“The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions,” the Feb. 14 U.S. Department of Education letter reads.

Mississippi State University, along with all U.S. educational institutions that receive federal funding, recently received a “Dear Colleague Letter” from the DOE giving them until this Friday to end all “race-based” programs and decisions if they want to continue being funded.

The letter uses the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard as a legal principle to say that any race-based treatment by colleges and universities, not just in admissions, goes against federal law.

“With this guidance, the Trump Administration is directing schools to end the use of racial preferences and race stereotypes in their programs and activities — a victory for justice, civil rights laws, and the Constitution,” DOE acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor said in a statement.

The directive’s impact on MSU programs, particularly those within the Division of Access, Opportunity and Success, (AOS) could be significant. The AOS division currently houses seven departments, among them the Office of Inclusive Excellence and the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center.

According to the letter, universities can no longer consider race in “decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.”

In the last month, state bills prohibiting DEI practices in Mississippi schools have passed in both the Mississippi House and the Mississippi Senate.

Mississippi House Bill 1193 passed in the house on Feb. 5. The bill characterizes itself as “an act to prohibit public schools and public postsecondary educational institutions from creating, promoting and implementing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.”

Mississippi Senate Bill 2515, known as the Requiring Efficiency for Our Colleges and Universities System (REFOCUS) act, passed in the Mississippi Senate on Feb. 6. While the primary focus of SB 2515 seems to be evaluating efficiency within Mississippi’s universities, the bill also prohibits DEI programs.

MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw addressed faculty concerns about DEI bans at the Robert Holland Faculty Senate meeting on Feb. 14. Shaw said that university leadership has been working with Mississippi politicians to prepare for DEI legislature and ensure that legislatures understand what programs will be impacted.

“We have been working with the legislative leadership in the state, in particular, to try to be sure that anything that does come out is well reasoned and is not a surprise to either us or the legislators,” Shaw said.

Shaw said he is confident that a DEI bill will pass in Mississippi during this legislative session.

“I don’t have much doubt that at the state level, we will be seeing some type of a DEI bill come forward this time,” Shaw said. “There’s just too much momentum, going on in part because of what’s happening at the federal level, to see that happen.”

Mississippi State Auditor Shad White took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express his feelings about the directive.

“For the win. While our Mississippi politicians dithered for years while I pointed out the cost of DEI, this President ACTED. Thank you, Mr. President,” White’s Feb. 15 post reads.

An MSU Office of Public Affairs statement published on Feb. 19 indicates that MSU is already working to comply with the directive.

“While some changes and adjustments will be required, our people — our students, faculty and staff — will remain our top priority as we work together through any needed changes and adjustments required by these new federal directives,” the statement says.

More Reflector coverage of the developing DEI situation is available below.