National Academy of Sciences Building

Following the June 2023 Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action in colleges and universities, many states introduced legislation in higher education to disband DEI efforts. As of August 2024, 86 bills in 28 states have introduced DEI legislation for colleges and universities to disband diversity offices or staff, ban mandatory diversity training, prohibit institutions to use diversity statements in hiring and promotion, or bar colleges for considering race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin in admissions or employment.

The National Academies Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity will host a public hybrid workshop on October 9, 2024, from 9-4:30 p.m. ET at the National Academies of Sciences in Washington, DC to explore the impact of DEI legislation and policies on achieving a diverse health care and public health workforce. Speakers will explore recent changes in state legislature and policies affecting the health care and public health workforce; examine the impact of these policy changes on medical and public health training, curriculum, and health research; discuss student recruitment and faculty recruitment and retention for educating and training the health and public health’s workforce; and investigate potential solutions for mitigating adverse impacts of policy changes.