At a public event last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said higher ed would get less funding if they don’t “kick DEI out of their schools,” a few weeks after lawmakers proposed a massive cut to public universities.

State senators are threatening to withhold funding increases to public colleges and universities that cannot prove they are in compliance with the state's ban on DEI practices.

Republican state senators are threatening not to increase state funding for public universities over accusations they have failed to fully comply with a law that required them to shutter their