Task Force

South Carolina’s 2025 Legislative Session has concluded as it relates to any bills other than the State Appropriations Act. There is no DEI measure contained in the general appropriations bill. The last action on H 3572, other than adding sponsors’ names, was referral to the Committee on Education and Public Works on Jan. 14, 2025. H 3927 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 10, 2025. The 2026 Legislative Session begins Jan. 13, 2026. 

At President Edward A. Serna’s request, a task force of administrators, faculty, staff and students representing various divisions, departments, and academic colleges has been convened to devise an action plan for the campus community as relates to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The task force is working on the following action items:

• Review the proposed bills (H.3572 and H.3927) and assess our current policies, practices, initiatives, and programs to ensure compliance.
• Benchmark other universities (in and out of state) to determine how they have navigated both federal and state legislation at their institutions.
• Determine what we as a campus community need to do to continue to align with our mission, vision, and values to serve all students as we make necessary changes to comply with the mandates.
• Draft universal language to be used as our guiding principle for how we support our students, faculty, and staff during these ever-changing times.

Current Status

The task force is currently in the process of and will continue to review and evaluate policies, practices, programming, and activities offered to students and employees to ensure compliance with new and existing federal and state laws, regulations, provisos, Executive Orders, etc.