Legislation making permanent a ban on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programs at Oklahoma colleges has easily passed out of a state House committee.

Senate Bill 796, by state Sen. Adam Pugh and state Rep. Denise 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 bill also prohibits state colleges and universities from requiring job applicants to submit DEI statements as a condition of employment.

Crosswhite Hader, R-Piedmont, said Oklahoma universities should advance equality, which gives all citizens equal opportunity based on individual merit, rather than promoting “equity,” which is designed to manipulate outcomes regardless of individual merit.

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

When asked what type of programs would be impacted by the legislation, Crosswhite Hader noted that athletes at one Oklahoma college were previously required to take training on “white privilege,” and said that type of programming could not be mandated under the legislation.

State Rep. Michelle McCane, D-Tulsa, objected.

“We require students to learn about things they don’t believe in or disagree with all the time,” McCane said.

Crosswhite Hader said DEI programs typically have little or no relation to a student’s chosen career path and can actually increase the cost of college—and therefore increase barriers to student success.

“We don’t want to run away from teaching difficult subjects, but what we’re seeing is students that are going into college to learn, say, to be an engineer, having a whole other topic that they’re having to study, taking out student loans, taking a longer time in college,” Crosswhite Hader said.

McCane argued that students who object to having to pay for DEI programs should simply transfer to other colleges.

“Couldn’t those students just choose to go to a college that doesn’t support diversity, equity, and inclusion?” McCane said.

Crosswhite Hader noted that some degree programs are offered only at certain colleges, making it difficult for Oklahoma students to simply transfer to another school, even if another school is not embroiled in DEI.

State Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, said the bill would reduce opportunities for certain people, referencing the effects of Stitt’s order.

“The executive order had a chilling effect on universities, especially for OU,” Ranson said.

She noted the University of Oklahoma eliminated a program for women that focused on training them to pursue political office. The program was believed to violate non-discrimination provisions of the governor’s executive order.

Ranson suggested “women would have less opportunities” if SB 796 becomes law.

But Crosswhite Hader noted the OU program had little to do with women’s success in pursuing office—and Crosswhite Hader knew firsthand, having been involved with the OU program before its elimination.

“As a woman who was familiar with this organization, even spoke to this organization in the past, they were never responsible in any way for me actually running myself,” Crosswhite Hader said. “It was all on me. And as I’ve said often, yes, we are by far the minority as women in the Legislature, but it’s not a hindrance because of anything—at least in my opinion—that’s put onto us.”

In her first race for legislative office, both parties had runoff elections, and all four candidates were women, Crosswhite Hader noted.

“Women, in particular, have the opportunity to serve, just like in this body, just like anyone else, but it is based on merit,” Crosswhite Hader said. “It is not based on an extra starting block or even starting from behind.”

McCane debated against the bill’s passage, saying people like herself are “not given a fair starting line as compared to everyone else.”

“I was called a racial slur for the first time when I was five, and there are lots of five-year-olds that haven’t had that experience,” McCane said. “So, we would have different needs of support. We would need equity and not equality.”

SB 796 previously passed the Oklahoma Senate on a 39-8 vote. It passed out of the House Postsecondary Education Committee on a 4-2 vote that broke along party lines with Republicans in support.

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.”

A 2021 report by the Heritage Foundation showed that for every one Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) staff member at the University of Oklahoma, there were 4.4 DEI personnel, the 24th highest ratio among 65 universities studied. Oklahoma State University had the 23rd highest ratio for DEI-staff-to-history faculty with 26 DEI dedicated personnel, compared to 17 history professors.

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—so much so that individuals who underwent DEI training became more likely to endorse viewpoints expressed by Adolph Hitler.