AUSTIN, Texas (CN) — Returning Thursday to the issue of diversity, equity and inclusion in education, lawmakers in the Texas Senate considered bills that would ban the controversial programs in public education.
In 2023, Texas banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public colleges and universities. Now, Republicans have set their sights on doing the same in public K-12 education.
Senator Brandon Creighton — a Conroe Republican who is also chairs the education committee — introduced two bills that aim to do exactly that.
Senate Bill 12 and Senate Bill 1565 would both ban DEI for all public kindergarten through high school. Creighton asked his fellow lawmakers, during the layout of SB 1565, “When did we decide that taxpayer-funded classrooms should be places for political activism?”
“Right now, school districts are spending millions of taxpayer dollars on DEI initiatives that divide students by race, gender and sexual orientation, rather than treating them all as individuals,” said Creighton. “These programs are not just inappropriate, they contradict our values, and in some cases, they violate state and federal law.”
Senate Bill 12 and SB 1565 define DEI as any policy that influences the hiring, treatment, benefits and training programs that are solely based on race, gender and/or ethnicity unless required by federal anti-discrimination laws.
This differs from advocates’ description of DEI as being a set of frameworks that aim to advance the fair treatment of all people, especially those who have historically faced discrimination.
Both bills would prohibit such programs from being used in hiring practices, workplace training and promotions. Moreover, diversity offices and positions in a school would also be eliminated.
The over 1,200 school districts in the state will be largely responsible for enforcing the ban.
However, a provision in SB 12 and built upon in SB 1565 creates a grievance procedure that empowers parents to take complaints of purported violations to school officials to take action. Parents can appeal any decisions from school officials to the school district’s superintendent and even up to the Texas Education Agency, where final redress is given by an appointed independent examiner.
While both bills seek to eliminate DEI practices in public education, SB 12 goes even further by expanding what Creighton calls parental rights in education. Under the bill, parents will be entitled to access their child’s academic, counseling, psychological and disciplinary records.
Critics of the bills believe they may lead to the chilling of discussion surrounding topics of race and our nation’s history.
Antonio Ingram, senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, warned the committee that banning DEI will harm students and looks to the legislature’s ban of DEI in public higher education as evidence.
“SB 12 may cause school administrators to ban celebrations and events about African American culture, curtail mentorship programs encouraging black girls to pursue careers in engineering or medicine and discontinue implicit bias training helping to prevent black boys from receiving unjust discipline,” said Ingram. “We have seen how colleges and universities have broadly construed Senate Bill 17 and how it has harmed black communities, please do not extend these harms to K-12 students.”
In response to these criticisms, Creighton said that neither bill would have any impact on statewide standards or the teaching of the state or nation’s history.
The idea of diversity, equity and inclusion has been roundly rejected by Republican leaders in both Texas and the United States.
On the first day of his presidency, Donald Trump signed an executive order purging all DEI-related offices and policies across the federal government.
Governor Greg Abbott followed suit on Jan. 31, issuing an executive order banning the practices in all state agencies, calling them divisive and discriminatory.
Despite SB 12 and SB 1565 being left pending before the committee on Thursday, they are expected to pass and receive a full vote in the Senate. Of the 13-member committee, only two are Democrats and both opposed similar measures during the 2023 session. At the end of the meeting, Creighton did not indicate when a vote would be taken on these measures.