Concord Monitor – School districts and teachers union sue state to block DEI ban in public schools

By Jeremy Margolis

Concord Monitor

New Hampshire’s largest teachers’ union and four public school districts asked a federal court to strike down a new state law that bans them from engaging in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Their lawsuit is the first legal challenge to New Hampshire’s prohibition on DEI in public schools, which went into effect on July 1.

The plaintiffs include New Hampshire’s chapter of the National Education Association; the Oyster River, Dover, Somersworth, and Grantham school districts; an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization; and two individuals who work at or with public schools. They argue that the law is unconstitutionally vague, stifles educators’ free speech rights, and conflicts with federal anti-discrimination laws.

“This new law threatens to revoke critical public funding from Granite State schools using vague criteria unless they cease programming and policies aimed at fostering equitable and inclusive environments for all – and that’s unconstitutional,” said Devon Chaffee, the executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, which is representing the plaintiffs.

The Republican-backed law, which was included in the policy portion of the state budget, bars both public K-12 schools and higher education institutions in the state from engaging in implicit bias training, DEI assessments, or making personnel decisions that take race into account. It also requires every public school to submit a certified report to the Department of Education this fall that lists “any contract containing DEI-related provisions.”

The law has already had practical impacts, particularly at the state’s public universities. Within days of it going into effect, the University of New Hampshire took its diversity, equity, and inclusion webpage offline and removed other references to DEI, according to a letter from President Elizabeth Chilton.

Dottie Morris, a plaintiff in the case and an administrator at Keene State College, had her title changed from associate vice president for institutional equity and diversity to associate vice president for community and belonging, according to the lawsuit. UNH also altered the title of its chief diversity officer.

The lawsuit filed Thursday is the latest legal challenge in the battle over DEI. In April, the National Education Association gained a temporary victory in federal court in the union’s challenge against President Donald Trump’s federal ban on DEI in public schools. That directive closely resembles the state law the plaintiffs now challenge.

In their 109-page legal filing, the plaintiffs argue that the law “prohibits schools from considering a person’s disability” for the purpose of providing them inclusion-related special education services.

The National Education Association said that the lack of clarity regarding what constitutes diversity, equity, or inclusion has led the union to field questions from its members about whether teaching books that highlight DEI-related concepts would break the new law.

The superintendents of the school districts who are suing said in statements that the law could infringe on how they deliver education.

“We hope this legal action will defend our right to deliver a high-quality public school education and support a democratic, informed, and engaged community as we work together to protect our children’s future,” Robert Shaps, the superintendent of the Oyster River Cooperative School District, said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Kelly Ayotte referred comment on the pending litigation to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

“We will review the complaint and will respond as appropriate in court,” Michael Garrity, a spokesman for the attorney general, said in a statement.