All state-funded colleges and universities in Texas will have to close their diversity, equity and inclusion offices under a measure signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The law, which one of its sponsors in the state Senate called the most significant ban on higher education diversity offices in the country, comes as the US Supreme Court is expected later this month to ban Colleges and universities consider race as a factor in their admissions decisions.
Under the Texas law, signed by Abbott on Wednesday, any public college or university that does not certify it is in compliance will not be able to spend the state funds allocated to it.
It also requires state officials to conduct studies every two years through 2029 to assess the impact of the law on students disaggregated by race. It will look at application, acceptance, enrollment, retention, and graduation rates, along with grade point averages. The law does not explain the reason for undertaking these studies.
The law is the latest salvo for Republican lawmakers from Texas and Abbott, also a Republican, and comes as critics attack diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, efforts as divisive or anti-white, while advocates say they can help. people of different backgrounds to learn to work together.
“Texas leads the nation in ensuring that our campuses refocus on the strength of diversity and promote a merit-based approach where people are judged on their qualifications, abilities and contributions,” said state Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican who was one of the authors of the bill, they said in a statement.
But Paulette Granberry Russell, president of the National Association of Higher Education Diversity Officials, said in a statement that the bill’s signing marks a “sad occasion for all Texas public university students.”
“By dismantling the diversity, equity and inclusion programs and offices at these institutions, Texas lawmakers have chosen to prioritize a political agenda over the success of these students,” Russell wrote.
He said that all students, regardless of race, benefit from having a diverse student body and that his organization would not stop working to make Texas universities increasingly accessible and inclusive.
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