Gov. Stein’s veto holds — for now — on NC bills targeting DEI in schools and government
North Carolina Senate Republicans on Tuesday voted to override Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of two bills targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in schools — but the measures still face an uphill battle to becoming law.
The Republican-controlled House adjourned Tuesday without taking up the overrides, appearing to lack the three-fifths vote required to negate the governor’s veto. While Republicans hold a veto-proof supermajority in the Senate, they are one seat short in the House, meaning they would need to convince at least one Democrat to vote with them or exploit an absence.
House Democrats joined Republicans to override vetoes dealing with guns, immigration and gender on Tuesday — but a vote on the DEI bills was never called.
House Speaker Destin Hall told reporters he was confident that Republicans would still be able to get the votes necessary to override Stein’s vetoes on the remaining bills sometime this session.
“The (bills) that we took up today... those were the ones that I felt sure of,” he said. “The others that are out there — that are tremendously popular bills — I anticipate at some point during this biennium taking those up.”
The DEI bills in question would restrict so-called “divisive concepts” from being taught or endorsed in public schools and universities. A separate bill, House Bill 171, would largely ban DEI in state and local governments.
When vetoing the bills earlier this month, Stein defended DEI, saying “our diversity is our strength.”
“We should not whitewash history, police dorm room conversations, or ban books,” he said about the bill targeting DEI in higher education. “Rather than fearing different viewpoints and cracking down on free speech, we should ensure our students learn from diverse perspectives and form their own opinions.”
Veto override votes must begin in the chamber that originated the bill, so the Senate was able to take up the two DEI bills dealing with public schools and universities on Tuesday — but not the House bill dealing with state and local governments.
Senate Republicans overrode both vetoes 30-19, with Sen. Brad Overcash, the bills’ sponsor, saying they refocus education on “academic excellence, critical thinking and the free exchange of ideas.”
Senate Democrats were united in opposing the bills, saying they would sanitize history and disadvantage minority children.
“How little we think of our young people that we believe they’ll be indoctrinated or somehow broken by simple exposure to divisive ideas,” Sen. Terence Everitt, a Wake County Democrat, said. “Do we honestly think they’re that weak?”
Bills target DEI in schools, state agencies
Senate Bill 227 and Senate Bill 558, which passed entirely along party lines, would target DEI in K-12 education and higher education, respectively. Both measures would require schools to dismantle any DEI offices and restrict the instruction or promotion of what they label “divisive concepts.”
A total of 12 are spelled out in the bills, including the notions that a person’s race or sex makes them “inherently superior” to others, makes them “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive,” determines their “moral character,” or makes them responsible “for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.”
The bills also ban schools from engaging in “discriminatory practices,” which include “treating an individual differently solely to advantage or disadvantage that individual as compared to other individuals or groups.”
While the restrictions on K-12 schools would be new, the bill dealing with higher education would codify many existing practices. The UNC System Board of Governors implemented an “institutional neutrality” policy for the state’s public universities and repealed diversity initiatives last year.
DEI offices in all 17 UNC System schools have either closed or significantly restructured as a result.
As for HB 171, it would ban state agencies and municipalities from using DEI concepts in hiring decisions or giving differential treatment or special benefits on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation and more.
It would also ban government agencies from using state funds to support DEI programs or applying for federal grants that require compliance with DEI policies. The Republican state auditor would regularly audit state agencies for compliance with the ban, and violations could result in a $10,000 civil penalty.
When vetoing the bill, Stein said it was “riddled with vague definitions” and imposed “extreme penalties for unknowable violations.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 9:53 AM.
