Texas anti-indoctrination crackdown bill signed into law
The new law requires university leadership to ensure that it is promoting courses that ‘are necessary to prepare students for civic and professional life.’
The new law takes effect on Sept. 1.
New legislation targeting university indoctrination has been signed into law in Texas.
Senate Bill 37, introduced by State Sen. Brandon Creighton, empowers individuals to submit complaints against certain courses deemed to be advancing politically charged ideologies.
The legislation’s aim is to increase accountability and oversight in public universities in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law on June 20.
“Just as SB 17 eliminated DEI hiring last session, SB 37 now takes on politically charged academic programs and ensures students graduate with degrees of value, not degrees rooted in activism and political indoctrination,” said Creighton in a May 31 press release.
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Creighton explained that, “This legislation demands real accountability from our institutions by creating curriculum review committees in course offerings, aligning core curriculum with workforce needs, and empowering Texans to report ideological bias or political coercion in the classroom.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick fully supports the new law, which he suggested is the right next step for the state to take after Texas honed in on eliminating wokeness from university curricula through the passing of Senate Bill 17.
SB 17 terminated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices in Texas universities. Patrick signaled that this was just a start and there is more work to be done.
“Faculty senates must have a clearly defined role at our universities,” Patrick argued in an April 15 press release.
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He added that, “While the rogue faculty senate at the University of Texas foolishly questioned the Texas Legislature’s authority over higher education, faculty senates generally serve a purpose and help Boards of Regents make critical decisions impacting university students in Texas.”
Yet, while the legislation champions oversight of rogue university governing boards, opponents to the new law claim it fractures academic freedom.
One such opponent is a teachers union called the Texas American Federation of Teachers (Texas AFT).
“Even with minor changes made in the conference committee over the weekend, SB 37 remains the most wide-reaching threat to academic freedom and collaborative governance in higher education that the Legislature has yet undertaken,” a June 2 press release by Texas AFT asserted.
Texas AFT was reportedly one of two teachers unions listed as founding members of a Democrat initiative to flip Texas blue.
The new law takes effect on Sept. 1 of this year.
Campus Reform reached out to Creighton for comments on Gov. Abbott’s signing of the new legislation. This article will be updated accordingly.
