Austin, TX
'Inside Out': The DEI debate
TEXAS — More layoffs are happening across Texas university campuses to comply with the state’s diversity, equity and inclusion ban.
This week, the University of Texas at Dallas announced it laid off about 20 employees and is closing a campus support office. Last week, UT Austin let around 60 employees go.
The ban prohibits public colleges and universities from having DEI offices and holding such activities and programs. The bill’s author recently sent a letter to university leaders reminding them schools risk millions in state funding if they don’t comply.
On this week’s “Inside Out” segment, former Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, and former State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, weighed in on the DEI debate, how it’s affecting students and faculty and whether lawmakers will tweak any of the language in the law.
Click the video link above to watch the full segment.