(Centre Square) – Despite the state’s legislative ban, public universities in Texas still implement so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, state lawmakers found.
Several agencies have renamed or resumed new units under different names in order to continue their DEI policy, lawmakers have found. According to two reports, others are requesting DEI credits to qualify for an undergraduate degree.
As a result, state lawmakers are frozen in increasing funding requests for all public higher education institutions in the state.
R-Conroe State Sen. Brandon Clayton submitted the state’s first DEI ban to SB 17 at the last legislative meeting. After passing the state legislature and signing the law by Gov. Greg Abbott, the law went into effect on January 1, 2024. It prohibits higher education institutions from expending funds diverted to the state in DEI policies. They also need to administer the committee to prove that the agency is in compliance with the law.
Last year, higher education institutions have eliminated DEI status to comply with the law and began changing employment practices, Centre Square reported.
However, complaints from constituents continued when several Texas institutions of higher education claimed they were not complying with state law. In response, Clayton and state Sen. Paul Bettencourt and R-Houston began their investigation. Clayton will chair the Senate Education Committee and Bettencourt will chair the Senate Financial Higher Education Workgroup.
They sent a letter to the regent committee of public universities in Texas, saying the reports they received were “not satisfactory.”
The Texas Education Code “directs the Trustees to ensure that each member institution does not “establish or maintain” their DEI office. This includes renaming, resuming, or reapproving a DEI unit under the guise of a different name. We found this to be true in many cases, especially in our health-related institutions,” they said.
As a result, “With valid findings of these violations, the demand for increased state funding for all public institutions in higher education is now frozen at previous biennial levels,” they said.
They also directed the regent to comply with the law and provide “clear and incontroversial evidence that DEI programming has been completely eliminated” at the institution.
Otherwise, they said they would lose the funds.
They sent a letter after two major reports were issued highlighting DEI programs at higher education institutions across the country, including Texas.
One report published by Speech First, a free speech advocacy group, found that 67% of U.S. universities “require students to graduate from graduating from DEI-related classes.”
Among them are 10 in Texas. Baylor University, Rice University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Institute of Technology, University of Texas Austin University, El Paso, San Antonio Campus, Trinity University in San Antonio, University of Houston and North Texas University.
After the story was first released, the University of Texas El Paso issued a statement in Center Square.
“UTEP does not require students to take classes that teach “the concepts and practices of Dei, a politically activist,” the statement said. “We offer a choice of 16 courses and hundreds of sections. One course in Texas law can be chosen to meet the language, culture and philosophy requirements. These courses can also be appointed to some of American literature, 1500 years, World History, 1500 years, Religious Intros, Spanish and Ethics.
The Goldwater Institute has released a report analyzing the $1 billion worth of federal grants allocated to promote DEI programs at K-12 schools and universities nationwide under the Biden administration. The report sought to quantify “the financial impact of these DEI obligations on students and state taxpayers.”
It identifies at least 30 state public universities, requiring that all undergraduates “requires that they even allow them to graduate with a degree from a state taxpayer-funded institution.”
Texas includes Texas Tech, the University of Texas Austin University, the El Paso campus and the University of Houston Down. This report breaks down costs to taxpayers thousands of dollars per student to comply with DEI credit requirements, including Texas.
In addition to raising concerns about institutions of higher education, Creighton has also introduced the legislative meeting to another bill to ban DEI policies in K-12 public schools, Centre Square reported.
