Green says NC schools will get guidance on new DEI law

North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction plans to issue guidance to school districts on implementing a new state law banning diversity, equity and inclusion practices in educational settings, state Superintendent Maurice Green said Thursday. 

Speaking during a State Board of Education meeting, Green said educators are likely to have questions about how to comply with Senate Bill 227, which became law last month after state lawmakers overrode Gov. Josh Stein’s veto. 

“I think there are going to be genuine questions about how educators are to apply the law,” Green said. 

Thursday’s meeting was the State Board’s first since the veto override. 

Green said one section of the law restricts instruction on certain concepts, while another explicitly preserves the teaching of difficult history, including the historical oppression of people based on race, ethnicity and religion. 

“We are grappling with the law and are likely to try to put out some guidance to public school unit leaders as we try to figure out how to be sure that this law is appropriately implemented,” Green said. 

The law prohibits public school units from engaging in or advocating for what it defines as discriminatory practices or divisive concepts. It also bars school districts from maintaining offices identified as “diversity, equity and inclusion offices” or assigning duties to employees that include promoting those concepts. 

The law also prohibits the State Board of Education from approving, providing, recommending or requiring professional development on what it defines as discriminatory practices or divisive concepts. 

NC House Republicans override Gov. Stein’s vetoes on anti-DEI and pro-ICE bills

Republican lawmakers who authored the bill said it’s needed because they believe schools are “indoctrinating” children with “woke” concepts, a claim the Trump administration has also made many times. 

In a statement issued after lawmakers overrode Stein’s veto last month, North Carolina Association of Educators president Tamika Walker Kelly said the law undermines efforts to make public schools welcoming for all students.

“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion aren’t political talking points; they are the foundation of schools that are safe, welcoming, and strong for every child that steps through the schoolhouse door,” Kelly said.

Beginning Sept. 1, school districts, charter schools and other public school units must certify annually to DPI that they are complying with the law. DPI must then submit a report to the General Assembly by Jan. 15 summarizing those certifications. 

Green and State Board Chair Eric Davis raised similar concerns in a joint statement after the bill became law last month.