WV Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Ban ‘Diversity, Equity And Inclusion’ Policies On College Campuses

The West Virginia Tuesday was the day that the legislature introduced a bill to ban several pillars from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Industry on college campuses.

House Bill 3503 Chris Pritt, State Delegate, introduced the bill. The bill would abolish diversity statements and race-based preferential hiring practices, ban mandatory diversity training, and ban the state’s colleges and universities and other educational institutions from funding DEI activities. This new law is similar to those passed in other Republican-led states.

First, the bill bans “diversity statements” Not required for college admissions or employment applications. The bill defines what constitutes a “diversity statement” as:

[A]ny written or oral statement discussing an applicant’s or candidate’s:

(A) Race and sexual orientation.
(B) Perspectives, experiences with, or contributions towards diversity, equity, inclusion; marginalized
groups; anti-racism; social justice; intersectionality; confessing one’s race-based privilege; or
Related concepts
(C.) Views and experiences with race, sex color, ethnicity or gender identity.
Orientation of students and coworkers
(D) Support level for any theory/practice that favors differential treatment
An individual or group based on race, sex and color or gender identity, gender or sexuality
orientation.

The bill prohibits institutions of higher learning from giving preference to applicants, students or staff because of their expressed opinions or actions in support of individuals or groups on the basis or race, color, ethnicity or gender identity. They are also prohibited from offering preferential treatment to applicants for admission and employment on the same basis, regardless of any other laws.

Next, the bill prohibits mandatory diversity training for higher education institutions. Specifically, the bill bans all programs that claim American-West Virginia society. “based on or significantly influenced by present-day institutional structures or relations of power, privilege, subordination, or oppression that operate on the basis of race, sex, color, gender, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, or any intersection of these classes”These structures should be removed and a differential treatment should be accorded to these bases.

It also bans all trainings “unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, identity group allyship, microaggressions, micro-invalidation, group marginalization, anti-racism, systemic oppression, structural racism, structural inequity, transphobia, homophobia, heteronormativity, racial or sexual privilege, social justice, intersectionality, neo-pronouns, inclusive language, gender identity, gender theory, or related formulations of these concepts.”

Finally, the bill bans colleges and universities from spending money to engage with Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion activities. The bill prohibits the following activities: Race-based admissions policy; differential treatment or special benefit to individuals or groups based on race or sex; or promotion of DEI as an official institution policy.

The bill would ban officers and offices of DEI at Concord University, Glenville State University, Marshall University, Marshall University, Shepherd University, West Liberty University, West Virginia University, and West Virginia University.

This West Virginia bill is a continuation of efforts made in many other states to end woke indoctrination at schools. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis overhauled The Board of Trustees at New College of Florida was a decision that prompted other colleges. Critical Race Theory is to be Banned In response. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders sighed an Executive Order She would ban CRT in schools in her State. And Texas Deciding to ban DEI activities on campus, lawmakers introduced a bill.