Members of the Texas legislature have passed and now sent an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bill aimed at publicly funded universities to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk, according to The Hill.
If signed, the bill, SB 17, would require Texas universities to drop their DEI offices, programs, and mandatory training in the next six months while mandating that all hiring be "color-blind and sex-neutral."
Nevertheless, the bill would not affect "admissions, course curriculum, student organizations, faculty research, or data collection," The Hill noted.
One stipulation in the bill compels the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to conduct a study every two years that measures the effects the dropping of DEI programs has had on enrollment, retention, and graduation of students. The study will look at race, sex, and ethnicity for parameters.
GOP Sen. Brandon Creighton, who sponsored the measure, said that "moving forward, Texas will prioritize the advancement of the most qualified individuals and endorse policies that promote diversity and equality for our great state."
The bill's final version closely resembles that of the one the Texas House approved just a week ago. The conference committee, tasked with reconciling differences between the House and Senate versions, made a pivotal move by eliminating a provision aimed at guaranteeing the reassignment of DEI employees to alternative positions with comparable salaries. This alteration, brought about by the committee's decision, replaces the earlier provision with a new clause suggesting that universities may instead furnish letters of recommendation to former DEI employees.
Last February, Abbott told state agencies to stop utilizing DEI protocols in their hiring practices while warning public universities that using DEI policies is illegal as they violate anti-discrimination laws.
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