The Texas Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Prohibition Has Caused More Than 100 Employment Layoffs at State Universities

A prohibition on diversity, equality, and inclusion activities in higher education has resulted in more than 100 job layoffs across Texas university campuses, a trend that is being replicated or anticipated in many other states where lawmakers are enacting similar regulations during an election year.

After Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law last year, universities across Texas scrambled to implement adjustments. On April 2, the president of the 52,000-student University of Texas at Austin, one of the largest college campuses in the United States, sent an email announcing that the school was closing the Division of Campus and Community Engagement and eliminating jobs to comply with the ban, which went into effect on January 1.

According to the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors, the law resulted in the termination of more than 60 University of Texas at Austin staff workers. The group stated that it generated the list based on affected employees who reached out and that the number could be higher. University administrators refused to confirm the number of posts cut.

In response to inquiries from The Associated Press, officials at other schools confirmed that 36 positions were eliminated at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas State University in San Marcos, The University of Houston, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, and Sul Ross State University in Alpine. Officials stated that no one was laid off; instead, many were assigned to different tasks, some resigned, and vacant positions were filled.

Earlier this week, the University of Texas at Dallas announced that around 20 associate positions would be removed by the law. University officials declined to say how many of those positions are now filled.

Texas House of Representatives Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, praised the University of Texas’ efforts in a post on the social media platform X. “It is a victory for common sense and proof that the Legislature’s actions are working,” Phelan said in a statement.

Texas is one of five states that have recently passed laws targeting DEI programs. At least 20 other people are contemplating it.

Last year, Florida became the first state to impose a ban, with the loud support of then-Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis, who frequently dismisses DEI and other diversity initiatives as “woke” left-wing programs. In reaction to the law, the University of Florida last month announced more than a dozen layoffs.

In December, the University of Wisconsin regents negotiated an agreement with Republican lawmakers to limit DEI employment at the system’s two dozen campuses in exchange for funding for staff salaries and construction projects. The agreement mandated a hiring freeze for diversity roles until 2026 and redirected more than 40 diversity-related positions to focus on “student success.”

Republican legislators who oppose DEI programs argue that they are discriminatory and promote left-wing ideology. Some believe the topic will connect with voters during this election year. Democratic DEI advocates argue that the programs are essential to ensuring that institutions meet the demands of increasingly diverse student communities. The party’s lawmakers have introduced over two dozen measures in 11 states requiring or promoting DEI initiatives.

Texas’ anti-DEI law, which Abbott joyfully signed last year, forbids training and events “about race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.” Furthermore, the law, also known by its legislative designation, SB17, prohibits employees from making hiring decisions based on race, gender, color, or ethnicity, as well as advocating “differential” or “preferential” treatment or “special” privileges for people in these categories.

SB17 clarifies that the ban does not apply to academic course instruction or scholarly research. That’s why Professor Aquasia Shaw was stunned to learn last week that her supervisor would not extend her contract. Shaw stated that she was not given a reason for her termination, but given the date, she assumes it was due to the new law.

Shaw taught classes at the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Education that combined sociology, athletics, and cultural studies. Her faculty biography on the university’s website describes her research interests as “sociology of sport and cultural studies, sport management, diversity, inclusion, and social justice.” She offered a course this semester titled Race and Sports in African American Life. However, she stated that she had not participated in any DEI efforts outside of her teaching.

“I was under the impression that teaching and research was protected so … I am trying to grapple with the idea and in denial that this can’t be the reason I was targeted,” she went on to say.

In March, Republican state Sen. Brandon Creighton, who introduced SB17, wrote to public university boards of regents across the state, requesting them to testify in May about the changes made to achieve compliance. He cautioned that rebranding programs rather than changing their aim would be insufficient.

Creighton’s office did not respond to an email requesting comment.

The law’s impact was felt in Texas long before it went into force. Last year, authorities at the University of Texas at Austin renamed the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement the Division of Campus and Community Engagement. The name change did not save it; the company closed this month. School authorities stated that some of the division’s initiatives would be transferred, while others would be discontinued. They did not give specifics.

Shaw claimed she was the only person of color in her department. She stated that she discovered on X that other university staff had been let go and began communicating with them. At least ten of the other sacked academic and staff people she contacted are also from minority groups, she said.

Shaw was devastated when she lost her job, as she had already scheduled school for the summer and fall. She claimed her supervisors had previously informed her that they planned to renew her contract. “I am so disheartened to see that exactly what I was concerned about ended up happening anyway,” Shaw said in a statement.