SB 2972 restricts speech, expression on campus, requires UTD revise policies

Senate Bill 2972, which restricts how students and employees of Texas’ public universities can use their First Amendment rights on campus, was signed into law June 20 by Gov. Greg Abbott. The law will go into effect starting in fall 2025 semester.

The new law applies to speech and activities that are constitutionally protected, excluding already regulated expression like defamation and incitement of imminent and unlawful activity. It requires schools to amend their speech, expression and assembly policies — which typically govern activities ranging from public speeches to protests to club events — to comply with several new restrictions. Expressive activities that occur between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. are now prohibited, as are erecting tents or encampments, lowering the U.S. or Texas flag to raise another flag and using sound-amplifying devices to “interfere with campus operations” during class hours. Any activities during the last two weeks of the semester that use sound-amplifying devices like megaphones or instruments like drums, invite speakers to campus or otherwise “substantially disrupt the functioning of the institution” are prohibited as well. Wearing a mask or face covering with “intent to obstruct the enforcement of the institution’s rules,” avoid identification, or interrupt a peace officer — such as federal troops or campus police — from performing their duties is also prohibited.

Under the new law, members of the public are no longer by default allowed to express themselves on public campuses, leaving it up to individual schools whether the public is allowed to partake in on-campus expression at all. SB 2972 additionally states that the governing boards of each institution will decide which areas of campus constitute public forums. Public outdoor areas that are not public forums may face further restrictions on expression as seen fit by the institution.

Multiple civil rights organizations have criticized the law’s passage. Inside Higher Ed reported that the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression wrote to Abbott asking him to veto the bill. Caro Achar, with the Texan branch of American Civil Liberties Union, said in a written statement that SB 2972 “[undermines] the First Amendment rights of students, faculty, staff, and the general public.” Written by Sen. Brandon Creighton in response to the pro-Palestine protests that have swept college campuses nationwide since Oct. 7, 2023, the law’s wording targets common sights at campus protests such as speakers and encampments. The law as written would also affect non-protest activity at UTD, such as student organizations pitching tents on campus. How individual universities rewrite their particular policies is up to them, as long as the changes ultimately comply with SB 2972. The Retrograde reached out to UTD about its upcoming policy updates; a university spokesperson did not say when or how its policies would change, only that UTD would “comply with the law.”