During an undercover investigation, the group Accuracy in Media discovered that a half-dozen Texas universities have slyly skirted the law to continue their DEI programs. Adam Guillette, president of Accuracy in Media, found it unsurprising that school administrators actually "bragged" about how they ignored the new state law.
Tony Kinnett, an investigative columnist for The Daily Signal, interviewed Guillette about those findings and penned an op-ed that includes video of that interview. Kinnett explains that skirting such statutes appears to be more prevalent in "red" (lean conservative) states than in "blue" (lean liberal) states.
"Individuals from governmental state agencies to the legislature are very open about what it is they're trying to do," Kinnett tells AFN. "Whereas in red states, a lot of individuals in the departments of education are saying that their views – on everything from racial discrimination to child gender transitions – are very unpopular."
Kinnett thinks the best way to keep universities from flaunting the law is to withhold public funds – but he has no problem with private schools. "If you want to do that perfectly on your private dollar, I have no issue with that. I still think it's morally reprehensible, but I think you should be allowed to do that," he offers.
Accuracy in Media identified University of North Texas, University of Texas at Dallas, and Tarleton State University as schools still offering DEI services "under the table." Texas Tech has labeled its DEI initiatives under "the vague name of 'Campus Access and Engagement.'" And an official at the University of Texas at Tyler revealed the school had to rename their DEI office three times to skirt the new laws.
