Opinion: The Impact of Texas's Senate Bill (SB) 17 on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at its Public Colleges and Universities

There is a movement to abolish DEI programs, and the battle is not just in red states; a debate to abolish DEI programs occurred at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

We must stay vigilant against attempts to pass anti-DEI legislation and other efforts to undermine the democratic principles of fairness and equal opportunity.

Opinion: The Impact of Texas's Senate Bill (SB) 17 on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at its Public Colleges and Universities

/By Dr. William Reid/<> Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) refers to an organizational
framework that seeks to promote the fair treatment and full participation
of all people, particularly groups historically subjected to discrimination
based on identity or disability. Maryland has a strong DEI program at its
colleges and universities, partly due to its significant minority
representation and elected progressive politicians within the Maryland
General Assembly.

But there is a movement to abolish DEI programs, and
the battle is not just in red states; a debate to abolish DEI programs
occurred at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We must stay
vigilant against attempts to pass anti-DEI legislation and other efforts to
undermine the democratic principles of fairness and equal opportunity.
The following is an example of a defeat in ongoing DEI efforts and what
we should do as a community to fight against anti-DEI legislation:
The Texas legislature has passed SB17 ("Banning DEI Policies in
Higher Education") Details here.

This law prohibits Texas public colleges and universities from creating
or maintaining anti-discrimination offices. The bill also prohibits Texas
public colleges and universities from using state funds for non-academic
purposes, including DEI-related activities; the law took effect on
January 1, 2024. This bill also forbids faculty, students, and staff from
receiving critical training that helps prevent potentially discriminatory
action against students. These trainings are necessary for Texas
universities and colleges to prepare for incidents of discrimination on
campus or to take steps to prevent them from reoccurring. SB17
implementation will immediately impact the ability to provide services
and support for student success and retention. These services range from
counseling to health care and more. This law is especially harmful to
students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, international students, and other
historically marginalized groups on campus.

The introduction of SB 16, 17, and 18 in Texas was arguably a response
to the belief that Texas colleges and universities were too liberal. This
trifecta of laws was the latest coordinated attack on higher education in
Texas and nationwide https://www.naacpldf.org/truth-2/texas-pro-truth/.
Although unsuccessful, proponents of SB17 also supported SB16, which
sought to prohibit teaching concepts related to race, religion, politics,
gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation and end tenure and
academic freedom at public colleges and universities across Texas.
While SB 18 ("Eliminating Tenure at General Academic Institutions")
was unsuccessful in denying tenure to newly hired professors, it did
manage, with vaguely worded language, to curtail due process rights for
tenure-track faculty. It negatively impacts faculty's academic freedom
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=S
B18.

DEI is an embedded set of practices and procedures used in academic
accreditation, targeted student success programs, NCAA Division I
participation, and more. DEI programs also ensure students' and
faculties' federal protections against discrimination through the
intersections of Title IX, protecting people from discrimination based on
sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in education programs or
activities that receive federal financial assistance, and Title VI that
protects people from discrimination based on race, color, or national
origin amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the equal
protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.
Moreover, most of our nation's public colleges and universities remain
Equal Opportunity and DEI-compliant employers in contracting with the
federal government, thus putting anti-DEI states out of compliance with
Federal DEI requirements.

SB17 is another form of white supremacy that is rooted in hatred,
bigotry, and racism, similar to the "Jim Crow and Poll Tax laws" that
prevented school desegregation and voting rights access for minorities,
respectively. SB17 will be detrimental to students and their academic
opportunities at public universities in Texas. Challenges to the law will
likely occur in court; however, it is unclear how this challenge will play
out because there were no significant legal efforts to stop SB17's
execution. The Texas National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), Texas
Association of Diversity Offices in Higher Education, the League of
United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Black Brown Dialogues
on Policy opposed the legislation. Organizations like the American Civil
Liberties Union, LULAC, and the NAACP LDF cannot immediately
challenge this law; they must wait for the new law to create unjust
circumstances, often called "ripeness," for a lawsuit. Currently, the
Federal government is considering withholding funds from Texas
colleges and universities that are not compliant with federal DEI
requirements.

As a result of SB17's passage and execution, we must "take action" and
educate ourselves about what this law entails, work together as a
community to ensure its repeal before it metastasizes throughout our
country, and encourage our federal elected officials to undertake
concrete actions in support of withholding funds from colleges and
universities that are not in compliance with Federal DEI requirements. In
this regard, at a recent "meet and greet," Congressman David Trone (US
Senatorial Candidate from Maryland), when asked about SB17, said he
favored withholding Federal funds from public colleges and universities
that do not comply with Federal DEI requirements.

In conclusion, it is incumbent on all of us to take action to support and protect DEI
programs. If you think anti-DEI laws do not impact you, then you are
wrong, and they are likely coming after you next.

Dr. William Reid is Chair, Frederick County Progressives, a chapter of Progressive Maryland