State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, sponsored Senate Bill 17 in the Texas Senate, which was passed along party lines in a 19-12 vote. The bill targets diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices on public university campuses, effectively banning hiring and training practices based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and limiting admission and data collection practices related to these issues. The bill also requires that a university's governing board submits a report certifying compliance, and access to funding would be limited to schools in compliance with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The legislation would ban DEI offices and initiatives, which Republicans view as promoting a 'woke agenda' to indoctrinate students, while Democrats argue that it is discriminatory and exclusionary. Staff who fail to comply would risk termination, while universities that do the same could lose funding for a year. While it is believed to pass through the House, Rice University will not be impacted by the bill since it is a private university.