The beginning of 2024 was greater than only the start of a brand new yr in Texas. It was additionally the date Texas’ Senate Invoice 17 went into impact, banning range, fairness and inclusion, or DEI, packages at public universities within the state. Six months into that legislation, although, some sudden unwanted side effects have gotten clear—together with the influence on over 100 scholarships for potential college students.
A report within the Dallas Morning Information finds that 131 scholarships throughout the state have been frozen or modified because of the legislation, together with 80 at Texas A&M and 45 at College of Texas campuses.
The legislation was meant to finish packages like range coaching and comparable initiatives at colleges, however has additionally led to varsities investigating and generally freezing scholarships for nonwhite college students, even these which are privately funded.
In some instances, the wording surrounding eligibility for scholarships is being modified from phrases like “minority” to “disadvantaged.” Different colleges are making greater modifications. As an illustration, the Biotechnology Variety Scholarship at Texas A&M (as a result of it had the phrase range within the title) and a community-funded scholarship for black feminine athletes named for 2 college students who had been killed in a automotive crash was frozen by the college.
“The scholarships do not have anything to do with that diversity program or the state law,” Sam Butts, father of one of many college students who was killed, instructed the Morning Information. “We’re disappointed because that scholarship was set up to help minorities.”
State Sen. Brandon Creighton, who authored the invoice, stated in a press release to the paper that SB17 was not designed to influence scholarships supplied by personal organizations and “the law makes clear that taxpayer funds should not be spent conferring special benefits based on race, color, or ethnicity.”
As a result of lots of these scholarships are administered by colleges, although, confusion has arisen.
