Narrowing civil-rights protections
Actions -- typically by courts or agencies -- that materially weaken an existing civil-rights protection without formally repealing it: narrowing the substantive standard, limiting who may bring a claim, or eliminating an available remedy. It matters because rights can be hollowed out procedurally, without a formal repeal that would draw the political accountability repeal invites.
2026 Events (60)
Treasury and IRS proposed stripping tax-exempt status from 18,000 private schools over race-conscious policies
On September 3, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations (IR-2026-103) that would end Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status for private schools, colleges, and universities that adopt, maintain, or enforce race-conscious policies in admissions, scholarships, athletics, or other programs, including policies framed as diversity, equity, or inclusion. Treasury estimated the rule could affect as many as 18,000 institutions and cited Bob Jones University v. United States and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard as legal basis; the rule would take effect for taxable years beginning May 31, 2027 or later.
U.S. Department of Justice sued Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools over transgender-student privacy policy, first such suit filed nationally
On September 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, joined by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, filed a federal lawsuit against Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (USD 500), seeking an injunction against the district's internal guidance directing staff to help students socially transition at school without notifying or obtaining parental consent. DOJ called it the first such lawsuit it has filed nationally, following a July 2026 threat to sue and freeze the district's federal funding over the same policy. KCKPS said it is in full compliance with federal law and declined further comment given the pending litigation.
DOJ sued Franklin County Municipal Court to strike down its ban on warrantless ICE arrests at the courthouse
On August 25, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the Franklin County Municipal Court in Columbus, Ohio, naming Administrative and Presiding Judge Jessica D'Varga and the court's director of security, Enoch White, seeking to strike down the court's Rule 2.10 barring civil ICE arrests of people present for court proceedings or other lawful court business. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, argues the March 2026 rule violates the Constitution's Supremacy Clause and asks the court to permanently enjoin its enforcement. It is the latest in a Justice Department litigation campaign against local and state measures restricting ICE courthouse and field operations.
Newsday reporting revealed HUD withdrew its own finding that Hempstead, NY housing authority discriminated against disabled, Black residents
Newsday reported on August 20, 2026, that HUD's director of compliance and disability rights, Andrew Hill, had notified the Town of Hempstead (NY) Housing Authority that HUD was withdrawing its own 2024 finding that the authority used an illegal point system to discriminate against disabled applicants and to "systematically" further racial segregation on its public-housing waitlist. The reversal came days after a Newsday investigation made the previously undisclosed finding public, without the housing authority requesting reversal and without HUD referring the matter to the Justice Department or withholding funding as it could have done instead.
Anne Arundel County, Maryland schools narrowed LGBTQ+ student confidentiality rule to open gender-identity records to parents after federal threat
On August 18, 2026, Anne Arundel County Public Schools revised Administrative Regulation JQ-RA, "Safe and Inclusive Environments for LGBTQ+ Students," adding language stating that nothing in the regulation limits parents' right under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to inspect their child's complete education record. Superintendent Mark Bedell told the school community the next day that the amended text reaches "any information maintained in education records that relates to gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name, or preferred pronouns." The revision followed a July 27, 2026 joint enforcement action by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, which threatened the district with litigation or loss of federal funding over that same confidentiality provision.
DOJ Civil Rights Division found Duke Law School discriminated based on race in admissions
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced on August 7, 2026 that Duke University School of Law intentionally discriminated based on race in admitting its 2023, 2024, and 2025 incoming classes, violating Title VI and the Supreme Court's 2023 SFFA v. Harvard ruling. It is the first law school, following prior findings against UCLA, Yale, and UC Davis medical schools, that the Civil Rights Division has found in violation of SFFA.
FTC ended disparate-impact credit-discrimination enforcement and retroactively softened three settlements
On August 7, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission voted 2-0 to adopt a policy statement declaring it will no longer pursue "disparate-impact" or "unfair discrimination" claims under any statute it enforces, including credit-discrimination cases under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Chairman Andrew Ferguson said disparate-impact liability "imposes liability for discrimination without any evidence that anyone intended to discriminate" and that the Commission "never had authority" to apply it. As part of the policy, the FTC reviewed and modified compliance obligations in three already-settled auto-dealer discrimination cases -- Napleton Inc. ($10 million), Passport Auto Group ($3.3 million), and an individual formerly of Coulter Motor Co. -- that had relied in part on statistical evidence of discriminatory effect.
Lawsuit revealed EEOC indefinitely suspended all federal-sector civil-rights class complaints
On July 28, 2026, a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and two female federal prison employees revealed that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had secretly issued an agencywide order, dating to before December 2025, indefinitely suspending processing of all federal-sector class discrimination complaints, including disparate-impact cases. The suspension froze a certified class complaint alleging severe, ongoing sexual harassment of female corrections officers at the Federal Correctional Complex in Pollock, Louisiana. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the EEOC and Chair Andrea Lucas, argues the suspension violates the agency's own regulations requiring prompt processing of complaints.
Education Department rescinded disparate-impact standard under Title VI, ending federal scrutiny of racially disproportionate school discipline
On July 23, 2026, the Department of Education eliminated disparate-impact provisions from its Title VI civil-rights regulations, effective immediately and without public comment, requiring that school policies show intentional discrimination before federal civil-rights enforcement can apply. The rescission stripped the government's primary tool for addressing school- discipline disparities disproportionately affecting Black students, and was condemned by 60 civil-rights and educational advocacy organizations.
The Crimson White investigation reveals University of Alabama System quietly removed LGBTQ-inclusive language from non-discrimination policies
The Crimson White reported on July 22, 2026 that the University of Alabama System had quietly removed sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression from the protected-class language in its Harassment and Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination policies, based on Wayback Machine snapshots showing gender-identity references gone by September 2025 and sexual-orientation references gone by January 2026. UAB also removed a broader diversity and equal-opportunity overview page from its site the same way. University spokesperson Alex House called it an "administrative change" made to align with federal law and said enforcement was unchanged; the removal itself was never publicly announced.
DOJ and Department of Education threatened to sue Kansas City, Kansas school district and freeze federal funds over transgender student privacy policy
On July 21, 2026, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education issued a joint letter to Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS) demanding the district revoke its internal "Transgender Guideline," which directed staff not to disclose transgender students' gender identity, preferred names, or pronouns to parents without the student's consent. The agencies threatened to file a civil lawsuit and freeze the district's federal funding if KCKPS did not comply within 14 days. The letter followed an April 2026 FERPA violation finding and the district's refusal to voluntarily resolve the matter with the Department of Education.
