Monday marked the end of the 88th legislative session in the Texas Legislature. A regular session is 140 days long. One of Governor Abbott’s priorities was to ban all public universities in the state from having diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or employees. Commonly called DEI, Senate Bill 17 puts a stop to the practice. The state will audit the schools to make sure they don’t work around the ban by calling programs different names. Texas becomes the biggest state to pass such a ban.

Texas follows Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in this action. DeSantis signed a bill banning universities from using state or federal funds to support DEI offices or staff. Other states that are considering such legislation include South Carolina, Missouri, and Iowa.

It took weeks of negotiations between House and Senate leaders but lawmakers voted on Sunday. The bill now goes to Abbott’s desk for his signature. There is strong opposition from civil rights groups like the NAACP.

This is a win for conservatives who have encouraged lawmakers to rein in public universities because they have gone too far left. There is little room for conservative viewpoints in some schools and that presents a lopsided education for students. Governor Abbott is a graduate of the University of Texas and he recently said that universities are “trying to purge conservative thought.”

State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said that while the state wants more diversity at schools, DEI programs have been manipulated and resulted in qualified people being passed over for jobs.

“With this bold, forward-thinking legislation to eliminate DEI programs, Texas is leading the nation, and ensuring our campuses return to focusing on the strength of diversity, promoting a merit-based approach where individuals are judged based on their qualifications, skills and contributions,” he said.

The president of the Texas NAACP uses the argument that eliminating DEI will hurt black, Hispanic, and other minorities. “These programs help minority students navigate through college, and studies show they greatly enhance their prospect of graduation,” Gary Bledsoe said recently. He claims Texas is taking a dangerous step backward. Advocates say that conservatives incorrectly describe DEI when it is about equal opportunity. They say Texas colleges have failed to diversify faculties. DEI, they say, helps qualified applicants from underrepresented areas have a chance at being considered jobs and career advancement.

Rep. Creighton said the legislation won’t affect admissions or student recruitment. The idea is to stop universities from hiring staff and faculty that favors some qualified hires over others due to diversity goals. Some schools even require applicants to submit statements of commitment to DEI efforts.

Creighton counters criticism by pointing out that without DEI programs and personnel, colleges can move millions of dollars that are being spent on those programs into recruiting efforts for a more diverse student body.

“The days of political oaths, compelled speech, and racial profiling in university hiring are behind us,” he said in a statement. “Moving forward, Texas will prioritize the advancement of the most qualified individuals and endorse policies that promote diversity and equality for our great state.”

What about those employees in the generously compensated DEI positions? The Texas House and Senate hashed out a deal that removed the House’s provision that ensures colleges reassign DEI office employees to new positions with similar pay. The deal reached is that the schools provide letters of recommendation for employees. That seems fair to me.

One Democrat in the House urged his colleagues to vote against eliminating DEI by pointing to the NAACP travel advisory issued against Florida. The NAACP pointed to that state’s recent legislation on DEI in their hypocritical travel advisory. Many of the national board members vacation in Florida and the chairman lives in Florida.

“Don’t be on the wrong side of history,” Reynolds said. “Don’t let Texas be the next state to get a travel advisory. Don’t let the politics of extremism get in the way in the progress that we’ve made over the years.”

Despite travel bans by states like California, Texas is doing quite well post-pandemic, thank you very much.

Travel and tourism continue to be one of the most important drivers of the Texas economy, with travelers to and within the state spending $91.7 billion in 2022, resulting in a $187.5 billion economic impact on the Texas economy. Last year alone, travel supported jobs grew by 10% to 1.2 million across Texas with $67.6 billion in earnings.

It is the right thing to do to encourage using merit over racial quotas in hiring personnel and recruiting students. The trend was going too far left and canceling conservatives in deference to progressives. Conservatives have had enough, especially with taxpayer dollars. The average Chief Diversity Officer salary in Texas is $232,600 as of May 01, 2023, but the salary range typically falls between $200,600 and $275,700.