A proposal to increase oversight of Texas\u2019 public universities \u2014 including over who is hired and what is taught \u2014 veers into state overreach, House Democrats said at a committee hearing Tuesday. The Senate\u2019s priority bill would overhaul state colleges by giving governor-appointed regents more power to determine which courses are offered and regulate what\u2019s included in lessons, such as monitoring how students learn about race and sex.<\/p>\n
College professors say academic freedom is at stake with this proposal, known as Senate Bill 37. They note that having a new state ombudsman\u2019s office \u2014 which would investigate concerns at the schools, such as allegations that they are getting around the state\u2019s DEI ban \u2014 would have a chilling effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis appears to be a solution in search of a problem, of biting the hand that feeds us so to speak \u2026 I can\u2019t even see the data that suggests that this is necessary,\u201d Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, said. However, Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, who introduced the House version of the bill, told the committee that the bill aims to strengthen the state\u2019s talent pipeline by eliminating courses that \u201cmay be outdated or misaligned with workforce needs and some degrees and certificate programs that lack workforce relevance and have low enrollment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adopting the measure will bolster Texas\u2019 future workforce by ensuring students get \u201chigher-value degrees less expensively,\u201d he added. Howard pushed back, calling the bill \u201cextreme micromanagement.\u201d She noted that university officials already consider industry needs when determining what courses to offer.<\/p>\n
Boards of regents oversee college systems, such as the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems. They typically don\u2019t get involved in day-to-day operations. Professors worry placing curriculum decisions in the hands of the politically connected governing boards would threaten their ability to teach controversial topics, as well as students\u2019 freedom to study certain subjects. The role of faculty senates would also be significantly decreased under the bill.<\/p>\n
Some conservative students, however, see the proposal as a reprieve from courses that promote \u201cideological conformity\u201d and those that have no relevance to their degrees or future careers. \u201cIn my experience, I\u2019ve never been assigned a conservative, moderate or even classically liberal perspective. That\u2019s not education. It\u2019s indoctrination, and it\u2019s troubling that taxpayer dollars are subsidizing propaganda that only considers one viewpoint to the exclusion of others,\u201d Paola Martinez, a student at UT-El Paso, said late Tuesday night as a hearing on the bill resumed.<\/p>\n
Introduced by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, SB 37 is one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick\u2019s top priorities. Patrick has long said he wants to roll back the \u201cwoke left\u201d on college campuses. \u201cStrong oversight is essential to keeping Texas universities at the forefront of education and innovation,\u201d Creighton said in a statement last month. \u201cWith taxpayer dollars and students\u2019 futures on the line, our institutions must be accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The legislation passed the Texas Senate in a 20-11 vote in April. Under the bill, regents could overturn any decision made by campus leaders and would have final say over provost hirings. Rep. Vincent Perez, D-El Paso, said the bill lacks safeguards against regents \u201cpoliticizing hiring decisions\u201d and turning \u201cimportant academic roles into partisanship appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposal also aims to give regents final say over what courses are included in a university\u2019s core curriculum. Professors, deans and provosts currently have wide latitude on course offerings and lessons. SB 37 aims to ensure core courses do not \u201cadvocate or promote the idea that any race, sex, or ethnicity or any religious belief is inherently superior to any other,\u201d according to the bill.<\/p>\n
Core curriculum classes would have to prepare students for the workforce and \u201ccivic and professional life,\u201d among other things. Perez worries that regents could eliminate courses, such as those about ethnic studies and gender studies, based on \u201csubjective criteria\u201d because the \u201cbill doesn\u2019t clearly define what exactly is outdated or irrelevant.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposed bill has sparked intense debate among lawmakers, professors, and students. While some argue that it will strengthen the state\u2019s talent pipeline, others see it as an overreach of state power and a threat to academic freedom. As the bill moves forward, it remains to be seen how it will impact the state\u2019s public universities and the students they serve.<\/p>\n
Q: What is Senate Bill 37?<\/strong> A: Senate Bill 37 is a proposed bill that aims to overhaul state colleges by giving governor-appointed regents more power to determine which courses are offered and regulate what\u2019s included in lessons.<\/p>\n Q: What are the concerns about the bill?<\/strong> A: Professors and lawmakers are concerned that the bill will threaten academic freedom, allow for politicized hiring decisions, and eliminate courses that are deemed “outdated” or “irrelevant” based on subjective criteria.<\/p>\n Q: How will the bill impact students?<\/strong> A: The bill may impact students by limiting their access to certain courses and programs, particularly in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Some students may also see the proposal as a reprieve from courses that promote “ideological conformity” and have no relevance to their degrees or future careers.<\/p>\n Q: What’s next for the bill?<\/strong> A: The bill has passed the Texas Senate and is currently being considered by the House. Lawmakers and stakeholders will continue to debate and refine the bill before it is voted on and potentially signed into law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Texas Public Universities Face Overhaul with Proposed Bill A proposal to increase oversight of Texas\u2019 public universities \u2014 including over who is hired and what is taught \u2014 veers into state overreach, House Democrats said at a committee hearing Tuesday. The Senate\u2019s priority bill would overhaul state colleges by giving governor-appointed regents more power to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/5CTIHC5ITVAUFOZMZJCBGSQS7A.jpg?auth=8098defb960e9c3a874ddf44b0627fa0a63aaf9811696084a25c88f3132272c8&height=630&width=1200&smart=true&quality=80","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5201"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5203,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5201\/revisions\/5203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}