Texas and Florida Governors Announce Anti-DEI Policies

On Feb. 4, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot’s (R) Chief of Staff sent to a memo to the heads of state agencies stating that the use of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies when implemented as part of hiring practices are illegal. The memo asserted that the policies have “expressly favor some demographic groups to the detriment of others”, and that instead of increasing diversity in the workplace, the policies have had the “opposite effect”.

The memo has received significant pushback from the state’s Black and Latino lawmakers. State Rep. Ron Reynolds (D), chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, has called the priorities in the memo misguided and an appeal to the state’s far right Republican base.

In addition to the memo, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) has stated that one of his top priorities for this year’s legislative session will be banning professors from teaching critical race theory (CRT) and ending the use of DEI practices in hiring at universities.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also announced plans to introduce legislation that will “ensure Florida’s public universities and colleges are grounded in the history and philosophy of Western Civilization; prohibit DEI, CRT and other discriminatory programs and barriers to learning; and course correct universities’ missions to align education for citizenship of the constitutional republic and Florida’s existing and emerging workforce needs.” DeSantis also announced in a press conference that cutting off funding for DEI programs will cause it to “whither on the vine”.

To date, at least 36 states have enacted or proposed laws or policies that restrict teaching about race or racism. While many of these proposals have been limited to K-12 education, some are also aimed at institutions of higher education.