Louisiana lawmakers want diversity spending info from K-12 schools, universities

The sun shines brightly on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, above the University of New Orleans entrance sign on Lakeshore Drive. (Photo by Matthew Perschall)

The Louisiana House of Representatives signed off on a bill Monday that would require K-12 schools, colleges and universities to submit reports on their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. 

House Bill 904, by Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, requires school-level reports on all DEI personnel, programs and spending at all Louisiana schools. Her bill is similar to a resolution filed last year that was defeated after higher education leaders fought back against it, calling the measure unnecessary. It passed on a 67-3o vote. 

Attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion are often premised on the idea that such programs bloat college budgets and increase student debt. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, requested a similar report in 2022. A review of this report by the Chronicle of Higher Education found no institution devoted more than 1% of its budget on DEI undertakings, with some spending as little as $9,000. 

Louisiana schools fall far below Florida in spending in practically every area. 

Chenevert said the bill is not an attack on diversity, equity or inclusion but just a bid to find out more information. 

“I believe in diversity. I think it does help,” Chenevert said. “So my question to each of you … is there anything that is causing a division among our students?” 

Her bill specifically seeks reporting on any “program, activity, initiative, event, instruction, action, or policy that classifies or references individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, culture, gender identity, or sexual orientation or promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification.” 

The bill was amended to exclude DEI programs related to athletics and other extracurricular activities. 

When asked by Rep. Matthew Willard, D-New Orleans, for an example of a DEI program in Louisiana that offers preferential treatment, Chenevert said she was made aware of a teacher’s manual that advised teachers how to have discussions with students about gender identity and whether cisgender people are privileged. 

Cisgender privilege refers to the lack of discrimination based on transgender identity. For example, a cisgender person — or an individual who identifies with their sex assigned at birth — could use the bathroom that correlates with their gender without the fear of verbal abuse, physical intimidation or arrest that a transgender person might experience. 

University campuses across the nation have become battlefields for high-profile political culture wars as legislators have put DEI in their crosshairs. 

Since 2023, at least 85 bills aimed at curbing DEI-related campus policy have been filed in state legislatures across the nation, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s DEI legislation tracker. DEI programs on college campuses seek to aid disadvantaged students, including racial, ethnic and religious minorities, disabled students, veterans and other nontraditional enrollees. 

Chenevert’s bill is not necessary to generate DEI spending reports. Lawmakers often submit requests for information to universities, which they can then make public. 

Another bill related to diversity, equity and inclusion, Senate Bill 486, by Sen. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, which prohibits “unlawful discrimination” based on race, color, sex, national origin or ethnicity, has been shelved for the session. Seabaugh said he intends to bring it back next year after working on the language with higher education administrators.

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