AUSTIN, Texas (LifeSiteNews) — Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott last week signed a new law banning radical diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices in colleges and universities that receive state funds. The law makes Texas the second state after Florida to prohibit the divisive departments, which conservatives argue unfairly discriminate based on factors like race and ethnicity rather than merit.
Under Senate Bill 17, signed by Gov. Abbott on Wednesday, colleges and universities may not “compel, require, induce, or solicit” a student, applicant, employee, or prospective employee to “endorse an ideology that promotes the differential treatment of an individual or group of individuals based on race, color, or ethnicity.”
State-funded colleges and universities are also prohibited from granting “preferential consideration to a student enrolled at the institution, an employee or contractor of the institution, or an applicant for admission to or employment or contracting at the institution on the basis of the person’s unsolicited statement in support of” an ideology promoting race-based differential treatment.
Institutions will be subject to periodic audits and will lose access to state funds if they persist in operating DEI offices. The law follows a February memo from the governor’s office ordering colleges, universities, and state agencies to stop considering race in hiring.
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Republican state Sen. Brandon Creighton, one of the authors of the bill, released a statement highlighting the measure as a means to restore a merit-based system to Texas college and university admissions.
“Texas is leading the nation and ensuring our campuses return to focusing on the strength of diversity and promoting a merit-based approach where individuals are judged on their qualifications, skills, and contributions,” he said.
The new measure is slated to take effect early next year.
DEI offices have proliferated in U.S. colleges and universities in the interest of making institutions more diverse and “inclusive.” However, research by the Heritage Foundation suggests the departments “may have the effect of dividing more than including,” and Harvard Business Review observed that, according to studies, the “force-feeding” of ideology can actually “activate bias rather than stamp it out.”
Moreover, many opponents have pointed out that the emphasis on characteristics like race and sex can mean in practice that a more highly qualified but less “diverse” candidate may be overlooked in favor of an applicant who is less qualified but more “diverse.”
The signing of Texas’ Senate Bill 17 comes as the U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to end affirmative action for higher education admissions nationwide, forcing universities to exclusively consider merit in their academic admissions. A decision is expected from the nation’s highest court on the matter later this month.