DEI restrictions, parental rights bills advance

The Mississippi legislature has been actively advancing a number of bills that will preserve our culture and protect parents and families this session.

Lawmakers hit another deadline on Thursday when all bills that cleared committee last week had to pass out of their respective legislative chambers. All bills that passed one chamber are now headed to the other for consideration.

So what’s happening?

Stopping DEI

Legislation that will protect students from divisive DEI teachings are advancing in both chambers. We have seen direct and immediate directives from the Trump administration wiping out DEI at the federal level. We have also seen many companies start to push back.

🎉 Lawmakers in Mississippi appear ready to end DEI in the Magnolia State. When that happens, we must ensure public schools and universities offer more than lip service.

House Bill 1193, sponsored by Rep. Joey Hood, would prohibit DEI teachings and trainings in all public K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities. Senate Bill 2515, sponsored by Sen. Nicole Boyd, prohibits DEI in colleges and universities.

Protecting parental rights

House Bill 1081, sponsored by Rep. Kimberly Remak, would affirm and protect parents’ fundamental rights to direct the upbringing, education, care, and custody of their children. This bill reinforces parental authority and limits government overreach into family matters. Parents should have the final say when it comes to their children’s upbringing!

Key Points of HB 1081:

✅ Recognizes parents’ fundamental right to make decisions for their children.

✅ Prohibits state agencies and officials from infringing on these rights.

✅ Ensures that any government intervention must be narrowly tailored and serve a compelling interest in the least restrictive way.

Protecting women

House Bill 188, known as the Dignity and Safety for Incarcerated Women Act, has passed the House and aims to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of individuals in correctional facilities.

Key Points of HB 188:

✅ Restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters in correctional facilities must be designated exclusively for males or females.

✅ Incarcerated individuals can only access facilities designated for their biological sex.

✅ Correctional facilities must take reasonable steps to ensure privacy in restrooms, showers, and sleeping quarters.

✅ Allows legal action against facilities that violate these protections.

Other important bills that have advanced

👉 Senate Bill 2192, sponsored by Sen. Angela Hill, which would require the identification of sex on a driver’s license to be consistent with the sex of the individual that was determined at birth.

👉 House Bill 599, sponsored by Rep. Price Wallace, which would add civil liabilities for child sexual exploitation, distribution of child pornography and other obscene matters by commercial entities.

👉 Senate Bills 2608, 2650, and 2653, all sponsored by Sen. Jeremy England, would make various improvements to the state’s campaign finance laws by limiting corporate contributions, making updates to campaign finance reporting, and expound on the prohibition of campaign contributions for foreign nationals.

👉 House Bill 1308, sponsored by Rep. Jansen Owen, and Senate Bill 2309, sponsored by Sen. Joey Fillingane, which would create a crime for the sexual grooming of children.

We thank the Mississippi legislature for advancing these bills! We will continue to keep you posted as the session progresses.