In May of 2025, Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed into law SB 289.

The bill establishes a number of protections that restrict DEI initiatives in institutions of higher education and other publicly-funded entities.

First, the law specifically targets “unlawful discrimination” in education, public employment, and licensure, as well as DEI committees in public universities.

Next, the law prohibits public educational institutions or employers from taking actions based on an individual’s “personal characteristic[s]” such as their race, religion, color, sex, national origin, or ancestry. 

Additionally, the law changes the eligibility criteria of state-funded “minority scholarships” to make clear that applicants should be residents in an “underserved county” and agree to teach in an “underserved county,” rather than be a “minority.”

Moreover, the law prohibits a public employer from requiring training asserting that “a person with a certain personal characteristic: (1) is inherently superior or inferior to a person with a different personal characteristic; (2) should be blamed for actions committed in the past; or (3) has a moral character that is determined by a personal characteristic of the person.”

The law likewise prohibits licensing boards from requiring individuals to affirm these statements as a condition of licensure.

This is a step in the right direction for Indiana.