RESEARCH BRIEF: Texas' Declining Diversity of the Undergraduate Class, 2015-2022 by Jenna Doane & Maria Unda

Students, Friends, Colleagues & Members of the Texas Legislature:

Today, Senate Bill 17 will be heard in the House. SB 17 represents an attack DEI in higher education. Taking away this decades-long agenda for civil rights and inclusion in higher education institutions will foster a decline of diversity in Texas universities.

You can view and download the entire brief from the Texas Center for Education Policy (TCEP) website.

Congratulations to TCEP Fellows Jenna Doane & Maria Unda, both doctoral students in Education Policy and Planning in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin for such a timely and well-researched brief.

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D., Director

Texas Center for Education Policy

Texas' Declining Diversity of the Undergraduate Class, 2015-2022: A Critical Policy Analysis of Anti-DEI Legislation in the 88th Session of the Texas 

State Legislature

 

by Jenna Doane & Maria Unda

Executive Summary

In this critical policy analysis, we report on DEI programs, the positive impact they have on all students, and the importance of a diverse faculty and student body. We provide data on hiring, access, and graduation rates that reveal the failures of higher education institutions to learning environments for systematically marginalized students with a particular focus on Texas.

Furthermore, graduation rates among students of color will display the barriers they face in college. Failure to meet the needs of students of color is already a primary issue among Texas universities, and this report seeks to bring to light the additional and damaging effects that removing DEI initiatives and resources could have on Texas students and faculty. Policy recommendations are outlined in the concluding section of this policy analysis.