Remember all the “bias reporting systems” that colleges created years ago, allowing progressives to harass those on campus who dared to disagree with them? Now, there is a counterpart to that. In Texas, which has taken the lead against DEI indoctrination, anyone can file a complaint about violations of a recent law that forbids woke teaching.
In today’s Martin Center article, Keller Moore writes about this development:
The Lone Star State has done something rare, new, and needed: It has given its anti-DEI statutes teeth. As of January 9th, students, faculty, and university employees can now report violations of Senate Bill 17, a 2023 statute banning all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices, to a complaint portal at the State Office of the Ombudsman’s website. A dropdown menu lists the six possible areas where Texas colleges and universities might sneak in DEI measures, ranging from the curriculum to hiring processes. Non-student citizens can use a separate portal to provide unofficial feedback and complaints.
While some might argue that this portal for complaints risks expanding the “snitch culture” on our campuses, it seems to me necessary to effectuate the reasonable and legitimate concerns in Texas that zealous faculty members are abusing their positions to indoctrinate their students. It would be far more difficult to root out DEI violations without the portal encouraging students and citizens to be on watch.
The need for this approach is evident from the fact that, despite SB 17, DEI still lurks in Texas universities.
Read the whole thing.