U.S. 5th Circuit ended 1965 Concordia Parish school desegregation order, backing DOJ campaign to lift decrees
On July 14, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting in New Orleans, upheld the lifting of a 1965 federal desegregation consent decree governing Louisiana's Concordia Parish schools. The ruling backed a Justice Department campaign, carried out with Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill through "joint stipulated dismissals" that require no proof segregation has ended, to terminate Civil Rights-era school desegregation orders. The decree, in place for more than 60 years, ended without an evidentiary finding that segregation had been eradicated.
Fourth Circuit rules border agents may manually search phones without suspicion, joining all other circuits
On July 13, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held in United States v. Belmonte Cardozo (No. 25-4239) that border agents may manually inspect travelers' cell phones without individualized suspicion of wrongdoing, classifying manual device searches as "routine" border searches exempt from the Fourth Amendment's warrant and probable cause requirements. Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Judge Marvin Quattlebaum joined the court in holding that the border search exception applies to manual phone inspections, while forensic searches still require at least reasonable suspicion. The ruling makes the Fourth Circuit the latest federal appeals court to adopt this position.
Justice Department sued Maryland to strike down the Community Trust Act limiting state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement
On July 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Baltimore seeking to strike down Maryland's Community Trust Act, a 2026 law that limits state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement by barring the honoring of ICE detainers and jail transfers to ICE custody. The suit alleges Maryland is engaged in an "active and deliberate effort" to obstruct immigration enforcement in violation of the Constitution's Supremacy Clause. It is one in a series of DOJ suits pressuring states to abandon laws that constrain federal immigration operations.
The New York Times reported federal civil-rights agencies abandoned active discrimination cases at Trump's direction
The New York Times reported that federal civil-rights enforcement agencies, including the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, have dropped or abandoned active discrimination cases brought on behalf of historically marginalized groups at President Trump's direction. Former officials described a systematic dismissal of pending matters and a redirection of enforcement resources away from traditional anti-discrimination mandates toward challenging diversity programs. The reported pattern spans multiple agencies acting under executive direction.
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 transgender athlete bans do not violate Equal Protection Clause
On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in West Virginia v. B.P.J. (No. 24-43) that state laws banning transgender women and girls from women's and girls' sports teams do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion; the Court also held unanimously that Title IX permits schools to maintain separate sports teams defined by biological sex. The ruling upholds athletic exclusion laws in West Virginia and Idaho and removes the primary federal constitutional protection that transgender athletes had used to challenge such laws nationwide.
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Trump has unreviewable power to terminate TPS for 330,000 Haitian and 3,800 Syrian nationals
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 25, 2026, that the Trump administration has virtually unreviewable power to terminate Temporary Protected Status for approximately 330,000 Haitian and 3,800 Syrian nationals living legally in the United States. Writing for the conservative majority, Justice Samuel Alito held that the TPS statute bars judicial review of presidential TPS decisions and rejected a constitutional racial-animus claim, despite Justice Elena Kagan's dissent quoting Trump's own statements describing Haitians in explicitly racist terms.
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that CBP metering policy does not violate asylum law, eliminating asylum seekers' principal legal challenge avenue
On June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado that U.S. Customs and Border Protection's "metering" policy — systematically turning asylum seekers away at ports of entry before they physically cross the border line — does not violate federal asylum law. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito held that noncitizens physically blocked at a port of entry have not "arrived in the United States" within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. § 1158 and therefore have no statutory right to apply for asylum. The decision forecloses the primary legal avenue that had permitted asylum seekers to challenge their systematic exclusion at the border.
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that criminal suspicion alone justifies immigration parole of lawful permanent residents
On June 23, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the Trump administration, holding that an immigration officer's unverified allegation of criminal wrongdoing is sufficient to place a lawful permanent resident on immigration parole at a border crossing. The majority opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, found that border officers need not establish criminal activity by clear and convincing evidence before restricting a green card holder's rights. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's dissent, joined by both other liberal justices, warned the ruling handed the government a "massive blank check" to weaken due-process protections for the approximately 13.5 million lawful permanent residents in the United States.
DOJ sued New York to block state law requiring ICE agents to unmask and display identification
On June 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against New York State, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Attorney General Letitia James, seeking to block a New York law requiring federal law enforcement officers, including ICE agents, to unmask during operations and display individual identifying information. The law, scheduled to take effect June 26, also bars 287(g) cooperative agreements in jurisdictions that maintain mask bans. DOJ argues the law violates the Supremacy Clause and poses officer safety risks; Hochul and James filed a countersuit the same day seeking to preserve the law.
Supreme Court 6-3 eliminated human rights claims under Alien Tort Statute in Cisco Systems v. Doe, overruling Sosa
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 23, 2026 in Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe that federal courts may no longer hear any human rights claims under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), categorically overruling Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain (2004) and ending 46 years of ATS human rights litigation. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the conservative majority; Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented. The ruling also held that aiding-and-abetting liability is not available under the Torture Victim Protection Act.
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 prisoners cannot sue individual guards for money damages under RLUIPA, eliminating key religious-freedom remedy
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 23, 2026 that prisoners cannot sue individual prison guards for money damages under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), leaving only injunctive relief as a remedy for religious freedom violations by prison staff. The case arose from Damon Landor, a Rastafarian man whose dreadlocks were forcibly cut by Louisiana prison guards in 2020. The conservative majority held that individual guards did not consent to personal liability under RLUIPA, while the dissent warned the ruling leaves prisoners with "little reason to expect guards to abide by legal protections."
Supreme Court declined to review 8th Circuit ruling barring private enforcement of VRA Section 208 in seven states
On June 22, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a 2025 8th Circuit ruling holding that private parties lack standing to sue to enforce Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act, which guarantees voters with disabilities or limited literacy the right to choose their own poll assistant. The brief, unsigned cert denial left in place the only federal appeals court ruling to eliminate private enforcement of Section 208, creating a two-tiered VRA enforcement landscape for voters in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Private enforcement — historically the primary driver of VRA litigation — is now unavailable in those seven states, leaving compliance dependent on Justice Department action.
Mother Jones report reveals Trump DOJ building case for forced psychiatric institutionalization, undermining Olmstead
On June 19, 2026, Mother Jones reported that the Trump administration's Department of Justice had issued a memo outlining legal arguments to justify forcing people with psychiatric disabilities into institutions, effectively reinterpreting the Olmstead mandate that guarantees community integration. Law professors characterized the memo as inconsistent with established precedent, and reports indicate the White House directed DOJ to produce the document as prelude to an executive order rolling back Olmstead enforcement.
