Indiana governor Mike Braun signed an government order Wednesday eliminating range, fairness and inclusion in all state businesses and changing it with what he’s calling “MEI”—advantage, excellence and innovation.
The order requires all government department state businesses to uphold the Supreme Court docket’s 2023 resolution in College students for Truthful Admissions vs. Harvard, which prohibited the consideration of race in school admissions, noting that “eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it” and that equal safety applies “with out regard to any variations of race, of colour, or of nationality.”
Underneath the order, authorities workplaces can’t use state funds, property or assets to help DEI initiatives, require job candidates to difficulty DEI statements or “mandate any individual to reveal their pronouns.” State businesses should assessment their particular person applications and insurance policies for compliance by April 30 and supply a written report back to the governor by July 1.
The order additionally closes the federal government’s Workplace of the Chief Fairness, Alternative and Inclusion Officer, which was created in 2020 underneath Braun’s predecessor, Governor Eric Holcomb.
This makes Indiana the second state this yr to get rid of DEI by government order, following West Virginia.
Among the many different government orders Braun signed throughout his first week as governor was one requiring the state personnel workplace to assessment all job postings and get rid of diploma necessities for positions the place they’re not essential.
