qualifications, job descriptions or performance evaluations; or

(b) As part of any admissions or student disciplinary process, including as part of any admissions applications or orientations.

This section applies to all students and employees at the university, including the president of the university.

SECTION 2. (1) No state-supported postsecondary educational institution under the purview of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the Mississippi Community College Board shall expend any funds, regardless of the sources from which such funds are derived, to purchase membership in, or goods or services from any organization that discriminates on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or religion.

(2) No state-supported postsecondary educational institution under the purview of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the Mississippi Community College Board shall expend any funds, regardless of the sources from which such funds are derived, to promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities with individuals who are enrolled as members of the student body or individuals who are employed by the postsecondary educational institution, that:

(a) Promote discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex under this section to subject any student or employee to training or instruction that espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates or compels such student or employee to believe any of the following concepts:

1. Members of one race, color, national origin, or sex are morally superior to members of another race, color, national origin or sex;

2. A person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously;

3. A person's moral character or status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, national origin or sex;

4. Members of one race, color, national origin, or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race, color, national origin or sex;

5. A person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex, bears responsibility for, or should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of, actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin or sex;

6. A person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex, should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment to achieve diversity, equity or inclusion;

7. A person, by virtue of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin, bears personal responsibility for and must feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress because of actions, in which the person played no part, committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin or sex; or

8. Such virtues as merit, excellence, hard work, fairness, neutrality, objectivity, and racial colorblindness are racist or sexist, or were created by members of a particular race, color, national origin, or sex to oppress members of another race, color, national origin or sex;

(b) Advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion;

(d) Include or espouse, as government speech or expressive activity of the state-supported postsecondary educational institution speaking or acting on the postsecondary educational institution behalf, preferential treatment or special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or religion.

SECTION 3. (1) Each state-supported postsecondary educational institution shall adopt a policy detailing students' rights and responsibilities regarding expressive activities at the institution. The policy must:

(a) Demonstrate a commitment to intellectual freedom

and viewpoint diversity;

(b) Prohibit:

(i) The funding, promotion, sponsorship, or support of:

1. Any office of diversity, equity and inclusion; and

2. Any office that funds, promotes, sponsors, or supports an initiative or formulation of diversity, equity and inclusion beyond what is necessary to uphold the equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; and

(ii) The endorsement or dissuasion of, or interference with, any lifestyle, race, sex, religion or culture.

(2) For the purpose of this section the term "expressive activities" means any speech or expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or by Article 3, Section 13, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, and includes assemblies, protests, speeches, the distribution of written material, the carrying of signs, the circulation of petitions and published or unpublished faculty research, lectures, writings and commentary. The term does not include commercial speech.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.