TEXAS — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a standalone legal opinion on Monday—Martin Luther King Jr. Day—about the unconstitutionality of diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs in the state of Texas.
“This action to dismantle DEI in Texas helps fulfill the vision articulated by Martin Luther King, Jr. when he dreamed that his children would one day live in a nation where they were judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” said Paxton in a news release.
The 74-page opinion declares over 100 state laws to be unconstitutional and notes that both public institutions and private companies engaging in DEI practices are exposing themselves to legal challenges.
“It’s imperative that all private-sector employers, schools, and state and local government entities—based on this legal opinion—immediately abolish any DEI, affirmative action, or unconstitutional discrimination programs under their authority. We must return to the basic principles of equal opportunity for all,” Paxton said.
The opinion finds public sector race- and sex-based preferences to be unlawful, and overrules a 1999 legal opinion from then-Attorney General John Cornyn on DEI policies in higher education.
“To make matters worse, when given an opportunity to confront DEI in the context of higher education, then-Attorney General Cornyn not only declined to give an answer but withdrew the only actionable guidance on the topic,” Paxton said in the opinion.
The 1999 legal opinion in question was issued by Cornyn on the legality of the “use of race or ethnicity as a factor in matters of student financial assistance” for public universities in Texas.
“We advise state universities in Texas to await a resolution of Hopwood in the Fifth Circuit or the United States Supreme Court before restructuring or adopting new procedures for their financial aid programs,” Cornyn said in the opinion.
Cornyn, who is now seeking reelection to the U.S. Senate for a fifth term, faces Paxton in the GOP primary. Cornyn responded to the opinion on X, saying that Paxton was “abusing his government office for personal and political gain. Again.”