Racial Equity Dataset: A Searchable Collection of Laws Related to Racial Equity

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 – as well as laws that may impede these goals. The Network identified many of these laws based on keyword searches in bills proposed in the 2021 and 2022 legislative cycles in all 50 U.S states. Features of the laws that were enacted, and that were still in effect on December 31, 2022, were compiled into a cohesive dataset to provide insight into the outcomes of those legislative sessions. 

Legislation identified, though not exhaustive, provides a bird’s eye view and a peek into 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) along with subcategories for each. Separate categories were also added, for example, for laws that reference implicit bias and/or cultural competency/sensitivity training and laws that created a taskforce, committee, workgroup, or similar entity.

The dataset includes only enacted state legislation and does not include case law, executive orders, or other legal authority. Researchers collected, coded, and analyzed these state laws without regard to sector or industry associated with the law (i.e. laws were included that relate to everything from criminal justice to education).