Department of Education opened Title IX investigations into three Michigan school districts over trans-inclusive sports and locker room policies
The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights opened Title IX civil rights investigations on June 19, 2026, into three Michigan school districts — Ann Arbor Public Schools, Monroe Public Schools, and Chippewa Valley School District — for allowing transgender students to participate in sports and use locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. The DOE framed the investigations as protecting "the rights of cisgender students," asserting that trans-inclusive policies violate Title IX as reinterpreted by the current administration. The action was part of a coordinated wave of federal enforcement targeting schools with trans-inclusive policies during Pride Month, following a similar investigation opened against a North Carolina district the prior day.
DOJ sues Philadelphia to block federal officer identification and local oversight requirements
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a 28-page lawsuit on June 18, 2026, against Philadelphia, challenging City Bill No. 260060, which requires federal law enforcement officers to display visible identification, use marked vehicles, and comply with local regulations during operations in the city. If successful, the suit would nullify a civil-rights protection that Philadelphia enacted to ensure accountability in immigration enforcement — reducing residents' ability to identify and report federal agents operating in their communities. DOJ argues that municipalities lack authority to regulate federal officers and claims the law threatens officer safety.
DOJ sues to halt Evanston reparations program, citing Equal Protection Clause
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a legal challenge to halt Evanston, Illinois's reparations program, the first such program in the United States, arguing it violates the Equal Protection Clause and constitutes racial discrimination. The program provides $25,000 housing grants to Black residents who meet eligibility criteria based on residency and documented exposure to housing discrimination, with more than $20 million allocated over 10 years.
DOJ sues to halt Evanston reparations program, calling it 'racially discriminatory' under Equal Protection Clause
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a legal challenge on June 16, 2026, seeking to halt Evanston, Illinois's municipally-funded reparations program — the first such program in the United States — calling it "racially discriminatory" in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. The program offers eligible Black residents $25,000 in housing grants to address documented housing discrimination and historical segregation. The DOJ intervention inverts the traditional role of the Civil Rights Division, which has historically used equal protection law to enforce civil rights rather than block local remedies for documented harm.
Education Dept. transfers Office for Civil Rights to DOJ and special education office to HHS
The U.S. Department of Education announced interagency agreements on June 16, 2026, transferring its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division under Harmeet Dhillon, and its special education oversight office (OSERS) to the Department of Health and Human Services. OCR handles discrimination complaints in K-12 and higher education; OSERS oversees implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guaranteeing services for disabled students. Legal experts called the OCR move "illegal," saying DOJ lawyers lack specialized education-law expertise and the transfer will make it harder for students to secure relief from discrimination.
DOJ intervened to halt Evanston's reparations program, calling the nation's first such program unconstitutional
On June 16, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, moved to intervene in a federal lawsuit seeking to halt Evanston, Illinois's reparations program — the first such program in the United States. The DOJ argued the program, which awards $25,000 housing grants to eligible Black residents to address documented historical housing discrimination, violates the Equal Protection Clause and the Fair Housing Act. The intervention joined an existing suit filed in 2024 by non-Black descendants of Evanston residents excluded from the program.
Arizona Legislature referred HCR2044 to the ballot, a proposed constitutional ban on race- and sex-based preferences in public programs
On June 12, 2026, the Arizona Legislature gave final passage to House Concurrent Resolution 2044, referring a measure to the November 2026 ballot that would amend the state constitution to bar Arizona's government, universities, schools, and local bodies from granting preferences or discriminating based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, education, and contracting. The Senate passed it 16-13 after the House passed it 31-23, and as a legislatively referred constitutional measure it required no governor's signature.
DOJ Civil Rights Division found UC Davis Medical School discriminated based on race in admissions
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced on June 11, 2026 that the University of California, Davis School of Medicine discriminates based on race in its admissions process, in violation of the Supreme Court's 2023 SFFA v. Harvard ruling. DOJ said a six-month investigation found Davis Med used a "Davis Scale" ranking applicants on socioeconomic factors as a proxy for race after SFFA. UC Davis disputed the finding, calling its admissions process "rigorous, individualized, and merit-based."
U.S. Department of Transportation rescinds disparate-impact civil rights enforcement standard
On June 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Transportation rescinded its disparate impact enforcement standard under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The standard had required recipients of federal transportation funding — states, cities, transit agencies — to avoid policies producing discriminatory effects on minority communities even without discriminatory intent. The rescission makes intentional discrimination the only enforceable basis for civil rights complaints at DOT, effectively removing federal scrutiny of transportation policies that disproportionately harm communities of color.
DOJ filed civil actions to strip U.S. citizenship from 17 naturalized Americans in multiple federal courts
On June 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had filed civil denaturalization complaints against 17 naturalized citizens in federal district courts around the country, alleging offenses including sexual abuse of a minor, fraud, and drug distribution, or concealment of criminal history during naturalization. DOJ officials described it as the largest denaturalization effort in decades; fewer than 150 people were denaturalized between 1968 and 2013. Named defendants include Maria Lourdes Montoya of Commerce City, Colorado, whom the government alleges misrepresented her spouse's identity to obtain residency and citizenship.
DOJ Civil Rights Division opens 15 new race-discrimination probes into medical school admissions
On June 4, 2026, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced it had opened 15 new investigations into U.S. medical schools over alleged race discrimination in admissions, expanding a campaign that had already produced adverse findings against the medical schools of Yale University and UCLA. The Division said it would examine whether the schools — each a recipient of millions of dollars in federal funding — comply with Title VI as interpreted by the Supreme Court's 2023 decision restricting race-conscious admissions. The schools under investigation were not publicly named.
DOJ Civil Rights Division opened Title VI investigation into DEI programs at Arizona State University
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division on June 3, 2026 opened a Title VI investigation into diversity, equity, and inclusion practices at Arizona State University, citing undercover videos from a conservative advocacy group as the basis for the probe. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the department is examining whether ASU's DEI policies in admissions, scholarships, and educational support constitute unlawful discrimination.
Supreme Court lets Alabama use GOP-drawn map eliminating a majority-Black district
On June 2, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Alabama's emergency request to use its Republican-drawn congressional map for the November 2026 midterms, a map with a majority-Black population in only one of the state's seven districts. The unsigned emergency-docket order, decided 6-3 along ideological lines, overrode a three-judge federal panel that had found the map intentionally discriminated against Black voters in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and displaced the court-drawn districts used in 2024. The three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Sotomayor warning that the decision "disregards both democratic values and the rule of law."
