Texas is saying goodbye to diversity, equity, and inclusion offices in higher education. This news came as the Texas House also voted on May 27 to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state’s top lawyer.

Earlier in the month, the Texas House passed a bill to end DEI departments in its college system.

If the Senate gets the “yes” vote, the bill will head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for him to sign it into law.

The Texas House vote was 83-62 vote to DEI offices and programs from the state’s public colleges and universities. The proposed legislation would eliminate DEI offices and ban DEI training and DEI statements.

The author of the bill is Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe. He introduced it in March and argued that DEI programs are not working as they were intended. Instead, he complained, they are discriminatory, favoring particular groups over others. Creighton also charged that universities requiring diversity statements from job applicants violate the applicants’ First Amendment rights.

The bill, he said, “does not harm diversity efforts, but it does remove divisive agendas that have been seen to be carried out through DEI units, personnel and certain departments.”

Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin, filed the House version of the bill. According to Kuempel, Texas is spending millions of dollars on DEI despite lacking evidence that DEI programs have increased minority recruitment and hiring.

“DEI is present in some form in almost every Texas campus,” he said on the House floor. “We must recruit the best people in every field regardless of race and gender.”

​He added, “There is virtually no evidence that DEI programs have closed the gap in terms of minority student outcomes, minority recruitment, and faculty hiring.”

For years now DEI offices have been a mainstay on college and university campuses nationwide as an effort to boost faculty diversity and to be a support source for students from all backgrounds. These offices offer a variety of services, such as coordinating mentorships, tutoring, The Texas Tribune reported.

The bill plays into one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s legislative priorities, The Texas Tribune reported.

The state’s Democrats are fighting back.

“This legislation is telling us that Texans fear diversity,” Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, told The Texas Tribune. “This legislation shows us that folks are so afraid of inclusive practices at public universities that they’re willing to go as far as defunding our public universities.”

Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican whose career has been plagued by scandal, was impeached by the state’s House of Representatives, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The vote for impeachment was 121-23, with 60 Republicans. The articles of impeachment accused Paxton of accepting bribes, disregarding his official duties and misapplying public resources.

Photo by Keira Burton: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cheerful-multiethnic-students-with-books-sitting-near-university-6146978/