Texas Public Schools Prohibited From Having DEI Programs

P A Thompson

Starting on January 1, Texas does not allow public schools or universities to have Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion or DEI offices. Any school with state funding that had these services for students after January 1, will be going against the law. This does not apply to private institutions. 

Any school that already had these services must have them disbanded and the employees must be reassigned to another position, not involving diversity, equity, and inclusion. No outside school contractors are allowed to be used to perform the duties of the DEI offices either. Requiring students to take classes in regards to these services is also against the law. School administrators must testify before the state legislative committees that these actions have been done and they are compliant with the law. 

The law does not allow for public universities and colleges to have any DEI practices including hiring and training that are based on race, sex, color or ethnicity.. 

Institutions are allowed to highlight work that supports first-generation college students, low-income students, or underserved student populations if the purpose is for applying for grants or complying with terms of getting recognised for a status by an official agency. 

Schools such UTEP, UTSA, and UT Austin will not have the officers or training that comes with the DEI offices. There is no law against student recruitment or admissions working with DEI services. 

Senate Bill 17 is the reason for these new laws, created because Republican legislators believe that DEI programs do not actually provide equal opportunities for broadly diverse workers and that they are not included where they might have been excluded in the past. 

In February of 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott’s Chief of Staff, Gardner Pate, sent a memo regarding the ideas of Senate Bill 17 to Porter Wilson, the Executive Director of Employees Retirement System of Texas. In this he said:

“In recent years, however, the innocuous-sounding notion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been manipulated to push policies that expressly favor some demographic groups to the detriment of others. Indeed, rather than increasing diversity in the workplace, these DEI initiatives are having the opposite effect and are being advanced in ways that proactively encourage discrimination in the workplace. Illegally adding DEI requirements as a screening tool in hiring practices or using DEI as a condition of employment leads to the exclusion and alienation of individuals from the workplace.”

Senate Bill 17 was signed into law on June 17, 2023 by Gov. Greg Abbott, allowing schools six months to take the steps and actions necessary to comply with the law. The University of North Texas was the first school to announce that the DEI services would be gone from their school starting in October, waiting till their Vice President, Joanne Woodard, retired. This was announced in August. 

UT Dallas is replacing their DEI services with a different type of office, the Office of Campus Resources and Support. This will provide programs and services for all their students that are also compliant with the new bill. 

Their training and services department states: The Department of Training and Education Programs will focus on SB 17-compliant staff and faculty trainings related to policy compliance and professional development opportunities that help foster the creation of a welcoming university climate, including the UNITE Mini Conference. 

In August, UT Dallas President Richard Benson stated that employees of DEI services would not lose their jobs and ensured they are still committed to their DEI programs and goals for students. 

Other schools followed UT Dallas’ lead by changing their DEI offices to other offices. UT Arlington changed their Office of Talent, Culture and Inclusion to the Office of Talent, Culture, and Engagement. UT Arlington has a third of their student population as hispanic and is seen as an Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution in the eyes of the U.S. Department of Education. 

Dallas College system spokesperson Liz Scruggs stated that it is shortsighted to view DEI offices and services as targeting only ethnic minorities. They are compliant with the law, while also having a DEI services space for their website with questions that students may need answers to as well as other resources. 

How This Impacts Students

Both Texas and Florida pushed to eliminate DEI offices and services for their publicly-funded schools and other states have followed since with their own versions: Iowa, Missouri, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. 

As of July 2023, there have been 40 bills in 22 states with the intention of eliminating DEI offices from public funded schools and universities. 

Those against the DEI offices believe that they push “woke” ideologies and beliefs on staff and students and are not a good investment of taxpayers money. Those that support DEI offices believe that it is something to help less advantaged students get to the same level as those with privilege. 

Students will see a difference in their schools in the states that these anti-DEI laws are passed. This could be from changing the curriculum in classrooms to restructuring and eliminating the different identity support services on campus. 

The defunding or elimination of DEI programs is seen as silencing student voices on campus. This denies them services, curriculum, or classes that they might have been interested in or wanting to learn more about. 

DEI services is a way to ensure diversity in schools with services to support students that may not be typically seen in schools. Enrollment for all racial and ethnic groups grew on campuses between 1980 and 2021, but not for white students. There is also more diversification in the age of students. The DEI programs on campus are created to help create an inclusive environment for all the students of all backgrounds in order to create a good atmosphere for them in their schools. 

How DEI Programs Improved Schools

DEI programs have been around since the 1960s when the U.S. Department of Education created programs such as the Upward Bound and other TRIO programs as an example to encourage more students of color to enroll in predominantly white colleges. 

These programs made schools realize that in order to attract more students of color, they needed resources and ways to alleviate their concerns by providing academic support, social support, and creating a more welcoming community on campus. 

Schools worked to create a better environment on campus for their students of all backgrounds from both admissions and student affairs. Some schools came out with diversity offices equal opportunity, civil rights that had focused on a wide range of programs such as disability and Title IX. The DEI programs flourished and spread since then. 

In 2018, it was found that there is a correlation between the increase of faculty diversity and positive graduation rates for underrepresented minority students. 

There are also benefits for all students to have a diverse student population. In 2019, it was found that racial and ethnic diversity in education and the workforce lead to better innovation, productivity, and cultural understanding. 

DEI prepares students for roles post graduation and helps them understand their role in a diverse society. This is done through inclusive curriculum, outside engagement and dialogue, providing opportunities for students, and protecting academic freedom. 

Why People do not Approve of DEI Services

Republicans are typically the main group of people that do not approve of DEI services. In Texas, Senate Bill 17 was passed by both chambers of the Texas legislature which are both a majority Republican. 

In Texas, the reasoning for the anti-DEI service law was because of the belief that they limit a students free speech. The legislature specifically believes that DEI programs “promotes differential treatment of or provides special benefits to people on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity.” All the while creating divisions with racial and ethnic groups and getting rid of a sense of unity for citizens and students. 

Those in opposition of DEI programs also believe that when looking into getting equitable schools, the programs overlook the merit and qualifications of students to actually be in these schools. 

What is Coming in the Future

In Texas on September 1, 2024 any institution will not be allowed to spend any state-appropriated money until it is both compliant with the legislature and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has provided a report certifying the institution’s compliance. 

Schools need to work to be compliant with both Texas Senate Bill 17 as well as federal laws such as the anti discrimination requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and Executive Order 11246. 

Any organizations that are not seen as compliant with the law by having designated office spaces, receive staff support or take institutional funding could be audited by the state. If an organization is audited, it has 180 days to get rid of the violation in their policy. If this is not done, the organization will lose any formula funding increases, institutional enhancements, or exceptional items in the next state fiscal biennium.

This is also not the first time that Gov. Greg Abbott has changed education in terms of inclusion and diversity in the state. In June 2021, the Texas legislature approved legislation that would dictate the way that teachers are allowed to talk about current events and the history of racism in America inside the classroom. The passing of this legislature with the aim of banning "critical race theory” as part of the curriculum for K-12 public schools. 

There is no study currently on how these two laws will affect the students in the state of Texas.