Federal judge bars state from enforcing DEI ban on most school districts

This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative .

A federal judge on Thursday blocked a new statewide ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in public schools from taking effect, ruling that the law would prevent school districts from operating “at even a basic level.”

Judge Landya B. McCafferty found that the law, which was passed this year, would prohibit schools from splitting sports teams and bathrooms by sex, from determining whether students were old enough to begin kindergarten and from classifying students as having disabilities for the purpose of providing them with special education services.

“The breadth of the anti-DEI laws’ prohibition is startling,” McCaffert