Incompatible with the Framework: State Laws Targeting DEI, LGBTQIA2s+, and CRT

Abstract

Librarians working in higher education in a growing number of states are currently confronted with the challenge of balancing legal compliance with the potential suppression of intellectual freedom and exclusion of marginalized groups. This is all due to the enactment or endorsement of laws, regulations, policies, and directives against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); critical race theory (CRT); lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or gender expansive, queer and/or questioning, intersex, asexual, and two-spirit people’s (LGBTQIA2s+) rights. Some academic librarians and faculty have decried this legislation that contradicts academic freedom and allows the government to dictate higher education content despite legislators’ lack of expertise or understanding of DEI, CRT, and LGBTQIA2s+ topics. While book censorship has received a great deal of attention, there has been little discussion about curriculum censorship and its impact on the content and pedagogical approaches (e.g., critical pedagogy) used by academic librarians to teach information literacy.