Bill would strip funds from Ga. schools with diversity programs
ATLANTA, Ga. - A Georgia state senator is threatening, through legislation, to strip the state’s schools of funding if they have diversity, equity and inclusion programs in place.
State Sen. Marty Harbin, R–Tyrone, says any Georgia educational institution, kindergarten through college, that receives state funding is subject to losing it under Senate Bill 120.
“The DEI initiative actually ostracizes some people because they don’t believe in the philosophies that are there,” said Harbin at a committee hearing for the bill this week. “For too long DEI initiatives have moved beyond their original intent and have become ideological filters that stifle free speech, enforcement of group identity over individual merit and promote a culture of division rather than unity.”
Harbin said DEI programs also lead to unfair hiring practices based on “quotas and identity politics” rather than qualifications.
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“Cutting back DEI programs that help recruit and retain students and faculty will only make the disparity worse,” said Merritt.
Many opponents of the bill said the proposed legislation was too vague. They wondered if a cultural sorority or fraternity, or a cultural student organization, would count as DEI.
Harbin said it was simply an effort to combat group-think and an ironic narrowing of diversity.
“Defunding these programs does not mean that we do not diversity, it means we true diversity of thought where students and faculties are engaged in open dialect without fear of reprisal,” he said. “It means that every student in Georgia has a fair shot based on their abilities, not on arbitrary quotas and identity politics.”
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“If you want to make things actually equal, then you need to be able to make sure that everyone is on the same playing field,” said state Rep. Ruwa Romman, D-Duluth. “And the reality is that a lot of these programs are leveling the playing field, but it seems to be making a lot of people in these hallowed halls very uncomfortable.”
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