With the spring sports season now in full swing, many Massachusetts parents are discovering that, despite recent efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, their children’s schools are still requiring athletes to sign a DEI pledge. Unfortunately, this isn’t a new issue.
Back in late 2021, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) voted to require all student-athletes to agree to a DEI pledge and complete an online course on “implicit bias” to participate in school sports. MFI raised the alarm about this unconstitutional requirement, and as a result of our advocacy, the MIAA’s attorney announced that they would not be enforcing the policy.
However, it seems some schools have chosen to ignore this. Since 2022, MFI has been actively assisting concerned parents, student-athletes, and coaches by contacting schools to inform them that they cannot require this pledge. Just last month, we stepped in to support families in Fitchburg and Belmont who were being asked to sign the DEI pledge as part of their registration for spring sports. In both cases, we advised the families to stand firm and refuse to sign. Following our intervention, both school districts promptly backed down and allowed the student-athletes to register without completing the DEI pledge.
Parents of student-athletes: It is crucial to carefully review every requirement when registering your child for sports at school. If you encounter the MIAA DEI pledge or similar language being mandated, do not comply. Instead, we urge you to document the incident and contact our law center, Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center, immediately. Your help is vital in ensuring that every MIAA-affiliated school understands that they cannot compel students to pledge allegiance to progressive ideologies to participate in athletics.
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