2021-2022 Racial Equity Dataset: A Searchable Collection of Laws Related to Racial Equity
August 6, 2024
Overview
In the wake of the renewed racial justice movement in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, many jurisdictions across the country enacted laws to address health disparities and advance racial equity, while others enacted laws that may impede these goals. This searchable dataset features the laws that were enacted, and that were still in effect on December 31, 2022.
In the wake of the renewed racial justice movement in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, jurisdictions across the country enacted laws to address health disparities and advance racial equity – and laws that may impede these goals. Laws play a critical role in affecting health outcomes, and knowledge of existing laws and trends may provide valuable insight and assistance to those working to progress health equity. To that end, the Network identified many of these enacted laws based on keyword searches in bills proposed in the 2021 and 2022 legislative cycles in all 50 states. The laws that were enacted were compiled into a cohesive dataset to provide insight into the outcomes of those legislative sessions.
We found several points of interest in our review of the laws. For example, numerous states enacted legislation targeting curriculum that promotes racial equity, while others enacted education laws that may hinder such progress. In Massachusetts, legislation was enacted requiring curriculum on the subject of genocide for all middle and high school students. And Washington now requires health equity as a subject for students at the state school of medicine.
On the other hand, in North Dakota, legislation was enacted prohibiting instruction in a school district or public school on what was defined as “critical race theory.” And Tennessee law prohibits conducting mandatory training of students or employees in higher education on so-called “divisive concepts,” which includes the concept that “[a] meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist or designed by a particular race or sex to oppress another race or sex.”
Other states enacted laws during these legislative cycles that prohibit education or training on either what has been termed “divisive concepts” or with similar language, including Georgia and Florida. The term and language defining “divisive concepts” stems from a Presidential Executive Order issued on September 22, 2020. Curricula and training programs that encourage the learning and discussion of topics that explore racial equity can help to advance racial equity, while the prohibition of or chilling effect on the learning and discussion of such topics may have the opposite effect.
Our research also uncovered laws that did not fit within the categories of the dataset, were outside of the strict timeline, or did not focus on racial equity and therefore were not included. However, many of these laws address issues that disproportionately impact communities of color. For example, though a Connecticut law that establishes a Doula Advisory Committee does not explicitly target racial equity, the rate of maternal injury, illness, or death during pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum for Black pregnant people far exceeds that of White pregnant people and doula care can improve these outcomes by providing emotional, physical, and educational support.
Legislation identified, though not exhaustive, provides a bird’s eye view and at least an initial understanding of relevant legal trends across the country. These laws are organized into categories of the social determinants of health: healthcare, education, built environment, social and community context, and economic stability. Subcategories were also added to capture, for example, whether a law related to data collection and reporting under the healthcare category and whether a law related to environmental justice under the built environment category.
Separate categories were included for laws that referenced implicit bias and/or cultural competency/sensitivity training; laws that created a taskforce, committee, workgroup or similar entity; laws that relate clearly to a jurisdiction’s declaration of racism as a public health crisis; laws that explicitly prohibit or restrict education or training that addresses health or racial equity; and whether a law restricts DEI related actions at educational institutions.
The interactive dataset can be found on the Network’s website and was developed in MonQcle, legal data research software managed by the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University.
We welcome feedback on our dataset, including any relevant laws that we might have missed, or other corrections. We hope that this tool will be of use to public health practitioners looking to advance racial health equity and would be happy to answer questions or provide technical assistance in the use of this dataset.
The authors would like to acknowledge and give thanks to Temple University’s Center for Public Health Law Research for their assistance, as well as Sara Rogers, M.P.H., Policy Analyst with the Network for Public Health Law’s Health Equity Team, and Dawn Hunter, J.D., M.P.H.
This post was written by Phyllis Jeden, J.D., Senior Attorney, Network for Public Health Law – Mid-States Region Office and Haley Campbell Garcia, J.D.
The Network for Public Health Law promotes public health through non-partisan educational resources and technical assistance. This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or legal representation. Neither provision of this document nor any communications with the Network for Public Health Law and its staff create an attorney-client relationship. For legal advice, please contact your attorney.
Support for the Network is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The views expressed in this post do not represent the views of (and should not be attributed to) RWJF.