Anti-DEI Republican Helped Make Racial, Gender Ideology ‘Foundational’ At Prestigious School

Republican Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt served on the Board of Trustees at a prestigious K-12 school while it made diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) “foundational” to its policies and curriculum.

The outspoken DEI critic sat on the board of St. John’s School (SJS) in Houston, Texas from 2018 to 2021, according to tax filings and archived school webpages. During this time, the school implemented a “Strategic Plan for Community and Inclusion,” boasted racially discriminatory recruiting practices, and held a “Banned Book Week” that included titles exploring gender ideology.

The board in 2018 unanimously passed a “Statement on Community and Inclusion”  — a vote that, by definition, includes every trustee’s agreement — promising to “Incorporate cultural proficiency, diversity, global awareness, and inclusivity into all facets of the K-12 curricula and co-curricular activities.”

Hunt, an alumnus of the elite private school, was placed on the board’s Task Force on Community and Inclusion, which was charged with monitoring “the progress and implementation” of the board’s “Community and Inclusion” plan. One of the overarching goals of the plan is to “recruit, retain, and develop a diverse community” by realigning staff, targeting “underrepresented populations” and including “diversity, inclusion and multicultural competency in … interview hiring questions.”

The plan also included intentions to expand “social and emotional learning programs/curriculum,” and mentioned phrases such as “cultural competency” and “alumni of color.”

Around the same time, the school boasted it was working to redesign middle school civics and English curriculum to include “antiracist and cultural relevancy with diverse text and literature.” In 2020, the school hosted three forums for over 90 faculty and staff titled “Why is Saying ‘All Lives Matter’ Offensive,” “The Difference Between Nonracist and Antiracist” and “Institutional and Systemic Racism.” Nearly 100 staff participated in two additional forums meant to “acknowledge, process, and grieve the killing of George Floyd, police brutality, and racism in the U.S.”

Hunt’s office and SJS did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

SJS’s “Banned Book Week” hosted in September 2018 reportedly “highlighted offerings about gender identity, LGBTQ issues and sex education,” according to The Washington Post.

In the 2019 to 2020 school year, SJS’s faculty reading list included titles such as Blind Spot, Born a Crime, White Fragility, and others that were obsessively focused on race, many villainizing all white people as unconsciously racist.

Meanwhile, in its 2020 report highlighting the achievements of the diversity plan, the school listed the percentages of all its nonwhite students and staff.

Archived Webpage – St. John’s School

Several affinity groups were maintained at the school as of 2020, including those for “Faculty of Color” and “LGBT faculty.”

The congressman has been highly critical of DEI, arguing that such policies are “discriminatory” and that the focus should be on merit over race. Hunt celebrated the University of Texas for abolishing its DEI departments in 2024, saying DEI was the cause of rising antisemitism and attack on First Amendment rights.

Hunt is currently challenging Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s reelection bid, shaking up the already heated primary with Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Cornyn’s campaign has accused Paxton of helping the state fund leftist nonprofit groups that support immigration and LGBT advocacy.