Federal panel blocks Alabama's GOP congressional map as intentional racial discrimination
On May 26, 2026, a three-judge federal panel issued a preliminary injunction blocking Alabama from using its new Republican-drawn congressional map in the November 2026 midterms, finding the lines "intentionally discriminated based on race in violation of the Constitution." The map, enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision that the state read as loosening race-conscious districting requirements, would have eliminated one of Alabama's two majority-Black districts and positioned the GOP to gain a U.S. House seat. The same panel previously found in 2023 that Alabama's map was intentionally discriminatory against Black voters; Attorney General Steve Marshall said the state would immediately appeal to the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court declines to resolve VRA Section 2 private-right-of-action question, leaving private enforcement in circuit-split limbo
On May 18, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two brief, unsigned grant-vacate-and-remand orders in Bd. of Election Comm'rs v. NAACP (5th Cir.) and Turtle Mountain Band v. Howe (8th Cir.), sending both cases back to lower courts "in light of" the Court's April 29, 2026 decision in Louisiana v. Callais. Both cases had squarely presented the question of whether private parties — voters and civil-rights organizations — retain a right to sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. By declining to resolve that question, the Court leaves in place a circuit split: in the 5th Circuit private suits are allowed, in the 8th they are not. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from both orders, writing that she would have decided the cases on the merits to confirm a private right of action.
DOJ Civil Rights Division found Yale School of Medicine discriminated based on race in admissions
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced on May 14, 2026 that it had determined Yale University's School of Medicine discriminated based on race in its admissions process, in violation of Title VI and the Supreme Court's 2023 SFFA v. Harvard ruling. DOJ said Yale's leadership intentionally selected applicants by race and studied racial proxies to circumvent that ruling, citing data showing Black and Hispanic applicants were admitted with lower academic qualifications than White and Asian applicants. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said Yale "continued its race-based admissions program despite the Supreme Court and the public's clear mandate."
DOJ Civil Rights Division found UCLA medical school discriminated based on race in admissions
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced on May 6, 2026 that the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA intentionally discriminated based on race in its admissions process, in violation of the Supreme Court's 2023 SFFA v. Harvard ruling. DOJ said its investigation found admitted Black and Hispanic applicants had consistently lower academic qualifications than their white and Asian counterparts, and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the school focused on "racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence." The finding was part of a broader Civil Rights Division campaign targeting medical-school admissions that also produced actions against Yale and UC Davis.
EEOC sued The New York Times, alleging its DEI practices discriminated against a white male employee
On May 5, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit against The New York Times, alleging the newspaper discriminated against a white male employee passed over for promotion as part of its diversity practices. EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas publicly framed the case as challenging DEI "on behalf of white workers" and as a reorientation of civil-rights enforcement. The action deployed federal legal power against a news organization the administration regularly criticizes.
DOJ anti-Christian bias task force published report urging federal realignment toward Christian religious-liberty claims
On April 30, 2026, the Presidential Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, created by Executive Order 14202 and chaired by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, published its report asserting that the prior administration's prosecutions, policies, and practices were pervasively anti-Christian. The report documents claimed bias across seventeen federal agencies and endorses realigning federal enforcement, hiring, and civil-rights priorities toward claims framed as Christian religious liberty. It cites steps already taken, including rescinding a Biden-era school-board memo and withdrawing prior interpretations of employment-discrimination law.
Supreme Court 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais gutted Voting Rights Act minority-district protections, enabling states to eliminate minority seats
On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Louisiana v. Callais that Louisiana's court-ordered second majority-Black congressional district was itself an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the Equal Protection Clause. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the conservative majority, substantially reworked the 40-year-old Thornburg v. Gingles framework, holding that Section 2 claims succeed only when evidence supports a "strong inference" that a state intentionally drew districts to deny minority voters equal opportunity — replacing the prior effects-based standard with a heightened intent requirement. Justice Elena Kagan, in dissent, said the ruling would "eviscerate" the Voting Rights Act and warned the consequences would be "far-reaching and grave."
DOJ announced a rule barring federal capital inmates from filing clemency petitions until direct appeals and a first collateral attack are final
On April 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced — in a same-day press release from the Office of Public Affairs paired with the Office of Legal Policy report "Restoring and Strengthening the Federal Death Penalty" — that it planned to publish a proposed rule prohibiting capital inmates from submitting clemency petitions, and the Office of the Pardon Attorney from considering them, until the inmate's direct appeal and first collateral attack are final. The rule, within DOJ's claimed rulemaking authority, would for the first time foreclose for years at a time a clemency remedy that historically has run in parallel with — not after — judicial review.
BIA precedent narrows DACA-based termination of removal in Matter of Santiago-Santiago
On April 24, 2026, the Board of Immigration Appeals — an administrative appellate tribunal within the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review — issued a precedent decision, Matter of Santiago-Santiago, 29 I&N Dec. 589 (BIA 2026), holding that an immigration judge "erred" by terminating removal proceedings solely because the respondent, DACA recipient Catalina "Xóchitl" Santiago, held active Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, without weighing the Department of Homeland Security's reasons for opposing termination. The three-judge appellate panel sustained DHS's appeal, vacated the immigration judge's termination, and remanded the case to a different immigration judge. The ruling is binding on immigration judges nationwide and narrows what had operated as a de facto class-wide protection for the roughly 500,000 active DACA recipients, without any statutory or formal regulatory change to the DACA program itself.
Dallas and Austin police rolled back ICE-detention limits under Gov. Abbott's funding threat
Dallas police revised their general orders on April 23, 2026, dropping a rule barring officers from prolonging detentions to investigate someone's immigration status or hold them for ICE; Austin's police department followed a day later, adding language letting officers extend a stop to contact ICE about administrative warrants. Both changes came after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office threatened to withhold state public-safety grants -- more than $32 million from Dallas plus over $55 million in World Cup security funding, and $2.5 million from Austin -- unless the cities reversed policies limiting ICE cooperation.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida SB 1134 barring local governments from DEI and Pride-related activity
On April 22, 2026, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed CS/CS/SB 1134, barring counties and municipalities from funding, promoting, or taking official action related to diversity, equity, and inclusion — including activity referencing sexual orientation and gender identity, such as funding Pride events, displaying Pride flags, or issuing Pride Month proclamations. The law voids conflicting local ordinances, resolutions, and policies, and provides that a local official who violates it commits misfeasance or malfeasance in office, the constitutional standard under which the governor may suspend elected officials without a court hearing. It takes effect January 1, 2027.
