Texas Bill Would Ban Diversity Policies In Public Schools

The Texas Tribune reports:

A top Texas senator filed legislation Monday that would extend the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to K-12 public schools.

Sen. Brandon Creighton, the Conroe Republican who chairs the Senate Committee on Education K-16, introduced both Senate Bill 12 and Senate Bill 1565 after Gov. Greg Abbott expressed support in his State of the State address earlier this month for Texas banning diversity practices across its more than 1,200 public school districts.

The introductory text in the legislation suggests school districts that fail to comply with the proposed DEI ban could lose out on funding, but neither bills specify how that would happen. Public schools receive funding primarily from local property taxes and the state budget.

Read the full article. Sen. Brandon Creighton [photo], is also behind his state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill for public schools. Creighton first appeared on JMG in 2019 for his bill seeking to overturn LGBTQ protections enacted by Texas cities. In March 2023, he appeared here for his bill that would deny the prospect of tenure to newly-hired university professors. Creighton has spearheaded the Texas campaign to protect Confederate monuments. He last appeared here in August 2023 for his bill that forced the closure of the University of Houston’s LGBTQ Resource Center.