At least Texas 131 college scholarships based on race, gender, or ethnicity have been frozen or modified because of DEI ban

At least 131 college scholarships in Texas that are based on race, gender, or ethnicity have been modified or frozen because of the state’s ban on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Records reviewed by The Dallas Morning News show that 45 scholarships at University of Texas-affiliated campuses and 80 at Texas A&M University institutions, as well as six at scholarships at three other public universities throughout the state.

Universities across Texas are reevaluating the scholarships limited to certain demographics after legislators passed Senate Bill 17, which bans DEI and related programs at the state’s public universities.

Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, told The Dallas Morning News that several universities across the state are saving money by closing “DEI bureaucracies.”

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“Since implementation of SB 17, Texas colleges and universities have made real progress to return their institutions to the mission of innovation and education and throughout the process, many institutions are eliminating inefficiencies and redundant expenditures — which could include programs or scholarships that have been eliminated or changed,” Creighton said. “The law makes clear that taxpayer funds should not be spent conferring special benefits based on race, color, or ethnicity.”

The scholarships impacted weren’t funded directly by public universities but were administered by the institutions.

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In one case at the University of Texas, a scholarship for illegal immigrants was eliminated.

The University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, for example, removed references of “minority” and inserted “disadvantaged” for the William C. Levin, MD Fund for Disadvantaged.