Houston City Council rolled back ICE-detention limits under Gov. Abbott's funding threat
Houston's City Council voted 13-4 on April 22, 2026, to amend a police ordinance it had passed two weeks earlier, striking language that had limited how long officers could detain someone solely over a civil ICE administrative warrant. The vote followed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's threat to withhold roughly $114 million in public-safety grants unless Houston reversed the original ordinance; Mayor John Whitmire, who had voted for that ordinance, pushed the reversal through over the city attorney's own acknowledgment that little would change in practice.
USCIS rescinded automatic deferred-action protection for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status youth a second time via Policy Memorandum PM-602-0198
On April 10, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0198, again eliminating automatic deferred-action consideration for youth with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) who cannot yet obtain a green card because of the visa backlog — five months after a federal court stayed the agency's first attempt to end the same policy. The rescission, effective May 10, 2026, requires SIJS-approved youth to affirmatively request deferred action rather than receive it automatically, with USCIS evaluating each request case-by-case without treating SIJS approval as a strong positive factor.
DOJ implements $68M Colony Ridge settlement without court approval after judge rejects deal
At an April 10, 2026 hearing in Houston, U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett refused to approve the Justice Department's proposed $68 million settlement with land developer Colony Ridge — sued in 2023 for deceiving tens of thousands of Hispanic buyers into predatory high-interest loans — because it contained no compensation for victims while earmarking more than $20 million for policing and immigration enforcement. When Bennett offered revisions to win his approval, DOJ refused, dismissed the case with prejudice, and implemented the settlement out of court, leaving no judicial supervision of compliance and extinguishing the victims' claims.
Education Department terminates six civil-rights agreements protecting transgender students
On April 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education announced it had terminated six civil-rights resolution agreements — reached with five school districts and one college under the Obama and Biden administrations — that protected transgender students from discrimination. The terminations end federal enforcement of obligations such as staff training on students' names and pronouns and access to facilities matching gender identity; in one case the department went further, requiring Delaware Valley School District (PA) to affirmatively roll back its antidiscrimination protections, which its board did in late March.
Trump signs EO 14398 exposing federal contractors' DEI programs to False Claims Act liability
On March 26, 2026, President Trump signed Executive Order 14398, "Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors," directing agencies to insert a mandatory clause — flowing down to subcontractors at every tier — that bars "racially discriminatory" diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and makes compliance material to government payment decisions, exposing contractors to False Claims Act liability and to cancellation, suspension, or debarment. The order directs the Attorney General to prioritize False Claims Act enforcement against violators and defines covered "program participation" expansively to include training, mentoring, leadership-development programs, clubs, and associations. A legal challenge was filed within days, and the new clause was set to take effect April 24, 2026.
DOJ opens Title VI probes into Stanford, Ohio State, and UC San Diego medical schools
On March 25, 2026, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division opened Title VI compliance-review investigations into the medical schools of Stanford University, the Ohio State University, and the University of California, San Diego, over alleged race discrimination in admissions. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon announced the probes, and the Division sent letters demanding seven years of applicant data — MCAT scores, GPAs, ZIP codes, family ties to alumni or donors, internal DEI communications, and correspondence with pharmaceutical companies — by an April 24, 2026 deadline, citing the schools' federal funding.
Utah Gov. Cox signed HB404 letting landlords bar transgender renters from sex-designated housing
On March 23, 2026, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed HB404, the Sex-Designated Housing Amendments, into law. The measure adds an exemption to the Utah Fair Housing Act allowing landlords to designate shared-occupancy housing as single-sex based on biological sex and to restrict occupancy accordingly, permitting the exclusion of transgender renters based on birth sex rather than gender identity.
Iowa Gov. Reynolds signed SF579 barring local civil-rights protections broader than state law
On March 10, 2026, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 579, amending the Iowa Civil Rights Act so that cities and counties may no longer enact anti-discrimination protections broader than or different from state law. Because Iowa statute does not include gender identity, the law nullifies local ordinances in roughly 14 cities and Johnson County — including Iowa City and Des Moines — that had extended protections to transgender residents in housing, employment, and public accommodations. It also ends the requirement that larger cities maintain independent local civil-rights agencies, routing complaints to the state.
Kansas invalidates driver's licenses and birth certificates of 1,000+ transgender residents
On February 26, 2026, Kansas invalidated the driver's licenses and birth certificates of more than 1,000 transgender residents who had previously corrected the sex marker on those documents, acting under a new state law that requires records to reflect sex assigned at birth. The same law bars transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identity in government-owned or -leased buildings. Affected residents were directed to obtain replacement documents with no grace period.
EEOC's Republican majority rescinded its 2024 workplace harassment guidance, including transgender protections
On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Republican-appointed majority — Chair Andrea Lucas and Commissioner Brittany Panuccio — voted 2-1 to rescind its 2024 enforcement guidance on workplace harassment, skipping the standard notice-and-comment process. The 190-page guidance, adopted under President Biden following the Supreme Court's Bostock ruling, included examples of unlawful harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation; a federal court in Texas had already vacated that specific section in May 2025 for exceeding EEOC's authority, but the January 2026 vote eliminated the remainder of the document, covering harassment standards for race, sex, religion, age, and disability as well. The commission's lone Democrat, Kalpana Kotagal, voted against the rescission, calling it "throwing out the baby with the bathwater."
Education Dept. found Connetquot school district violated Title VI by dropping its Native American mascot to comply with state law
On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights concluded that Connetquot Central School District on Long Island, New York, violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by renaming its "Thunderbirds" mascot to "T-Birds" under a settlement complying with a 2023 New York State Education Department regulation banning Native American mascots and imagery in public schools. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the district "engaged in race- and national-origin-based discrimination" by abandoning the name and ordered it to revert to "Thunderbirds" and all associated logos; New York's Education Department called the finding "a mockery of our nation's civil rights laws."
U.S. District Court dismissed DeSoto Parish's 1967 school desegregation order at DOJ, Louisiana AG's request, without a desegregation finding
On January 5, 2026, U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. granted a joint motion by the U.S. Department of Justice and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's office to dismiss a 1967 federal desegregation order governing the roughly 5,000-student DeSoto Parish School Board in northwest Louisiana. It was the second Louisiana desegregation decree the Trump administration and Murrill's office have had dismissed through "joint stipulated dismissals" that require no finding that a district actually ended segregation, following an earlier dismissal of a 1966 Plaquemines Parish order. Murrill said the ruling gives DeSoto Parish "its school system back"; no independent finding that segregation had been eliminated in the district was reported.
