ACLU of MS Statement on Fifth Circuit Ruling in Lawsuit Challenging HB 1193, State’s Anti-DEI Law

In June of 2025, we along with our partners filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of our clients, challenging the constitutionality of certain provisions of HB 1193, the state’s anti-DEI law. In August of 2025, a federal court ruled in favor of our clients, holding the challenged provisions violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments by prohibiting public school discussions of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, and other forbidden subjects in all of the state’s public universities, colleges, and K-12 schools.

Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the lower court’s preliminary injunction, allowing the enjoined parts of the state’s diversity ban to take effect, as early as November 12.

The ACLU of Mississippi has issued the following statement:

Through this ruling, the Fifth Circuit affirmed that students and educators in public schools in Mississippi retain First Amendment rights at school and on campus. While this acknowledgement is a win for public education throughout the State, on remand, we will continue to show that HB 1193 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution in other provisions of this law including because it imposes the State government’s preferred views on matters of public concern – like race, gender and sexuality. We will further prove the law is unconstitutionally vague.