Fifth Circuit lets parts of Mississippi school DEI ban take effect

Plaintiffs have several weeks to seek rehearing

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has cleared portions of Mississippi’s public-school diversity, equity and inclusion restrictions to take effect, vacating a lower-court ruling that had blocked enforcement of key sections. The decision permits enforcement of provisions against required diversity training and DEI-related programs, courses and offices.

McKenna Raney, an LGBTQ Justice Project staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi who represents the plaintiffs, said the law would take effect seven days after the petition deadline passes or if a petition is denied. Plaintiffs have several weeks to file a petition for rehearing with the Fifth Circuit.

Mississippi passed the law in April 2025, and a group of educators, students, parents and activists is challenging it on grounds that it violates their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Fifth Circuit’s ruling did not end that challenge; it permitted enforcement of the affected provisions while leaving a petition for rehearing available.

The law prevents public schools from requiring diversity training and maintaining DEI-related programs, courses and offices. It also bars public schools from discussing a list of “divisive concepts” related to race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity and national origin. Public schools that violate the law could lose state funding.

The ruling also provided clarity on the law’s scope after opponents criticized the statute as overly vague. The Fifth Circuit said the law does not apply to scholarly activities, student activities and groups, or creative engagements. The court also said the plaintiffs’ concerns were incorrect when they raised the possibility that the law would ban discussions of civil rights, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Ku Klux Klan, the Fourteenth Amendment, Juneteenth and “Of Mice and Men.”

The Fifth Circuit also ordered the case reassigned to a different district court judge. In its Thursday ruling, the court described the temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate as a “botch job” and said the order contained artificial intelligence hallucinations. The temporary restraining order predated Wingate’s August 2025 preliminary injunction, which the Fifth Circuit overturned.

“It is heartening to know that at the very least these specific iterations of classroom discussions that have been happening for years in Mississippi are exempted and they can continue unimpeded,” said Raney. However, Raney said the types of discussions allowed under the law are still “murky.”

The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, which represents the defendants, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment on the ruling. Office attorneys have previously argued that public employees do not have First Amendment rights when acting in a professional capacity.