2025 Events (19)
Acting Texas Comptroller Hancock used emergency rule to strip minority- and women-owned firms from HUB contracting program
On December 2, 2025, Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock invoked emergency rulemaking power to restructure the state's Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program, removing eligibility for minority- and women-owned businesses and limiting participation to service-disabled veteran-owned firms, shrinking certified participants from over 15,000 to under 500. Four business owners and a minority-contractor trade association sued March 2, 2026, arguing Hancock exceeded his statutory authority and rewrote a legislatively-created program without legislative approval.
Trump signed EO 14321 directing DOJ to dismantle ADA Olmstead protections and expand forced civil commitment of homeless people with disabilities
On July 24, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14321, directing the Attorney General to seek reversal of federal and state judicial precedents — including Olmstead v. L.C. (1999) consent decrees — and expand civil commitment of homeless people with mental illness or substance use disorders. The order terminates federal support for housing-first programs and conditions discretionary grants on states enforcing bans on urban camping, loitering, and squatting.
Missouri Gov. Kehoe signed HB3 budget rider conditioning college funding on eliminating DEI programs
On June 30, 2025, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed House Bill 3, the state's Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development appropriations bill, as part of the FY2026 budget. House Budget Chair Rep. Dirk Deaton had added budget language conditioning state funding for Missouri's public colleges and universities on eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Deaton said the language meant institutions will have to comport with it in order to receive state tax dollars.
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 district courts cannot issue nationwide injunctions, eliminating key civil rights enforcement tool
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 27, 2025, in Trump v. CASA, Inc. that federal district courts lack authority to issue nationwide injunctions protecting people beyond named parties in a case. The majority opinion, written by Justice Barrett, held that the Judiciary Act of 1789 authorizes only injunctions necessary to provide complete relief to named plaintiffs. The ruling immediately allowed Trump's birthright citizenship executive order to partially take effect against non-parties in states that had not filed suit, while courts continued finding the order unconstitutional.
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Medicaid patients cannot sue to enforce free-choice-of-provider, clearing path to exclude Planned Parenthood
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 26, 2025, in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic that Medicaid enrollees cannot use 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to enforce the program's free-choice-of-provider provision in federal court. Justice Gorsuch's majority opinion held the provision imposes duties on states without conferring individual rights that § 1983 protects, allowing South Carolina's exclusion of Planned Parenthood from Medicaid to stand. At least 14 other states had enacted or attempted similar exclusions, each now free of judicial check by patients through this mechanism.
Supreme Court 7-2 stayed injunction blocking CHNV parole termination, enabling DHS to revoke status for 532,000 noncitizens
On May 30, 2025, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's emergency application to stay a federal injunction, allowing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to proceed with terminating humanitarian parole for more than 532,000 noncitizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela admitted under the Biden-era CHNV programs. The unsigned 7-2 order — with Justices Jackson and Sotomayor dissenting — cleared the way to revoke parole status without the individualized case-by-case review that the district court's injunction had required. Justice Jackson wrote that the majority had "plainly botched" the ruling and decried the "devastating consequences" of upending the lives of nearly half a million people while their legal claims remained pending.
Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB638, banning diversity statements referencing sexual orientation and gender identity in state hiring
On May 1, 2025, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed HB638, "Revise human rights laws," which bars state and local government agencies from requiring, requesting, or soliciting a "diversity statement" from job applicants or employees and prohibits granting preferential consideration based on one. The law defines a diversity statement as any submission promoting differential treatment based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, or gender identity, and permits agencies to accept such statements only to the minimum extent federal law requires. Sponsored by Rep. Randyn Gregg, the bill leaves existing anti-discrimination and anti-harassment compliance policies in place.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed SB474, ending DEI programs statewide and shielding school staff who refuse transgender students' pronouns
On April 30, 2025, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed Senate Bill 474 into law, eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, offices, trainings, and personnel across the state's executive branch, K-12 schools, and public colleges. The act also bars county boards and public charter schools from requiring teachers to use a transgender student's preferred pronoun when it differs from the student's sex at birth, and shields employees who refuse from civil liability or adverse employment action. The state Senate had passed the measure 32-2.
Trump signed EO 14281 directing all agencies to end disparate-impact enforcement, orders AG to repeal Title VI regulations
On April 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14281, "Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy," directing all federal agencies to deprioritize enforcement of disparate-impact liability across housing, lending, employment, education, and healthcare "to the maximum degree possible." The order instructed the Attorney General to repeal or amend all Department of Justice regulations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act that contemplate disparate-impact liability. Civil rights organizations described EO 14281 as the most sweeping rollback of federal civil rights enforcement since passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
Arkansas Gov. Sanders signed Act 970, letting providers and insurers refuse gender-transition and other care on conscience grounds
On April 21, 2025, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed SB444, enacted as Act 970 of 2025, amending the state's 2021 Medical Ethics and Diversity Act to broaden conscience-based refusal rights in health care. The amendment newly extends the right to decline to participate in health care services to insurers alongside practitioners and institutions, and protects refusing to take part in gender-transition procedures, abortion, assisted suicide, or any service that violates a conscience. It also lets religious health care institutions make staffing and privileging decisions consistent with their religious beliefs.
Idaho enacted SB 1198 banning DEI programs, offices, and diversity training at public colleges and universities
On April 4, 2025, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1198 into law, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, programs, mandatory diversity training, and diversity statements at all public colleges and universities in the state. The law, which took effect July 1, 2025, created a private right of action allowing students and faculty to sue institutions over alleged violations and expanded the Idaho Attorney General's authority to enforce it. Advocates said the measure eliminated programming that served LGBTQ+ and other marginalized students.
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed SB1, banning college DEI programs and forcing closure of LGBTQ campus centers
On March 28, 2025, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 1, the "Advance Ohio Higher Education Act," into law, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, offices, and staff positions at Ohio's public colleges and universities. The law does not name LGBTQ programs directly, but its DEI-infrastructure ban forced Ohio University to close its Pride Center, Women's Center, and Multicultural Center and eliminate all eight center staff positions, while Ohio State University took down its LGBTQ student-services website.
Kentucky legislature overrode Beshear's veto to enact HB4, banning DEI programs at public universities
On March 27, 2025, the Kentucky General Assembly overrode Gov. Andy Beshear's veto to enact House Bill 4, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the state's public universities and colleges. The law bars institutions from funding DEI offices, positions, or training and prohibits differential treatment in admissions, scholarships, and housing based on protected characteristics. Schools had to comply by June 30, 2025, with annual certifications beginning July 1, 2026, and the attorney general may sue non-compliant institutions.
