Federal judge bars NH from enforcing DEI ban on most school districts

A federal judge on Oct. 2 blocked New Hampshire‘s new ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in public schools from taking effect, ruling that the law would prevent school districts from operating “at even a basic level.”

Judge Landya McCafferty found that the law, which was passed this year, would prohibit schools from splitting sports teams and bathrooms by sex, from determining whether students were old enough to begin kindergarten and from classifying students as having disabilities for the purpose of providing them with special education services.

“The breadth of the anti-DEI laws’ prohibition is startling,” McCafferty wrote. “The definition of ‘DEI’ contained [in the law] is so far-reaching that it prohibits long-accepted — even legally required — teaching and administrative practices.”

The decision is a setback for Republican leaders in the state, who made the elimination of DEI a central feature of their legislative agenda last session.

The law defined DEI as anything that classifies individuals on the basis of a protected characteristic for the purpose of “achieving demographic outcomes.” It had been designed to root out initiatives like implicit bias training, DEI assessments, and critical race theory.

The court order applies to the majority of – but not all – districts in the state. To be covered, the district must employ a member of the National Education Association, the largest educators’ union in the state, provide disability services to a member district or be one of the four school districts that joined the lawsuit directly.

The National Education Association represents educators in 133 of the 180 districts in the state, according to its website.

The union served as one of eight plaintiffs in the case. It was joined by the Oyster River, Dover, Somersworth and Grantham school districts, as well as an advocacy organization and two individuals.

“This court victory could not come at a more critical time,” said Devon Chaffee, the executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, which brought the case. “Students across New Hampshire have the right to an inclusive education, and educators in our state should not be threatened with vague laws that restrict their ability to meet the needs of their students.”

McCafferty issued a preliminary injunction in the case, a more lasting ruling than previous restraining orders that had been issued. The case could still proceed to a trial.

A spokesperson for New Hampshire’s Department of Justice, which is defending against the challenge, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Jeremy Margolis / Portsmouth Herald