North Carolina’s legislature enacted a statewide ban on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at public colleges, overriding Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto. The law took effect immediately on June 24 and prohibits public colleges from maintaining DEI offices or staff and from “endorsing divisive concepts,” with annual compliance certification requirements. The statute also limits graduation requirements: colleges cannot make completion of a course related to divisive concepts a graduation requirement unless decisions are approved by the chancellor and reported to the governing board. The policy’s framing focuses on compelled speech and First Amendment-protected expression, but it creates a new governance compliance burden for campus legal counsel and senior leaders managing curriculum, training, and student-facing programming. For higher education executives, the practical impact is immediate: institutions must inventory DEI structures and communications practices, update policies and training language, and prepare board-level reporting mechanisms to document compliance.