An office launched by the State of Texas to investigate banned diversity, equity, and inclusion practices at universities has launched its first investigation, according to a complaint obtained by The Daily Wire.
The probe centers on a complaint filed by a former student at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, who alleges that the school is operating “a shadow D.E.I. program in violation of state law.” The complaint also alleges that university employees “discriminate against conservatives … and those that they perceive do not support D.E.I. or leftist political beliefs.”
The state launched the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Office of the Ombudsman last year to serve as a watchdog for universities to ensure they are not violating anti-DEI laws. The office has since begun accepting complaints from students, faculty, and employees.
The office can push to withhold state funding from schools found to have violated state law that have failed to address the issues, according to The Texas Tribune.
“The Office of the Ombudsman enforces key Texas higher education laws that prohibit divisive practices and unconstitutional discrimination as well as ensure accountability for important personnel and curriculum decisions at public universities,” Brandon L. Simmons, who leads the office, told The Daily Wire.
“We take every complaint seriously and will fully investigate allegations of potential violations. Our work helps protect a fair learning environment in which Texas students are treated equally under the law,” Simmons said.
The complaint at the center of the office’s first investigation is heavily redacted, leaving many details unclear.
In one alleged incident, the former student claimed that a campus peer tutoring office sought “to restrict political speech following Charlie Kirk’s assassination.” After Kirk’s killing, university staff informed students in the tutoring office that “we’re a political free zone,” the former student’s attorney, Tanner Franklin, told The Daily Wire.
Franklin is representing the ex-student alongside State Rep. Briscoe Caine.
The ex-student responded to the group message, saying, “I appreciate … that we’re not going to be political, but that’s not what’s happening in reality,” referring to other tutors who wore “clothing with obvious political slogans such as ‘No person can be illegal on stolen land’ and ‘From the River to the Sea,'” a Palestinian chant for wiping Israel off the map.
He was subsequently fired from the tutoring office.
Franklin said that he believes the university retaliated against his client.
“His point was that’s fine if you want to be viewpoint neutral, that’s fine, but you actually have to be viewpoint neutral. And in response, they deleted his comment immediately from the group and basically sent him a message separately, saying, ‘Well, we’ll handle it.’ And that was it. And then a week and a half later, he basically gets fired,” Franklin said.
In another instance, the ex-student said he was punished for asking a transgender student for their legal name when taking attendance. The transgender student would not provide their name, which was on the class roster, and only gave their preferred name.
“That student went and complained that my client was essentially being mean to him,” Franklin said.
The complainant and his attorney subsequently met with university officials to air his concerns.
“I left the meeting hopeful that SFA took my reports seriously and would take proper, and immediate action to address these serious issues. Unfortunately, that was not the case,” the student said in the complaint.
The school provided the former student with an “update” more than a week after the meeting took place, informing him that they “would be ‘firming up dress code expectations.'”
The university’s general counsel also told the former student that university employees “did not know what ‘From the River to the Sea’ meant.”
“This fell far short of the full and transparent investigation that I requested and certainly did not hold anyone accountable,” the complaint reads.
As a result of the university’s actions and alleged failure to address the situation, the former student chose not to “walk at his graduation” out of concern about further retaliation, Franklin said, adding that his client “was just so disheartened with how the university had handled this process.”
Franklin hopes that the ombudsman’s office can push for greater accountability.
“We appreciate the Office of the Ombudsman for taking this complaint seriously and conducting a thorough investigation. Our client’s courageous decision to file this complaint is a critical step toward holding rogue university officials accountable,” the attorney said.
“We must ensure that the free speech rights of Texas students are protected and that any restrictions on speech are applied in a viewpoint-neutral manner. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the Legislature’s conservative majority have made it clear: Texans are tired of conservative student voices being silenced and targeted at our taxpayer-funded institutions. When it happens, there will be consequences,” he added.
In a statement, the university said it “complies with all state and federal laws,” adding that “if there is a governmental investigation, the university will fully cooperate.”
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