DEI terms are being removed from some public colleges.

According to a landing page from The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17, titled “Responsibility of Governing Boards Regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives,” on June 14, 2023. The bill restricts diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, as well as the programs, activities, and trainings across public institutions of higher education. It went into effect in January 2024.

“DEI programs have been shown to be exclusive, they have been shown to be ineffective and they have shown to be politically charged,” Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, the ban’s author, stated on the Senate floor, according to The Texas Tribune in February 2024. “Many of these programs have been weaponized to compel speech instead of protecting free speech.”

An internal memo shared in November 2024 by TikTok user momuniversity, who was a UT Austin educator at the time, provided updated courses of action that would impact student organizations.

“The University may not sponsor a student organization designed or implemented in reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Sponsored student organizations may not promote differential treatment of or provide special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, color, ethnicity,” the memo read.

@momuniversity

Lets talk about DEI, over compliance and how universities are “political spaces” #dei #highereducation #universities #studentorganization

♬ original sound – momuniversity

The University of Texas at Austin had conducted a routine audit that scanned words related to DEI, which served to vet programs that are no longer permitted on campus, per KXAN-TV. These words include BIPOC, LGBTQ, Latinx, Marginalized, Underserved, and Minority.

“Those words describe friends of mine, and that’s really concerning to me,” Annie Franklin, a UT Austin student in the College of Liberal Arts, told KXAN-TV.

Additional words listed include:

  • Diversity
  • DEI
  • Diverse
  • DEAI
  • Equity
  • Equitable
  • Inclusive
  • Inclusion
  • Safe space
  • Implicit bias
  • Anti-racist
  • Oppression
  • Gender identity
  • Decolonize
  • Colonizer
  • Microagression
  • Whiteness
  • Anti-Colonialism
  • Institutional racism
  • Systematic racism
  • White privilege
  • Social justice
  • Bias
  • Racism
  • Privilege
  • Ally

“The university routinely scans its website as a means to identify programming or events, unrelated to academic and research functions, that may not be permitted under SB17,” The University of Texas explained in a statement, per KXAN-TV. “The scans were first implemented in fall 2023 in advance of the law’s effective date and include a list of terms that are guides for identifying potentially non-compliant functions that require review.”

According to the outlet, UT Austin shared that less than 1% of the terms scanned triggered further review for potential noncompliance, and the terms would not be removed or deleted from its website.

Still, the university’s interpretation of the bill appears to have a significant impact on minority students. Aaliyah Barlow, president of UT Austin’s Black Student Alliance, received far less funding in support of 36 students going to an annual leadership conference. She was seeking a $20,000 raise in February 2024 but was met with silence by the group’s usual donors, including UT Austin President Jay Hartzell’s office, mentions The Texas Tribune. Instead, she was only able to raise about $6,000, limiting the number of student who would be able to attend.

“It’s been really frustrating, especially since we’ve been getting money from these places every single year,” Barlow said at the time. “We’re just a student organization … so I assumed we’d be okay. But that’s not the case, unfortunately.”

More decisions will be made with similar implications that impact funding and may lead to closures, such the university’s recent closure of its multicultural center. These decisions are a result of public institutions in higher learning being told to play it safe by legal teams, according to the Texas Tribune.

Additional states that will be impacted include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, among others, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.