Minority Scholarships Affected by the New Texas DEI Ban

Tragically, Devin Oliver and her classmate Aubree Butts, both Texas A&M University-Commerce basketball players, perished in a Paris, Texas, vehicle accident. A memorial award was established to assist Black female athletes in their honor.

However, Dallas Morning News reports that Senate Bill 17 has frozen or amended this scholarship, along with 130 others in Texas. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs are prohibited at public universities under this new law, which was written by state senator Brandon Creighton.

SB 17 forbids colleges from offering courses tailored to a student’s gender or race. Despite the fact that the bill was centered on diversity programs and training, lawmakers did not give scholarships much thought.

The effect has been noteworthy:

80 scholarships at Texas A&M University are either on hold or are changing.
45 scholarships at the University of Texas are impacted.
Six scholarships at other public universities were affected.

Even though many of these scholarships are funded by private donations, their compliance is being examined. Some have had their names changed by excluding the word “diversity,” such as Texas A&M’s Biotechnology Diversity Scholarship. Some are changing school standards so that “disadvantaged” students—rather than minorities—are the main focus.

Effect on Particular Scholarships:

The Devin Oliver and Aubree Butts Memorial Scholarship at Texas A&M at Commerce is currently suspended.
University of Texas at Dallas: Three scholarships are subject to change, one of which is the Sarah Montgomery Marple-Cantrell Memorial Scholarship for female engineers.
Sandra Bland Memorial Scholarship at Prairie View A&M University is currently being evaluated.

Sen. Creighton argues that by ending DEI programs, the bill saves money, but the community laments the loss of focused assistance. The goal of institutions navigating these changes is to maintain the spirit of the original scholarships while adhering to the law.