Thanks to support from grassroots community leaders, Utah recently passed legislation that halts DEI activities in its universities, ending, for example, preferential or discriminatory race- or gender-based policies as well as mandatory training that promotes them. But Utah didn’t merely reject the misguided components of DEI. It redirected the funding to student services that will help any student struggling in college. This does away with the condescending notion that, for example, black students will perform poorly in college simply because of their race.

This is what comes after DEI.

My problem with DEI was never about its intentions but rather its impact. I have taken issue with many DEI efforts because they are dangerous, often fatal, distractions from the very real work that needs to be done in the most vulnerable communities in America. Mandatory racial-sensitivity trainings burn through participants’ goodwill and patience very quickly while doing nothing to reduce crime, violence, poverty, or other urgent problems. But by redirecting funds to instead provide substantive help to those who are struggling, mandatory racialized trainings will come much closer to achieving their stated goals.

Read the full op-ed in National Review.