After alleged “valid findings” of noncompliance with Texas Senate Bill 17 — a 2023 law that bars diversity, equity and inclusion offices, hiring and programs at institutions of higher education — Sens. Brandon Creighton and Paul Bettencourt put university governing boards on notice that any requests for state funding above levels from the previous biennium will be denied until the systems prove they’re following the “letter and spirit” of the law.
The senators’ letter, sent Wednesday to Texas public universities’ boards of regents, comes after alumni and higher education stakeholders have advocated for the Legislature to restore more than $400 million in institutional enhancement funds that universities use to support faculty, new programs and student supports that are not included in the proposed budget for the coming biennium ― including $54 million at Texas A&M University and $38 million at the University of Texas.
Speakers and spectators attend a Texas Senate Finance Committee hearing for public higher education institutions Feb. 6.
Texas university systems are required to submit reports asserting their institutions are in full compliance with SB 17 to access state funds, and system chancellors in May testified before the Senate Higher Education subcommittee during an interim hearing about how they have complied. But Creighton, R-Conroe, who chairs the Senate K-16 Education Committee, and Bettencourt, R-Houston, who chairs the Senate Higher Education subcommittee, allege in their letter that some institutions, particularly health-related schools, have not complied sufficiently.
“Though governing boards did comply with this provision of the law, the reports were not found to be satisfactory,” the letter states. “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.”
More: One year under SB 17: A timeline of how Texas’ anti-DEI law swept through UT, the state
The state auditor’s office, which surveyed the Texas A&M System, in a report this month said it found that Texas A&M University Central Texas had a contract that did not comply with SB 17, but it was otherwise compliant. It said the school would address the contract promptly. And of five community colleges surveyed, one had training that was noncompliant with SB 17, the report said.
“The audit shows that we are in compliance with SB 17 almost in all,” said Tim Eaton, a TAMU System spokesperson, crediting the system’s staff who has worked hard to ensure it follows the law. “It looks like we got an A as far as I can tell.”
Bettencourt’s and Creighton’s offices declined to name specific violations they are alleging, and none were identified in their letter, though the document states there are “numerous instances” for which they believe a DEI office has been renamed or reauthorized “under the guise of a different name.” In response, the letter states, no requests for increases in state higher education funding will be approved until governing boards prove their institutions’ compliance.
Other university systems, including the UT System, have not yet been audited by the state.
“SB 17 is very clear. No DEI offices,” said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. “Don’t create a new three-letter acronym.”
State officials threatening to withhold money isn’t new. Last session, lawmakers leveraged the budget to pass conservative higher education priorities, making millions in extra funding contingent on the passing of SB 17 and SB 18, which limits tenure at public universities. Last year, a letter from Creighton similarly threatened financial ramifications for noncompliance, and, shortly afterward, the University of Texas terminated 49 former-DEI staff members who had been reassigned to new positions to comply with the law. UT also cut adapted student support offices and services that were compliant with SB 17, leaving staff and students devastated and complaining that the school was overcomplying for political ends.
In Wednesday’s letter, Creighton repeated his call for institutions to comply with “the letter and spirit of the law” or face funding ramifications. The “spirit” refers to ensuring there are no DEI offices or programs that are just being renamed at the institutions, Bettencourt said in a phone interview Friday.
“SB 17 is very clear. No DEI offices,” Bettencourt said. “Don’t create a new three-letter acronym.”
SB 17 ― which defines DEI as the promotion of the preferential treatment of certain groups or “special benefit” based on race, sexuality or gender ― exempts courses, research, student groups and recruitment from limitations prescribed in the law, but Creighton and other lawmakers have applauded the top-down elimination of LGBTQ+ and diverse but “low-producing” minors at Texas A&M University and mentions of diversity in coursework at the University of North Texas as aligning with SB 17’s intent.
More: Senate Texas Higher Education Interim Report says regents should get rid of DEI ‘culture’
Lawmakers’ pressure campaign on universities this year follows a national debate over what DEI means and how marginalized communities will be affected by expansions of or overcompliance with laws like SB 17. In the current Texas legislative session, numerous bills have been filed to bar required university courses that relate to diversity or to cut low-producing programs.
Jay Hartzell, the University of Texas’ departing president, defends UT’s efforts during the Feb. 6 Senate Finance Committee hearing on public higher education institutions.
During a Feb. 6 Senate Finance Committee hearing, Creighton asked UT’s former president, Jay Hartzell, if the school’s ‘flags,” or course requirements, that include cultural diversity and global culture, would be eliminated, to which Hartzell replied that the university was still reviewing the courses.
Bettencourt said that Creighton’s office has received numerous complaints of perceived noncompliance with SB 17 among health institutions. He said he had a positive conversation with Texas Tech University’s chancellor and hopes to have “the same conversations with everyone else.”
“Texas has been leading on this effort even before the Trump administration’s” orders, Bettencourt said. “We want the institutions to focus on teaching, research and academic resources.”
“It’s important this issue be cleared up once and for all,” he added.
More: Will Trump push Texas-style education to a national scale? Here’s what experts say.
Sen. Brandon Creighton, shown at left speaking to Sen. Charles Schwertner, has demanded that universities comply with “the letter and spirit of the law” banning diversity offices and programs.
Texas was the second state in the nation to pass an anti-DEI law in 2023. With President Donald Trump’s federal push to end DEI initiatives in the private sector, the senators’ said “it is imperative” Texas remains a leader in this effort to prevent loss of federal funding in the future.
Bettencourt said once institutions fully prove their compliance with SB 17, he would be “very happy” to consider the return of funds and look at the exceptional item requests.
“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 senators’ letter states. “Please be prepared to demonstrate full compliance with SB 17 upon request.”
This story has been updated to add video.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas senators threaten university funding freeze until they ban DEI
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