Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has declared more than 100 state laws featuring diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) frameworks unconstitutional in a sweeping legal opinion issued January 19, 2026, effectively dismantling DEI initiatives across Texas government, schools, and state-funded programs.
The bombshell opinion overrules a 1999 decision by then-Attorney General John Cornyn and specifically targets Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) programs and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs for using race, ethnic, and sex-based classifications — which Paxton argues violate both the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and the Texas Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment.
“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,” Paxton stated in the opinion.
From Campus to Contracts: The DEI Domino Effect
Paxton’s legal reasoning leans heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-based affirmative action in Harvard and UNC admissions cases. But he’s taking that decision much further, extending its implications to virtually every corner of Texas government and beyond.
“Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,” the opinion asserts — language that signals just how broadly Paxton intends his interpretation to reach.
The only programs explicitly exempted from Paxton’s opinion? Those serving veterans — a politically significant carve-out in a state with one of the nation’s largest veteran populations.
What’s remarkable is how quickly Paxton has moved to operationalize this opinion. Just four days after its release, on January 23, 2025, he led a coalition of 10 state attorneys general in sending warning letters to six major U.S. financial institutions. The message? Their supplier diversity programs, board diversity goals, and DEI hiring practices could violate both federal and state laws.
Schools in the Crosshairs
Texas schools have become ground zero in Paxton’s anti-DEI campaign. Senate Bill 12 (SB 12) already bans DEI and LGBTQ+ topics in K-12 schools, though it faces ongoing legal challenges from critics who claim it violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutionally vague.
“It prohibits a substantial amount of speech that ought to be protected,” argued one plaintiff’s attorney in court documents — a charge Paxton dismisses while framing the law as enhancing parental rights.
Higher education hasn’t escaped scrutiny either. The state has launched an online portal specifically to track violations of university DEI program bans, creating what critics call a “snitch line” for curriculum oversight.
And in a move that stunned education officials, Paxton has even sued the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board over three work-study programs that require nonsectarian work placements. The lawsuit targets the Texas College Work-Study Program, TXWORKS Internship, and Texas Innovative Adult Career Education (ACE) Grant Program.
“Anti-Christian” is how Paxton described the laws governing these programs, adding they should “be completely wiped off the books.”
Legal Battles Loom
Is this the end of DEI in Texas? Not quite. Multiple legal challenges are already underway.
A Texas court recently blocked enforcement of Senate Bill 2337 against proxy advisors ISS and Glass Lewis after Paxton challenged their ESG and DEI considerations. That trial is set for February 2, 2026.
Legal experts note that attorney general opinions, while influential, don’t carry the same weight as court rulings. Many affected agencies and institutions will likely seek judicial review before dismantling long-standing programs.
What’s clear, however, is that Texas has positioned itself at the vanguard of a national movement to roll back diversity initiatives — and Paxton’s sweeping opinion may provide a blueprint for other conservative states eager to follow suit.
