Overview

• US District Judge Henry Wingate granted the temporary restraining order in response to challenges from educators, students and civil-rights groups over the DEI ban
• House Bill 1193, passed in April, prohibits establishing DEI offices, programs, trainings or activities and bars promotion of “divisive concepts” such as transgender ideology and gender theory
• Plaintiffs led by the ACLU of Mississippi and the Mississippi Center for Justice argue the law’s vague and undefined provisions violate First and Fourteenth Amendment protections
• Mississippi’s Institutions of Higher Learning and the State Board of Education approved enforcement policies on July 18, requiring local school boards to draft their own compliance procedures
• Affidavits cited in the ruling describe universities canceling or defunding LGBTQ+ and multicultural initiatives out of fear of penalties, illustrating the law’s chilling effect