DEI ban in NC K-12 schools is ‘solution in search of a problem,’ CMS official says
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools official says the ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools passed into law Wednesday won’t have much of an impact on the district.
CMS Executive Director of Intergovernmental Relations Charles Jeter does, however, worry about “unintended consequences” of the legislation, he told The Charlotte Observer Friday.
Lawmakers in the North Carolina House of Representatives Wednesday overrode Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of Senate Bill 227, “Eliminating ‘DEI’ in Public Education.” It completed a veto override process that first started last summer with a 30-19 state Senate vote. The override comes amid a wave of recent anti-DEI bills in nearby states South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia.
The legislation bans public schools from using “discriminatory practices” or teaching “divisive concepts.” It defines 12 “divisive concepts,” such as teaching “One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex,” “A meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist,” or “Any individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.”
It bars school districts from having specific offices or roles dedicated to “diversity, equity and inclusion.”
N.C. House Speaker Destin Hall applauded the override, stating that the legislation quashes “divisive DEI policies for good,” in a Wednesday news release.
Meanwhile, in his own news release, Stein accused lawmakers who overrode his veto of “stoking culture wars” and attempting to “whitewash the diversity that makes our state strong.”
CMS doesn’t currently have any office or role specifically designated for “diversity, equity and inclusion,” as the legislation forbids. Jeter said he doesn’t see anything in the legislation that would require CMS to change its current practices.
“I don’t believe we’re doing any of that, so I just honestly don’t believe that we have anything right now that we would look at and say, ‘Oh, this is clearly outside the lines of this legislation,’” Jeter said. “To some degree, I think this legislation is a solution in search of a problem.”
He is, however, concerned about the vagueness of some of the bill’s language. While it defines “divisive concepts,” it leaves room for individuals to disagree on whether certain curriculum or statements violate the law.
That gray area, he said, may hamstring educators or school districts.
“They give definitions, but the definitions in and of themselves are interpretable by different people,” Jeter told the Observer. “That’s the concern: it’s the unintended consequences.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green and State Board of Education Chair Eric Davis raised similar concerns in a joint statement Thursday.
“We believe the law leaves educators with genuine questions about how to apply it,” they said. “It restricts instruction on certain concepts while expressly and appropriately preserving the teaching of difficult history, including the historical oppression of people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity and religion.”
Jeter served as a Republican state representative from 2013 to 2016 before taking a job with CMS. He said he’s “frustrated” that the legislature is voting on what he calls “culture legislation” while there still is not a state budget for this fiscal year, which starts July 1.
The last time the General Assembly passed a comprehensive, two-year budget was 2023, meaning educators and other state employees went without raises this school year.
Lawmakers announced the two chambers had reached a budget agreement May 12, including a reported average raise for teachers of 8%. However, the budget still has not been passed.
“We’ve got people that are struggling to make ends meet; we’ve got people that haven’t got a significant raise in years, and instead of making sure they get a budget done, the General Assembly is working on this,” he said. “I just don’t know what we’re fixing here.”