By a margin of nearly four to one, members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives have voted to make permanent a ban on mandatory “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programs at Oklahoma colleges.

“Individually, we don’t have a problem with each word: ‘diversity,’ ‘equity,’ ‘inclusion,’” said state Rep. Denise Crosswhite Hader, R-Piedmont (pictured above). “But when it comes together, what I’m seeing is a philosophy manipulating outcomes, not putting us all at the same starting position.”

Senate Bill 796, by state Sen. Adam Pugh and Crosswhite Hader, states that no Oklahoma college or university “shall utilize state funds, property, or resources to grant or support diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures, or programs” and bars state colleges from mandating training based on DEI.

The legislation specifically states that colleges may have programs tailored to assist first-generation college students, students from low-income families, students with unique abilities, or underserved student populations.

The bill also prohibits state colleges and universities from requiring job applicants to submit DEI statements as a condition of employment.

The legislation would make permanent the restrictions already imposed on state colleges through an executive order issued by Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Crosswhite Hader noted that some colleges have mandated that students complete certain types of DEI training or even enroll in a DEI course to graduate, which she said forces students to waste both time and money on content unrelated to their college major and future career.

In February 2023, Oklahoma’s public colleges reported spending at least $83.4 million on DEI programs and personnel over the prior decade. Those expenditures included funding for drag-queen performances, a program on fostering “Trans and Non‐Binary Resilience,” so-called “antiracist” training, and a presentation on “Black Jesus.”

DEI programming commonly portrays groups as either the oppressors or the oppressed, based on sex, skin color, romantic interests, and similar categories.

DEI programs had been publicly cited, repeatedly, as a cause of growing anti-Semitism on college campuses. When researchers recently examined DEI trainings, they found that many increased prejudice.

Democrats Defend DEI

Even so, several lawmakers objected to any effort to reduce DEI mandates on Oklahoma college campuses. Ironically, even as the bill’s opponents claimed DEI fosters greater understanding between people of different backgrounds, they often did so while employing casual racism and stereotyping to describe wide swathes of Oklahoma.

“I understand for straight white men, it might be scary to start including others that are not like you,” said state Rep. Michelle McCane, D-Tulsa.

“This is a cultural shift that is inevitable,” said state Rep. Arturo Alonso Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City. “And I understand that maybe people of older generations are uncomfortable because of that, because they see more people that don’t look and talk like them.”

State Rep. Jared Deck, D-Norman, said University of Oklahoma students in his district don’t complain about mandatory DEI training, but do complain that some sports programs subject athletes to “a culture of faith.” He said some athletes may be encouraged to leave a college sports program because they “are not a good fit.”

“If the culture is established in a particular, faith-driven outlook and worldview, they can be discriminated against,” Deck said. “There is an opportunity for that, but we seem to allow it and we seem to celebrate it in (legislative) chambers such as these.”

Prior to Deck’s comment, another Democratic lawmaker had noted that the OU softball program is known for Coach Patty Gasso and many team members’ open touting of their Christian faith.

McCane predicted that “people will remove their children” from colleges if SB 796 becomes law and said people may even avoid the state of Oklahoma.

Similar claims have been made repeatedly in recent years as lawmakers have pushed back against DEI and similar left-wing trends, but Oklahoma remains among the top 10 states for domestic migration as people from across the country have chosen to relocate here.

State Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, said the issues that DEI programs are supposedly designed to resolve were long ago addressed—often by the people derided by DEI boosters.

“The older generation, we got over these racial issues as a society decades ago, before some of you were even born,” Fetgatter said, noting that the racism of decades past is no longer tolerated today.

Fetgatter also noted that SB 796 opponents had classified him as an old white male, but pointed out that he is a member of the Choctaw Nation.

State Rep. Gabe Woolley, R-Broken Arrow, said he saw the “negative aspects” of DEI programs when he worked as a K-12 teacher, saying DEI resulted in “more students fighting and arguing because of race.”

“These DEI policies that we’ve seen are setting us back in time and pitting us against each other for race and other aspects,” Woolley said. “I have seen it foster racism, foster a victim mentality, cause division and strife.”

SB 796 previously passed the Oklahoma Senate on a 39-8 vote. It passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a 77-18 vote that broke along party lines with Republicans in support. The lawmakers voting in support included individuals from a wide range of racial backgrounds.

The bill now proceeds to the governor.