2,044 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
Standing Record home The Standing Record A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —
and the events that erode them.

Timeline › 2024 › May

May 2024

8 entries from May 2024.

May 31

Oklahoma Gov. Stitt signed HB 1449, writing a binary biological-sex definition into state law and excluding gender identity from recognition

On May 31, 2024, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 1449, the "Women's Bill of Rights," enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature. The law writes binary definitions of "sex," "male," and "female" into Oklahoma statute based strictly on reproductive biology at birth and excludes gender identity from legal recognition of sex, with the stated purpose of restricting sex-segregated spaces to a person's biological sex. It took effect November 1, 2024.

May 24

EEOC opened a pattern-or-practice discrimination investigation into Nike over its diversity programs

On May 24, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a charge alleging Nike engaged in a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against white employees, applicants, and training-program participants, opening an investigation into the company's diversity programs. After Nike resisted the agency's document demands through 2025, the EEOC filed a subpoena-enforcement action in federal court in February 2026, which a judge followed with an order for Nike to show cause why the subpoena should not be enforced.

May 21

South Carolina Gov. McMaster signed H4624 banning gender-affirming care for minors and requiring schools to out trans students

On May 21, 2024, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed H4624, the Help Not Harm Act, into law, barring physicians from providing gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery to anyone under 18. The law also prohibits public funds and the state Medicaid program from covering gender transition procedures at any age and requires public school staff to notify a minor's parents if the student discloses that their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. It took effect immediately upon the governor's signature.

May 13

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed SB 2753 requiring birth-sex-based restrooms and housing in public schools and universities

On May 13, 2024, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2753, the "Securing Areas for Females Effectively and Responsibly Act" (SAFER Act), into law. The measure requires public schools, community colleges, and universities to designate restrooms, changing facilities, and student housing by sex "determined solely by a birth" and codifies statewide definitions of "male" and "female" fixed at birth, creating a private civil cause of action to enforce it. Sponsored by Sen. Josh Harkins and passed by the Mississippi Legislature, the law took effect immediately.

May 9

Iowa Gov. Reynolds signed SF2435 banning DEI offices at public universities

On May 9, 2024, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF2435, an education-appropriations act whose Division IX bars public universities governed by the state Board of Regents from establishing or staffing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, requiring DEI statements, or spending any funds to support such offices. The law defines prohibited DEI to reach trainings and programming designed with reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and forbids institutions from taking official positions on contested concepts including "transgender ideology" and "gender theory." Enforcement runs through attorney-general mandamus actions, with the DEI provisions taking effect July 1, 2025.

Shenandoah County, Virginia school board voted to restore Confederate-general names to two public schools

On May 9, 2024, the Shenandoah County School Board in Virginia voted 5-1 to reverse a 2020 decision and restore Confederate-general names to two public schools, renaming Mountain View High School back to Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary back to Ashby Lee Elementary. The Virginia NAACP and the families of affected Black students sued, and a federal judge later found the renaming could not be divorced from racial discrimination and violated students' constitutional and civil rights.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1810 requiring schools to report students' gender-identity requests to parents

On May 9, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1810, enacted as Public Chapter 832, amending Title 49 of the Tennessee Code. The law requires a K-12 public school or charter school employee to report a student's request for an accommodation affirming the student's gender identity — such as a different name or pronouns — to a school administrator, who must then report it to the student's parent. It also bars employees from knowingly giving parents false or misleading information about a student's gender identity and creates a private right of action alongside attorney general enforcement against noncompliant schools.

May 1

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."