By Abraham Kenmore
SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — Republicans pushed a bill through the South Carolina House that prohibits public colleges from factoring applicants’ political stances into hiring, firing and admission decisions but does not ban their diversity programs.
An 84-30 vote Wednesday evening on party lines came after Republicans defeated Democrats’ efforts to kill or alter the bill.
Democrats opposed the bill as stifling diversity, equity and inclusion programs that promote acceptance and help students of all races and backgrounds succeed. Republicans accused opponents of misrepresenting the bill, arguing it’s meant to foster differing viewpoints, as to not discriminate.
The proposal says publicly supported technical colleges and universities can’t ask for a declaration of support or disagreement “with any political ideology or movement, including a promise or statement regarding diversity, equity, inclusion or other associated political issues,” when deciding who to admit, hire or promote.
If someone voluntarily supplies such a statement, schools can’t use it in their decisions. The bill bars discriminating against students and employees based on their political views.
It also requires colleges to annually report the total cost and number of administrative positions in their DEI programs, as well as any complaints alleging violations and how they were resolved. It directs the Commission on Higher Education to collect the data and provide it to legislators every fall.
Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Hopkins, said his opposition comes from personal experience. He spoke about facing racism and trying to fit in as a Black student at the College of Charleston.
“I want you to understand where my passion and my speaking is coming from,” said Johnson, who graduated in 2008 from the College of Charleston. According to the latest data, 78% of its students and 79% of its faculty are white.
By limiting DEI programs, Johnson said, other students like him would be less likely to succeed in South Carolina’s public colleges.
“We’re going down a dangerous pathway here, where we’re limiting the number of Jermaine Johnsons that are coming out of the College of Charleston,” he said.
Republicans countered the bill is a way to prevent ideological discrimination and indoctrination at colleges.
“We’re asking a question of what our tax dollars should be spent on, because what we spend our money on reflects our values,” said Rep. Adam Morgan, R-Taylors.
He summed up his position by repeatedly quoting, without naming him, Black historian and author Ibram X. Kendi, director of the Center for Antiracist Research at private Boston University, which raised more than $50 million after its founding in 2020.
Kendi’s line from “How to be an Antiracist” that Morgan repeated was, “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.”
“Does that statement reflect South Carolina values?” asked Morgan, chairman of the hardline conservative Freedom Caucus.
“If you want to hold those personal viewpoints, that is absolutely your right,” he said. “Don’t use taxpayer dollars to enforce those beliefs on all of our students, on all of our faculty.”
The floor vote followed a failed Freedom Caucus effort last year to pull state funding from DEI programs at colleges.
The Republican majority repeatedly rejected their budget amendments, noting they struck money from the schools without necessarily touching the programs. They also argued the budget wasn’t the place for such a policy debate, but they promised debate on legislation later.
The bill approved Wednesday would not remove funding from DEI programs or prevent colleges from “certifying compliance with state and federal antidiscrimination laws” when applying for grants or submitting reports for accreditation. It also specifies that requiring students and faculty to follow antidiscrimination laws and disciplining those who don’t are not violations.
A perfunctory vote Thursday, March 28, sent the bill to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain.
Ahead of Thursday’s vote, opponents who gathered outside the House chamber said they hope the bill dies in the Senate. Opponents decrying the bill included members of the S.C. Legislative Black Caucus, representatives of the state branches of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and NAACP, and a University of South Carolina professor.
“We do not engage in viewpoint discrimination, as the bill alleges,” said Todd Shaw, an associate professor in USC’s political science department and African American Studies Program.
“And in no way do we try to indoctrinate students, for that would be a violation of the highest principles of free speech, academic freedom, and the scholarly inquiry and creative endeavors,” he said.
Rep. Ivory Thigpen, chairman of the Black Caucus, pointed to the one amendment Democrats were able to get through in their hours-long opposition, which requires the annual report to also include every instance a college prohibited a program believed to be in violation of the potential law. That would allow Democrats to gather information on the repercussions, he said.
“If it does see the light of day, we will have ammunition to come back, and to fight for another day,” said Thigpen, D-Columbia.
Abraham Kenmore is a reporter covering elections, health care and more. He joins the S.C. Daily Gazette from The Augusta Chronicle, where he reported on Georgia legislators, military and housing issues.
S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
