Federal judge to decide if Mississippi DEI ban should be indefinitely blocked

A federal judge will soon decide if a Mississippi law banning educators from teaching diversity, equity and inclusion programs should be blocked indefinitely.

Dozens of educators, students and parents watched on Tuesday as attorneys argued over a preliminary injunction. It would extend the pause issued by U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate and prevent the controversial state law from being enforced until there’s a final ruling in the case.

The biggest hang-up? Whether teachers and students have First Amendment rights in the classroom.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued over the course of two days about the law’s unconstitutionality and vagueness. Rob McDuff, a Mississippi Center for Justice attorney, emphasized that entire curricula would have to be rewritten, and that widespread confu