AUSTIN, Texas — This week, many Texas students and faculty waited up to 19 hours to testify against a bill to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities. The House version of a Senate priority bill was revised to allow some exceptions, likely setting up a battle between the two chambers. Critics of the plan say it's still short-sighted.
Per the University of Texas website, its DEI office works to provide the best education possible for students, especially those who have been historically marginalized.
“There's been a long history of racism and sexism and discrimination in Texas, just like a lot of places in the United States. And so the work that universities have been doing to change that has really helped recruit a more diverse and more talented group of students and faculty,” said David DeMatthews, an associate professor of education policy at UT Austin.
He said eliminating DEI offices is problematic because diversity is necessary to have a world-class teaching and research institution, and without them, Texas could lose out on great professors who choose to go elsewhere.
“I think it's really going to set back Texas universities, especially for some of the biggest, most competitive and really most impactful research grants that are available to researchers. And that cuts across trying to cure cancer, or trying to come up with clean energy alternatives,” he said. “It feels like it's just a political attack. It feels like it's just policymakers trying to score points for their own benefit.”
The House version of the bill says universities could have a DEI office if it's necessary for federal grants or accreditation.
“I think that those kinds of carve outs are very limiting. There are other other programs that are swept under DEI prohibitions in general,” said Edgar Saldivar, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas.
He said regardless of any exceptions made, the bill could have a “chilling effect” on students who need to report or want to discuss racism, discrimination and harassment.
“There really isn't any valid policy reason for this,” Saldivar said. “It seems to be highly driven by politics, by a desire to cut essential services for people of color, for women, for LGBTQIA people in Texas. I think it's part of an overall effort to erase certain kinds of identities in the state and pushing for a version of Texas that is not very inclusive. I think that these kinds of policies provide a lot of benefits to students in Texas, as well as to staff who work in higher education.”
Saldivar said DEI offices make sure that all people have equal access to higher education. And, he said, having a diverse faculty can help students, too.
“Representation does matter,” he said. “When students see themselves, not just in the books they read, but also in the teachers, the professors, and school curricula, it allows for them to be more engaged. It allows them to relate to the teaching, to the education that's being provided, in a way that maybe wasn't previously provided to students. And therefore, I think that these kinds of programs do provide benefits across the board, not just to students who identify with these kinds of programs and initiatives, but also all students because the purpose of higher education is to expand minds, cultivate higher learning, cultivate critical thinking. And so the more information and perspectives students have, the greater the ability is for them to engage in conversations and get to know issues that are affecting them in their daily lives.”
DeMatthews agrees.
“Texas public universities are inclusive. They're serving the state. There's not division here. There's division in the legislature,” he said. “There's not division at Texas universities. Texas universities are doing their business and performing quite well, if you look at a lot of the metrics.”
One argument made by Republicans is that tax dollars shouldn’t be spent on DEI offices. Saldivar doesn’t believe that’s a sound argument.
“I think that the tax dollars should be providing resources that benefit all students,” he said. “So if you take away these programs that provide protections from discrimination, for example, for all people, then you're creating an education system that is not very inclusive, and so why should tax dollars be funding educational systems that are not fair and equal to all?”
Dr. Ben Carson, the former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said such policies put the color of someone’s skin at the forefront of hiring.
“The problem with the DEI is that it divides people, and it picks and chooses who the winners are and who the losers are. That's exactly the kind of thing we want to get away from,” Dr. Carson said.
He even came to the Texas Capitol to testify in support of the bill, saying there’s no reason for DEI offices now.
“There was a time when maybe that would have been appropriate. That was a long time ago,” Dr. Carson said. “They're fighting yesterday's war. We have much more important things to be fighting against right now. And they need to bring it forward to modern times. Have we reached nirvana? No, but we're a lot closer to it than we used to be. We have some much bigger issues to deal with.”
He believes Texas has done a good job of inclusion over the years.
“I don't believe in solving a problem that doesn't exist,” Dr. Carson said. “When we have information that there's a real problem, and it's not being solved by natural processes, that's the time to sit down and start talking about what needs to be done. But that is not the case right now.”
Gov. Greg Abbott supports the bill. Earlier in the legislative session, Gov. Abbott's office said state agencies and universities should stop considering diversity in hiring. According to the memo, he said hiring cannot be based on factors “other than merit.”
In a later statement, his spokesperson said, “The issue is not diversity — the issue is that equity is not equality. Here in Texas, we give people a chance to advance based on talent and merit.”
But DeMatthews, the education policy expert, said hiring is already based on merit.
“It's against federal law to hire somebody based on any immutable characteristic,” he said. “When you're a faculty member, when you work at any state or local government institution, you learn about equal opportunity employment practices, and you don't make hiring decisions, or promotion decisions, or admissions decisions based on one sole criteria of race or gender. So it's concerning that they're raising this because that's not even the way business is done. The governor is an attorney himself. He's familiar with these laws, I'm quite sure. The university and schools follow these laws.”
If the bill makes it to the governor’s desk to sign, it would go into effect during the 2023-2024 academic year.
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