BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry requested that the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights expands its investigation into the Louisiana Board of Regents over DEI targets to include every public institution of higher education in Louisiana. 

On Monday, Landry said the request is to ensure that all schools are in full compliance with federal laws across the state. 

The investigation into the Louisiana Board of Regents is to determine if its Master Plan for higher education violated a portion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by allowing racially-exclusionary practices and initiatives. 

In its budgets for the 2021-2022 and 2025-2026 fiscal years, the Board of Regents included performance objectives requiring schools to prioritize students of "all races other than white [and] Asian" according to public records.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in education programs and activities receiving federal funding.

In a letter to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey, Landry wrote, "From the time I took office, it has been my position to abolish all diversity, equity and inclusion positions, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion performance requirements for state employees, boards and commissions." 

Landry also released a statement saying, "Let me be clear: Louisiana is done with woke DEI policies. Discrimination against ANY student will not be tolerated."

He went on to share that it is vital to discover if any institution in the state is engaged in practices contrary to federal law and policies.