Utah enacted S.B. 74 barring people in state custody from legal name and birth-certificate sex-designation changes
On March 25, 2025, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed S.B. 74, "Corrections Modifications," which prohibits an individual in the custody of the Department of Corrections from filing a district-court petition to legally change their name and broadens the class barred from a court-ordered birth-certificate sex-designation change from those on probation or parole to any "offender" as defined in state law. The practical effect is to deny incarcerated and supervised transgender people the ability to change their legal name or correct the gender marker on their birth certificate.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF418, making Iowa the first state to remove gender identity from its civil rights code
On Feb. 28, 2025, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 418, removing "gender identity" as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act and making Iowa the first U.S. state to strip an established protected class from its civil rights code. The law codifies binary definitions of sex tied to birth, ends transgender Iowans' ability to change the sex marker on their birth certificates, and bars instruction on "gender theory" in kindergarten through sixth grade. It took effect July 1, 2025.
AG Bondi directed DOJ Civil Rights Division to dismiss Title VII disparate-impact enforcement suits against police and fire departments
On February 26, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to dismiss multiple Biden-era lawsuits against police and fire departments accused of discriminatory hiring. The dismissed cases alleged that written aptitude and physical fitness tests produced racially disparate outcomes in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Bondi framed the dismissals as ending "DEI quotas," although the underlying lawsuits involved standard disparate-impact enforcement that federal courts have upheld since 1971.
Trump signed EO 14173 revoking 60-year affirmative action requirement for federal contractors, directing AG to investigate private-sector DEI
On January 21, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14173, "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity," revoking Executive Order 11246 — the 60-year-old Johnson-era requirement mandating affirmative action and equal employment opportunity for federal contractors. The order directed the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to cease all affirmative action and diversity workforce enforcement, and required all future federal contracts to include a certification that the contractor operates no DEI programs, exposing contractors to False Claims Act liability. The order also directed the Attorney General to compile enforcement recommendations against private-sector DEI programs within 120 days.
Acting DHS Secretary Huffman rescinded 'sensitive locations' policy shielding churches, schools, hospitals from ICE enforcement
On January 20, 2025, Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman signed a memo rescinding DHS's October 2021 "Guidelines for Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas," eliminating the requirement that ICE and CBP officers obtain headquarters pre-approval before conducting immigration enforcement at schools, hospitals, and churches. The memo, issued from DHS headquarters in Washington, D.C., replaced that requirement with unstructured officer discretion, stating it was "not necessary...to create bright line rules" on where enforcement could occur. ICE issued follow-up implementation guidance on January 31, 2025.
Trump signed EO 14151 eliminating all DEI offices, programs, and equity-related grants across the executive branch
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14151, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," directing all executive agencies to terminate their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, positions, equity action plans, and related grants and contracts within 60 days. The order required agencies to place DEI staff on administrative leave pending termination, to report programs "misleadingly relabeled" to evade compliance, and designated OMB, OPM, and the Attorney General to coordinate agency-wide enforcement. A Maryland federal court issued a preliminary injunction against key provisions on February 21, 2025, which the Fourth Circuit vacated on February 6, 2026.
2024 Events (5)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB2766, removing sexual orientation and other named protected classes from the educator code of ethics
On May 1, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB2766 (Public Chapter 780), which amended the K-12 educator code of ethics. The prior statute barred educators from disadvantaging a student on an enumerated list of protected characteristics including sexual orientation, race, sex, and family, social, or cultural background; as enacted, the bill struck that list and substituted a general prohibition on discriminating against a student "on any basis."
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed state Religious Freedom Restoration Act after Republican majority rejected anti-discrimination carve-out
On April 2, 2024, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2095, a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act, into law at a private event hosted by the conservative Christian group The Family Leader. The law, enacted as Iowa Acts Chapter 1003, sets a strict-scrutiny standard for government actions that burden religious exercise; Republican legislators had rejected a Democratic amendment (S-5018) that would have barred the law from overriding civil-rights, disability, and anti-discrimination protections. The bill passed the Senate 31-16 and the House 61-33 along party lines.
Idaho Gov. Little signed law shielding counselors' belief-based service refusals from licensing discipline
On March 21, 2024, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1352, enacting Idaho Code section 54-3416, which lets licensed counselors and marriage-and-family therapists decline to provide counseling that supports goals, outcomes, or behaviors conflicting with their sincerely held religious, moral, or ethical principles. The law immunizes such refusals from civil suit, criminal prosecution, and professional-licensing-board discipline. It passed the Senate 23-11 and the House 59-10, became Session Law Chapter 152, and took effect July 1, 2024.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB129, banning DEI offices and programs at public colleges and mandating sex-based restrooms
On March 20, 2024, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB129 into law, prohibiting public colleges, state agencies, and local school boards from maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or sponsoring DEI programs and barring the promotion of eight enumerated "divisive concepts," with discipline or termination authorized for violators. The act also requires every public higher-education institution to designate multiple-occupancy restrooms by "biological sex," displacing access based on gender identity. Passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed in Montgomery, the law took effect October 1, 2024.
Federal judge held journalist Catherine Herridge in civil contempt and imposed an $800-a-day fine for refusing to reveal a confidential source
On February 29, 2024, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper held former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt and ordered an $800-a-day fine, escalating over time, for her refusal to identify the confidential source behind her 2017 reporting on an FBI investigation of scientist Yanping Chen. Cooper ruled that Chen's need for the information in her Privacy Act lawsuit against the federal government overcame Herridge's asserted First Amendment reporter's privilege. The fine was stayed pending appeal.
2023 Events (9)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 17, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at public colleges and universities
On June 17, 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17, enacted by the 88th Legislature and authored by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, barring public colleges and universities from maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices, mandating DEI training, or requiring diversity statements in hiring and admissions decisions. The law, which took effect January 1, 2024, tasks the Texas State Auditor with compliance enforcement and puts noncompliant institutions at risk of losing eligibility for state funding increases. Ahead of the deadline, universities closed DEI and related offices, including multicultural and LGBTQ+ resource centers.
Tennessee Gov. Lee signed SB1440 defining 'sex' as immutable at birth, ending gender-marker updates on state IDs
On May 24, 2023, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed SB1440 (Public Chapter 486) into law, adding a statutory definition of "sex" as "a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth" throughout Tennessee code. The measure had passed the Senate 27-6 and the House 71-21. Citing the new definition, the Tennessee Department of Safety stopped updating gender markers on driver's licenses for transgender residents.
