Texas lawmakers threaten funding to public universities over DEI rules

AUSTIN, Texas - A pair of state senators are threatening to withhold funding increases to Texas public colleges and universities if they cannot prove they shut down their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

What we know:

Sens. Brandon Creighton (R-The Conroe) and Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) sent a letter to the Texas Board of Regents asking them to confirm their compliance with Senate Bill 17.

The bill, signed into law in 2023, prevents colleges and universities from having DEI offices, programs, activities or training. It also prohibits DEI hiring practices.

The letter comes following a report from the State Auditor's Office that found one school in the Texas A&M system and one community college were not in compliance with the law.

What they're saying:

The letter also implies that other schools may be in violation either through not eliminating the programs or by renaming them.

"We have found this to be the case in numerous instances, particularly at our health-related institutions," the letter said. "Therefore, due to these valid findings of noncompliance, requests for increase in state funds for all public institutions of higher education this legislative session are now frozen at levels from the previous biennium."

In a letter sent to the governing body of the state's public colleges and universities, Texas lawmakers said funding increases were frozen after schools were found to be in violation of the state's anti-DEI law.

"I have one verbal confirmation of compliance from a System Chancellor, and look forward to receiving additional system responses next week," Bettencourt said. "This letter confirms the obvious that removal of DEI offices and activities in Higher Ed is the law of the land in Texas, and cannot be neglected in any manner."

State Audit

A state audit found that Texas A&M - Central Texas in Killeen hired a third-party service that performed some duties of a diversity, equity and inclusion office. The report states the school agreed to implement a corrective action plan.

In a response to the agency, the school said they had contacted a company as part of its five-year strategic plan. 

The school said it did not ask for DEI work or functions as part of the bidding process and the vendor included "unsolicited DEI services" in the contract that were not seen during review.

The language that the school was committed to diversity, equity and inclusion was later removed from its values statement, and they said they are now following the law.

The report also found that a new employee at McLennan Community College in Waco went through diversity, equity and inclusion training.

McLennan said the video was part of a purchase in 2019 for an onboarding program and was meant to help employees understand how to work with different types of people. 

The college said it has since stopped using the video.

What we don't know:

The letter did not specifically name which institutions they believed to be in violation of the law or if the funding increases could be returned, though it was implied in the letter.

"As legislators begin budget deliberations, we expect you to provide clear and indisputable evidence that DEI programming has been fully eliminated from the operations of all your member institutions," the letter reads.