SB 17 3rd Reading Amendment #1

The House 3rd Reading Amendment 1 to SB 17 would have removed two provisions put into the House’s version of SB 17 that are counter to the intent and purpose of the bill. First, the requirement that colleges keep on their payroll the formerly-DEI office employees; keeping the formerly DEI-employees employed at the college impairs the bill’s effect, as those employees would likely continue to push DEI in the new role they are given. Second, the annual study on the bill’s impact on the recruitment rate, acceptance rate, retention rate, GPA, and graduation rate of students disaggregated by race. The amendment also would have moved the bill’s effective date from January 2024 to September 2023, ensuring that college students are not subjected to actions of DEI offices at the start of the 2023-24 school year.YCT opposes the use of public funds to support the work of an employee, committee, department, or office dedicated to promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or related woke, anti-American ideas and the use of race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual preference as a factor in selecting the beneficiaries of any privilege for students, professors, and staff.