In a move university students and faculty across the state have criticized for its far-reaching implications on schools’ academic freedom, Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 37 into law June 23.
Proposed by Sen. Brandon Creighton, SB 37 will significantly change how Texas’ public schools operate starting September 1.
This bill would require university governing boards to look over Texas universities’ curriculums every five years and would establish a committee with the power to change and eliminate any curriculum. To ensure universities are complying with these changes, SB 37 also established a new office dedicated to process and investigate complaints against universities whose curriculum is alleged by a complainant to violate any part of the revised state education code. Universities with complaints filed against them could face consequences such as funding cuts, should the office’s investigations confirm violations following a review. Proponents of the bill believe it is essential to keep Texas education up to par.
“Strong oversight is essential to keeping Texas universities at the forefront of education and innovation,” Creighton said in an official Facebook statement March 13. “With taxpayer dollars and students’ futures at stake, universities must operate with accountability.”
Electrical engineering senior Alex Mcspadden and interdisciplinary studies senior Makaya Jordan, both Student Government senators at UTD, visited the Texas legislature May 6 during SB 37’s hearing to testify against the bill, highlighting student perspectives and the potential consequences the bill may have should it go into effect. Mcspadden said they had noticed the impact of the shifting climate in their classes when one of their professors was hesitant to share an opinion on ethical issues in emerging technologies. Mcspadden said they found this shift particularly surprising given the objectiveness of electrical engineering courses, making them particularly invested in advocating against SB 37.
“This is an expert in the field who feels like even on a topic of engineering that’s not even remotely related to your politics, he is afraid to really teach what he believes as an expert,” Mcspadden said. “Which is crazy because I never imagined that this bill would be making some of my professors uptight.”
Jordan expressed opposition to all forms of this bill, regardless of any amendments. Jordan and Mcspadden said in their testimonies that their opposition stems from the power the bill takes away from educators to manage their own classes, and how that directly impacts students’ experiences in the classroom.
“This is a degree that we are paying for, so it’s really important that we are getting what we are setting out to receive,” Jordan said. “I think all parts of the bill are really problematic, I don’t think it has any redeeming qualities.”
SB 37 expands upon previous legislation, notably SB 17, which banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public universities. SB 37 seeks to extend state oversight to the curriculum, leadership appointments and faculty governance of Texas’ public universities. It grants a governor-appointed board of regents the authority to influence class offerings and leadership proposals, effectively nullifying the capabilities of academic senates, which are typically in charge of hiring new staff and vital curriculum decisions. Members of UTD’s academic senate expressed concern over SB 37 during their June 4 meeting. Assistant Vice President of Institutional Success and Decision Support Raul Hinojosa said that suggestions students and faculty had made in their testimony before the legislature were not reflected in the final version of the bill. Hinojosa said that a schema based on debt-to-income ratios was set to be implemented under the bill which could lead to the targeting of degree programs considered underperforming by the state.
“Suggestions from UTD faculty were not reflected in the new version, despite efforts to communicate concerns to the UT System,” Hinojosa said. “The bill could impact faculty hiring autonomy, curriculum content, and academic freedom. There is concern it could be used to eliminate underperforming programs, particularly in the humanities and social sciences.”
This legislative trend mirrors patterns seen in other Republican-majority states such as Arizona and Florida, which issued similar DEI rollbacks and have increased government oversight within academic settings. Students opposed to this bill see it as a continual effort to politicize higher education, arguing that such legislation undermines academic freedom.
“Their main goal is censorship, they’re hiding it under the guise of saving money,” Jordan said. “We are paying to learn from the experts, not from government appointees that are deciding what should be taught in schools.”
As of publication, UTD has not made any official statements about SB 37.
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