RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — The North Carolina Senate passed measures Tuesday limiting the abilities of the democratic attorney general and aimed at removing diversity, equity and inclusion measures from public schools.
Senate Bill 58, which would prevent Attorney General Jeff Jackson from participating in any legal challenges to executive orders by the president, passed the Senate on Tuesday despite opposition from Democrats.
Since the beginning of his term, Jackson has joined other attorneys general in filing suit over several of President Donald Trump’s orders, including over the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s access to Treasury Department data, federal funding for biomedical research and Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship.
Democrats have criticized the bill as forfeiting the state’s ability to legally advocate for itself against federal overreach.
Republican leadership has disagreed with Jackson’s participation in the suits, with Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger saying he doesn’t agree with Jackson’s actions to coordinate with other Democratic attorneys general when the state would rather have him focus on matters closer to home.
Democrats have disparaged the measure, claiming it leaves no room for flexibility. Should legislators successfully pass the proposal into law, the General Assembly would need to edit the statute if lawmakers wanted Jackson or a future attorney general to be able to challenge a specific executive order. The bill still needs to pass the House.
“We should not take away the attorney general’s ability to represent the citizens of the state of North Carolina when he has the opportunity to defend our state for jobs, for funding, for health care, for things that our people desperately need,” said state Senator Graig Meyer.
Republicans approved an amendment to the bill on the floor Tuesday, as a nod to complaints raised by Democrats last week that the General Assembly hasn’t acted to penalize people who are impersonating U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
The change to the bill also directs Jackson to report the number of convictions stemming from impersonating law enforcement and ICE to a legislative committee.
“If there are folks out there impersonating ICE officers we think that could be a very dangerous situation,” said Berger, who said the body would be interested in acting if the report reveals an issue.
The Senate also passed a bill targeting DEI initiatives in the K-12 public schools system and preventing public school employees from teaching or being taught about “divisive concepts.”
Public schools cannot advocate for discriminatory practices, the bill says, or compel students or staff to affirm divisive concepts, nor can they be taught to students. Schools are also barred from developing a diversity, equity and inclusion department or employing anyone to promote these concepts.
The measure will next go to the House for votes.
Divisive concepts identified in the proposal include one race or sex being presented as superior to another, a person being labeled as inherently racist, sexist or oppressive due to their race or sex, or teaching students that the United States was created for the purpose of oppressing members of another race or sex. Particular character traits, such as values, privileges and beliefs are also not allowed to be attributed to a group because of their race or gender under the bill.
In addition to barring schools from teaching students this material, public schools are prohibited from including these concepts in seminars or other professional training for staff.
“I think we have heard loud and clear from the voters that the voters have serious concerns about how we’ve gotten off the rails on some of these woke agenda items, and so I think it’s appropriate for the legislature to look into where we are with those particular issues,” said Berger, a primary sponsor of the bill.
The bill also specifies that it doesn’t limit students from accessing materials that advocate for divisive concepts while researching or doing independent study.
State Senator Michael Lee, also a primary sponsor of the bill, said DEI initiatives are enforcing stereotypes of bias.
“It’s not a ban on teaching history or discussing past injustices. I mean, in the bill it explicitly provides discussions, impartial discussions on historical events, oppression, ethnic history is a part of the standard curriculum,” he said. “It’s not a restriction on free speech. The bill specifically states it doesn’t limit protected speech.”
Controversial topics in history can still be discussed as long as the school or teacher doesn’t voice support for “divisive topics,” and the history of ethnic groups or the oppression of a group based on race, ethnicity, class, nationality and religion are still allowed to be taught.
Democrats were vocally opposed, saying that censorship in classrooms would occur.
“I find it troubling that this bill seeks to erase individual truths about our nation’s history simply because it may cause discomfort,” said state Senator Val Applewhite. “I ask my colleagues, who gets to decide what is uncomfortable? Are we now prioritizing feelings over facts?”
And state Senator Lisa Grafstein said the bill “tries to define DEI to mean certainly divisive concepts, instead of what it really means. What diversity, equity and especially inclusion means is that kids with disabilities are not shoved up in a corner or segregated and treated as lesser humans. Inclusion is not a divisive concept, or shouldn’t be.”
The measure passed the state Senate along party lines. The House is expected to convene for votes Wednesday.