Texas legislators have filed three bills — “Banning Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Higher Education” S.B. 16), “Banning Discriminatory ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ (DEI) Policies in Higher Education” (S.B. 17), and “Eliminating Tenure at General Academic Institutions” (S.B. 18) — that could prohibit the teaching and training on concepts related to race, religion, politics, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation and ending tenure and academic freedom at public colleges and universities across Texas. These bills seek to expand upon Senate Bill 3, the K-12 Texas anti-truth law passed in 2021, by targeting public colleges and universities. The impacts of Senate Bill 3 have been felt throughout the state and have created chilling effects for educators who fear punishment for teaching about historical events such as slavery or the Holocaust and its vestiges that manifest throughout current forms of discrimination today.
Truthful and inclusive discussions about United States and Texas history – like the Guerrero Decree, Juneteenth, the Slocum and Porvenir Massacres, Jim Crow laws and segregation – and their connection to present-day inequalities are essential to accurate and quality academic instruction.
S.B. 17 took effect on Jan. 1, 2024. S.B. 17 prohibits Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies designed to remediate histories of discrimination in the United States and Texas against underrepresented minorities and the ability for professors and administrators to foster more inclusive colleges and universities. For example, S.B. 17 may ban DEI policies that help to cultivate more diverse campus culture and programs that provide leadership and development opportunities for members of historically excluded groups. Additionally, the law may prohibit educators from receiving critical training that help prevent actions and behavior that could inadvertently disadvantage students from historically marginalized backgrounds.
The Texas Legislature deemed that all schools must comply with the law by May 3, 2024. If an institution violates S.B. 17, it will lose state funding for the next fiscal year. A student or employee, if required participate in mandatory diversity training in violation of S.B. 17, may also sue the institution for injunctive or declaratory relief.
S.B. 17 took effect on Jan. 1, 2024. S.B. 17 prohibits diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and policies in Texas public colleges and universities. Specifically, S.B. 17 prohibits:
On March 26, 2024, Brandon Creighton, Chairman of the Texas Senate Committee on Education, sent a letter to several University Systems regarding S.B. 17.
In May, the Senate Committee on Education will conduct a public hearing that requires the governing board of each institution of higher education or the board’s designee (Texas Education Code subsection 51.3525(f)) to testify before the committee regarding implementation of SB 17. The committee is extending an invitation to each university system’s chancellor and general counsel to provide testimony to the committee.
Chairman Creighton shared five questions that he is requiring representatives to address, in writing by May 3, 2024, and the topics include:
The Senate Higher Education Subcommittee will hold a hearing next week on Senate Bill 17! The Subcommittee will accept both oral and written testimony from the public about the following agenda item:
“Monitor the Ban on Discriminatory DEI Policies: Examine the implementation of Senate Bill 17, 88th Legislature, which bans discriminatory “DEI” initiatives at institutions of public higher education. Review and report on the progress each institution has made in aligning university policies and procedures with the provisions of Senate Bill 17, ensuring Texas college campuses foster equal opportunity and reward individual merit and achievement.”
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Place: Texas State Capitol, E1. 016 (Hearing Room)
1100 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701
Chair: Senator Brandon Creighton
You can find contact info and email your representatives here.
S.B. 18 took effect on Sept. 1, 2023. The bill prohibits tenure in higher education across Texas, potentially preventing professors from having the freedom to teach in accurate and inclusive ways. Tenure allows professors to teach subjects that implicate a variety of subjects, such as race, gender, and sexuality, without fear of punishment for their ideas. S.B. 18 attacks the bedrock of academic freedom in Texas and disproportionally impact students and professors who are already underrepresented due to historical patterns of exclusion and discrimination.
S.B. 18 allows institutions to continue to grant tenure to faculty while significantly weakening the protections and benefits of tenure. S.B. 18 weakens tenure through limiting a faculty member’s property interest in tenure to their “regular annual salary,” places the authority to grant tenure is in the hands of those without disciplinary expertise, and contains vague language around just causes for dismissal such as engaging “in unprofessional conduct that adversely affects the institution or the faculty member’s performance of duties or meeting of responsibilities.”
Taken together, these bills sought to create an environment that may jeopardize free speech through state censorship, have a chilling effect of self-censorship, and punish faculty and universities that strive to create a space where all people are welcome and their histories are truthfully told.
Despite the failure to enact S.B. 16 and the weakening of S.B. 17 and S.B. 18, Texas students, parents, educators, and residents must remain vigilant and continue to oppose future efforts limit or restrict the truthful teaching of American history, DEI policies designed to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment, and academic freedom to teach in accurate and inclusive ways.
LDF has compiled answers to the most frequently asked questions about Critical Race Theory. Learn more about CRT, laws banning racial justice discourse, and how these fit into a larger effort to suppress the voices, history, and political participation of Black Americans.
LDF is at the forefront of the fight to ensure that America lives up to the ideals of justice and equality for all. The right to free expression and the right to vote are cornerstones of our democracy. LDF and coalition partners are fighting back to protect truth.
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