A bill that would ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in state institutions will now head to the Alabama House of Representatives – a final step before it lands on the governor’s desk to sign into law.

SB129, authored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, passed in the Alabama Senate on Feb. 22 and moved through a committee in the House Tuesday morning. The bill would prohibit government institutions, including state agencies, public schools and colleges, from funding a diversity, equity and inclusion office and from sponsoring DEI programs or any program that “advocates for a divisive concept.”

It also would prohibit higher education institutions from allowing individuals to use a restroom that is different from their sex as assigned at birth.

After an hour-long public hearing Tuesday, the House State Government committee gave the bill a favorable report in a vote along party lines. It will now head to the House floor for final passage.

Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, who introduced similar versions of the bill in 2021 and 2022, spoke on behalf of Barfoot at Tuesday’s hearing.

On the stand, Oliver cited an unnamed Missouri professor, who claimed DEI programs on college campuses were “radical and divisive offshoots of critical race theory” that had only deepened divisions and served to “indoctrinate students into a far-Left political ideology.”

“Universities can meet accreditor requirements and create truly welcoming and inclusive communities without establishing highly ideological DEI programs,” he said.

“Divisive concepts” bills first emerged after a 2020 Executive Order from former President Donald Trump, which targeted diversity trainings in government institutions and took aim at critical race theory, a 50-year-old legal concept typically taught in law school classes.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, at least 22 states have introduced legislation targeting college diversity and inclusion efforts as of July 2023. Oklahoma, Florida and Texas have now prohibited state funding toward such programs.

Alabama’s legislation lists eight so-called “divisive concepts,” with most covering topics related to race, ethnicity, sex, religion and national origin.

Among the banned concepts: That individuals should feel guilty about or feel the need to apologize on the basis of their identity; that meritocracy and hard work ethics are racist or sexist traits. The Alabama Senate struck an earlier concept related to discussing slavery and racism as a founding principle of the United States.

The bill’s quick passage through the state legislature this year has sparked protests across Alabama college campuses. A petition created by students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to oppose SB129 has gained over 5,000 signatures as of Tuesday evening. At UA, nearly 200 students rallied in support of DEI programs, joining dozens of others at UAB and UAH.

Supporters of the bill, all of whom were white, claimed DEI programs were sowing discord in workplaces and schools.

Earl Tilford, a retired history professor who leads Alabamians for Academic Excellence and Integrity, a group formed in 2021 to advocate for education rooted in “Western thought,” took issue with colleges’ efforts to measure their employees’ commitments to community service and DEI work in tenure considerations.

Patrick Hermann, a retired University of Alabama professor, read complaints from a UAB student who said they were shunned for not sharing their pronouns at school, a nursing student who withdrew after a professor made a comment about the police, and professors who were “frightened” to disagree with more liberal colleagues.

A representative of the Alabama College Republicans said diversity trainings for student leaders alienated conservative organizations at the University of Alabama.

After the hearing, Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, also said he felt uncomfortable after attending a recent DEI training, which he said made him feel pressured to believe certain ideas.

“It made me feel a way that I didn’t think I should feel, and that’s why I can stand here and support this bill,” he said.

But other students who attended the hearing Tuesday said supporters were mischaracterizing what diversity and inclusion efforts actually look like on campus.

Eyram Gbeddy, president of the UA Black Faculty and Staff Association’s student ambassadors program, said without DEI, he wouldn’t have considered coming to the University of Alabama.

“What about tolerating others is far left?” he said. “What about critically thinking about history is far left? What about learning about people outside of Alabama’s majority is far left?”

Cameron Cunningham, a student at Auburn University at Montgomery, told lawmakers that the bill would threaten academic freedom and limit important discussions in the classroom. Another student credited a program at the University of Alabama, called Safe Zone, for helping them out of an abusive relationship.

Sean Atchison, a University of Alabama senior, said DEI programs give students a chance to learn about different backgrounds and prepare for a changing workplace. But a bill banning those programs would “kneecap students’ abilities to get jobs,” he said.

“I’m a white man, I’m from South Alabama, I’m from the middle of nowhere,” he said. “I have never, ever, felt oppressed by a DEI program. I have never felt threatened or hurt. I feel educated. I feel stronger than ever, and more confident in my ability to get a job that will benefit the long-term future of this state than ever before.”

The committee’s two Democrat members, Rep. Kelvin Lawrence of Hayneville and Rep. Prince Chestnut of Selma, called the legislation a “blast from the past” and worried about its potential impact on public historically Black colleges and other state agencies.

Lawrence offered an amendment that would make clear that DEI programs would only be banned if they promoted so-called divisive concepts, but the committee struck that down. Another amendment, which would include protections for other state agencies serving specific populations, also failed.

“We keep going through these same things,” Lawrence said. “We keep trying to create something that’s not there because of fear mongering or because of national politics, and I’m just sick and tired of us doing this in the state legislature.”

Several college groups plan to meet at the state capitol on Wednesday as the bill awaits a final vote in the House.