Bill to restrict DEI in higher education advances in Oklahoma legislature
An Oklahoma House committee recently advanced a bill that would prohibit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies at public universities.
On Wednesday, the Postsecondary Education Committee recommended that S.B. 796 be passed by a vote of 4–2.
An Oklahoma House committee recently advanced a bill that would prohibit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies at public universities.
On Wednesday, the Postsecondary Education Committee recommended that the bill be passed by a vote of 4–2. The legislation easily was approved by the Oklahoma Senate on March 27 by a vote of 39-8.
S.B. 796 would prohibit public universities from supporting “diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures, or programs to the extent they grant preferential treatment based on one person’s particular race, color, ethnicity, or national origin over another’s.”
The proposed legislation would also prohibit training that utilizes racial preferences, eliminate DEI statements in hiring, and prevent schools from mandating that people disclose their pronouns.
The bill also states that it will not affect the “academic freedom” of individual faculty members teaching courses, the “scholarly research or creative work” by students or faculty, the activities of registered student organizations, or guest speakers performing short-term engagements.
“Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the promotion of civil discourse, debate, or speech that is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the bill continues.
Oklahoma State Rep. Denise Crosswhite Hader, one of the legislators to introduce the bill, said that DEI programs in the state are ensuring that students stay in college longer than necessary.
“We don’t want to run away from teaching difficult subjects, but what we’re seeing is students that are going into college to learn, say, to be an engineer, having a whole other topic that they’re having to study, taking out student loans, taking a longer time in college,” Crosswhite Hader stated, according to the Oklahoma City Council of Public Affairs.
Oklahoma’s potential policy change comes in the wake of a nationwide scale-back of DEI.
Following President Trump’s anti-DEI executive order signed in January, the University of Oklahoma renamed its Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to the “Division of Access and Opportunity,” according to OU Daily.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