Montana Gov. Gianforte signed SB 458 defining sex as binary, eliminating legal recognition of transgender and intersex residents
On May 20, 2023, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 458 into law, inserting binary, reproduction-based definitions of "male," "female," and "sex" into roughly 40 sections of state code. The statute defines sex strictly by chromosomes and gamete production "under normal development," eliminating legal recognition of transgender, nonbinary, and many intersex Montanans on documents such as birth certificates and driver's licenses. The bill, drafted in part by the Montana Family Foundation, passed the Legislature largely along party lines.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed HB1474, codifying a binary "sex" definition that bars LGBTQ+ discrimination claims
On May 8, 2023, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed House Bill 1474, which the state's 68th Legislative Assembly passed to amend the North Dakota Century Code's master definitions section with binary statutory definitions of "female," "male," and "sex." The law defines sex by "nonambiguous sex organs, chromosomes, or endogenous hormone profiles at birth" and conforms four other 2023 bills to the same wording. Advocates said the definitions bar sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination claims in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
North Dakota Gov. Burgum signed HB1297, barring transgender residents from changing birth-certificate gender markers
On May 8, 2023, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed HB1297, enacted by the state's 68th Legislative Assembly, prohibiting amendment of the sex designation on a birth record "due to a gender identity change." The law permits corrections only for scrivener errors, chromosomal or genetic testing showing an error, or a certified anatomical change, and statutorily defines "sex" as the biological state at birth. It was one of three anti-LGBTQ+ measures Burgum signed the same period targeting transgender North Dakotans.
Indiana Gov. Holcomb signed SB 350, voiding local bans on conversion therapy for minors
On May 1, 2023, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed Senate Enrolled Act 350 into law, barring any Indiana city, town, or county from regulating behavioral health and human-services practitioners licensed or certified under IC 25-23.6. The measure, added as IC 25-23.6-2-8.5, was authored in response to local ordinances in Indianapolis, Bloomington, and elsewhere that had prohibited licensed practitioners from performing conversion therapy on minors, and it voids those bans and bars future local protections. Indiana maintains no statewide ban on the practice.
Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Kelly's veto to enact SB180, fixing legal sex to birth biology across facilities and vital records
On April 27, 2023, the Kansas Legislature enacted SB180, the "Women's Bill of Rights," by overriding Gov. Laura Kelly's veto, with the Senate voting 28-12 on April 26 and the House completing the override 84-40 the next day. The law defines "sex," "male," and "female" for all purposes of state law strictly by reproductive biology at birth and directs that this binary definition govern access to sex-segregated facilities and the recording of sex in state vital statistics. It took effect July 1, 2023.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed HB1139, defining birth-record sex as biological and fixed at birth
On April 7, 2023, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed HB1139, amending the state's Health Statistics Act to define "sex" as the biological state of being female or male based on a person's sex organs, chromosomes, and hormone profiles at birth. The law requires every birth record to designate a child as male or female and bars a "not yet determined" entry unless sex is genuinely undeterminable on that biological basis. The measure passed 81-11 in the House and 42-5 in the Senate, codifying a binary conception of sex fixed at birth into North Dakota's vital-records law.
Idaho Gov. Little signed SB 1016, barring localities from requiring gender-neutral facilities in public-works contracts
On March 27, 2023, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1016, amending Idaho's procurement law to bar public entities and political subdivisions from requiring public-works contractors to provide multiple-occupancy restroom, shower, or changing-room access on any basis other than sex, defined by birth certificate and excluding gender identity. The law forecloses state and local governments from writing inclusive-facility requirements into publicly funded construction contracts.
2021 Events (1)
Montana Gov. Gianforte signed SB 280, requiring surgery and a court order to amend a birth certificate's sex marker
On April 30, 2021, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 280, sponsored by Sen. Carl Glimm, reversing a 2017 Department of Public Health and Human Services rule that had let transgender Montanans update the sex designation on their birth certificate to match their gender identity. SB 280 instead required DPHHS to receive a court order confirming the person underwent gender-affirmation surgery before it would amend the sex marker, and took effect immediately upon signing.
2017 Events (2)
Texas Gov. Abbott signed HB100, defining "sex" in ride-hailing nondiscrimination law to exclude gender identity
On May 29, 2017, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB100, a statewide ride-hailing regulatory framework that preempted local ordinances. During House debate, Rep. Tony Tinderholt amended the bill's new driver nondiscrimination policy to define "sex" as "the physical condition of being male or female," language contemporaneous reporting tied to the same session's transgender restroom-access fight; a Senate committee substitute briefly stripped the amendment before the committee reinstated the House version and the bill was signed into law.
North Carolina Gov. Cooper signed HB142, repealing HB2 but preempting local LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances
On March 30, 2017, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed House Bill 142 (Session Law 2017-4), repealing the state's 2016 "bathroom bill" while replacing it with a permanent state claim over multi-occupancy restroom access and a moratorium on local nondiscrimination ordinances through December 1, 2020. LGBTQ advocacy groups and legal observers said the measure fell short of a true repeal, since it continued to bar cities such as Charlotte from adopting protections covering sexual orientation and gender identity.
2015 Events (1)
Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson allowed SB202 to become law without his signature, nullifying Fayetteville's LGBT ordinance
On February 24, 2015, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson allowed SB202 to become Act 137 without his signature, barring Arkansas cities and counties from adopting nondiscrimination protections broader than state law. The measure nullified Fayetteville's LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance and preempted similar local measures statewide.
2012 Events (1)
South Dakota Gov. Daugaard signed SB130, barring school anti-bullying policies from naming any protected classes
On March 16, 2012, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed SB130 (SL 2012, ch 96), requiring school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies while barring those policies — new or already in effect — from naming any protected classes of students. The enacted text compelled districts to strip any existing enumerated-category language, such as protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity, from their bullying policies.
2006 Events (1)
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt signed SB 894, barring school anti-bullying policies from naming protected student classes
On July 10, 2006, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed CCS/HCS/SS/SCS/SB 894, an education bill passed by the Missouri General Assembly requiring every school district to adopt an anti-bullying policy by September 1, 2007. The law barred those mandatory policies from containing "specific lists of protected classes of students," preventing districts from naming LGBT or other groups as specifically protected even as the underlying policy was made compulsory statewide.