Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: the SB 12 Fight Continues in Alamo Heights ISD

While many took time on Monday to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by continuing the fight against systemic inequities in our society, Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton issued a broad legal opinion that took direct aim at this same legacy.

The opinion asserts that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related statutes and frameworks that have existed for decades in Texas for state government, schools, and other public institutions violate both the U.S. and Texas Constitutions. These include programs that consider race or sex in hiring, contracting, or appointments. The opinion cites and reinforces Senate Bill (SB) 12 :

This past legislative session, the Legislature again acted to eliminate racial discrimination in education-this time in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Senate Bill 12 … prohibits DEI duties in public schools. The [Texas Education Code] defines those duties to include (1) influencing "hiring or employment practices with respect to race, sex, color, or ethnicity;" (2) "promoting differential treatment of or providing special benefits to individuals" on the basis of these protected characteristics (with noted exceptions); (3) developing policies or procedures that reference these protected characteristics (with exceptions); and (4) requiring or soliciting a DEI statement or giving preferential treatment because of such a statement. TEX. EDUC. CODE § 11.005(a). As such, … Senate Bill 12 aims to prevent all race-based discrimination, including preferential treatment or benefits tied to race.

But those of us in the education trenches know this bill goes far beyond the bogus intent of eliminating race-based hiring practices.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Alamo Heights ISD scrapped a visit by an Austin children's author, Chris Barton, whose nonfiction book about the history of glitter and the environmental impact of microplastics was deemed unsuitable under Texas' new anti-DEI law. Though Barton was not slated to speak on Glitter Everywhere!, a few parents complained to the district that the non-fiction book mentions the existence of the LGBTQIA+ community. Barton did not accept the demands of the district to guarantee he would not mention this title, so his engagement was cancelled. Other parents were vocally upset at the overapplication of an already restrictive law and assumed the district capitulated to the whims of a tiny minority rather than risk the ire of the state.

This is just one in a string of stories about how this bill, marketed to the public as "Parent's Rights" legislation, has had a much broader impact than even the clearly stated anti-diversity components in the bill. Regular Hotline readers will know that Texas AFT joined the suit against the discriminatory aspects of this bill:

• Bans programs relating to race, gender identity, and sexual orientation,

• Ban Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs),

• Inhibits educators' ability to support transgender students, including "assisting" a student's social transition by calling them by their chosen name.

And on Wednesday plaintiffs received excellent news in the national AFT lawsuit against the Trump administration that sought to withhold billions of dollars in education funding from states and schools that refused to attest that they did not have DEI programs. AFT and its partners received a favorable ruling last August which the administration appealed, but the administration dropped its appeal this week, handing a victory to public education advocates and reestablishing precedent for this type of federal funding.

AFT President Randi Weingarten conceded that the administration has "other ways of getting to the same result" of rolling back DEI programs in education. In Texas, those "other ways" include SB 12.

This entire policy landscape seems to be built on quicksand, leaving those on the frontline of implementation reeling almost weekly. Texas AFT will continue to monitor and report on all developments in the national and state arenas. Please reach out to your local leadership or our state office for specific guidance or questions regarding SB 12 and other DEI related policies.