Across Texas, public higher education is facing sustained political pressure that is reshaping what universities can teach, research, and support. State level policy changes have expanded governing board authority, restricted or dismantled diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and encouraged complaint-driven oversight of curricula—creating a chilling effect in which faculty and students are pushed toward silence rather than inquiry. This is a structural shift in how academic decisions are made and who gets to make them.
Two recent flashpoints illustrate these pressures.
At the Texas Tech University System, Chancellor Brandon Creighton issued a directive requiring faculty to use a course content review process and to report all spring course content mentioning gender or sexuality. Such content was to be removed unless and until approved by the Board of Regents. In practice, this operated as prior restraint: lawful, discipline-relevant teaching was silenced in advance under threat of discipline. The completion of this review did not occur until the end of the semester. Then, on April 9, the Chancellor issued a new directive that escalated from review to permanent and outright prohibition. Under this directive, course content related to sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited, with only narrow, tightly constrained exceptions in limited upper-division and graduate contexts, alongside additional restrictions affecting graduate research and advising. All departments and programs centering on sexual orientation or gender identity will be shuttered.
At the Texas A&M University System, new rules have produced highly visible forms of curricular censorship and program retrenchment. In early 2026, a professor was instructed to remove certain Plato readings from a philosophy course because they could implicate the system’s restrictions on discussions of race and gender ideology. Around the same time, Texas A&M moved to eliminate its Women’s & Gender Studies program under the same broader policy framework—signaling that these pressures affect not only individual lessons but the institutional capacity to sustain entire areas of teaching and research.
This page offers a brief overview of major statewide developments to help those affected understand the pattern and respond effectively.
AAUP Investigating Academic Freedom, Shared Governance across Texas Colleges, Inside Higher Ed, June 10, 2026.
Texas Tech’s New Limits on How Faculty Teach Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Challenge More than Free Speech, The Conversation, May 19, 2026.
While the Texas Tech Board Met, Students Attended a Funeral, Inside Higher Ed, May 8, 2026.
Texas Tech Students Protest Academic Censorship over LGBT, DEI Topics, USA Today, May 7, 2026.
Texas Tech Cautions Broadcasting Research Restrictions to Prospective Students, Texas Tribune, May 6, 2026.
At Texas Tech, Even Some Student Research on Gender Will Be Banned, Chronicle of Higher Education, Apr. 27, 2026.
Texas Tech Establishes Draconian New Censorship Policies on LGBTQ Topics, Truthout, Apr. 24, 2026.
Shock Greets "Gender Ideology" Ban in Texas Universities, University World News, 22 Apr. 2026.
Faculty Defect From Texas Publics, Citing Censorship Concerns, Inside Higher Ed, Apr. 20, 2026.
Texas Tech Plan to End Gender, Sexuality Programs Censors Student Work, Inside Higher Ed, Apr. 17, 2026.
Tyranny at Texas Tech (Opinion), Inside Higher Ed, Apr. 17, 2026.
Texas Tech System Leader Cancels Academic Programs “Centered On” Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Texas Tribune, Apr. 10, 2026.
Public University Professors in Texas Say a New Law Restricts Their Academic Freedom, All Things Considered, Apr. 8, 2026.
Texas Tech Students Feel Unsupported as New Policies Affect Studies, Culture, KTTZ, Mar. 19, 2026.
Race, Gender, and Plato: Inside Texas A&M’s Censorship Machine, Chronicle of Higher Education, Mar. 11, 2026.
Censoring Courses Isn't the Law in Texas. Public Universities Are Doing It Anyway, Chronicle of Higher Education, Mar. 5, 2026.
Inside Texas A&M’s Scramble to Censor Its Curriculum, Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 27, 2026.
Texas Tech Regents Unexpectedly Take No Public Action on What Can Be Taught on Race, Gender, Texas Tribune, Feb. 26, 2026.
UT Policy Asks Faculty to Avoid "Controversial" Topics in Class, Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 20, 2026.
University of Texas Regents Approve Limits on Teaching “Unnecessary Controversial Subjects, Texas Tribune, Feb. 19, 2026
Texas Tech Medical School Cancels Talk on Health, Ethical Considerations in Late-Pregnancy Abortions, Texas Tribune, Feb. 18, 2026.
Texas Tech Struggles with New Rules that Changed What Students Learn about Race, Gender, Sexuality, Texas Tribune, Feb. 18, 2026.
Texas A&M University to End Women’s Studies Due to New Policy on Race and Gender Topics, AP News, Jan. 30, 2026.
Texas A&M Closes Women’s and Gender Studies Programs, Inside Higher Ed, Jan. 30, 2026.
About 200 Texas A&M Courses Could Change Due to New Restrictions on Teaching Gender, Race, Texas Tribune, Jan. 7, 2026.
Plato Censored as Texas A&M Carries Out Course Review, Inside Higher Ed, Jan. 7, 2026.
Texas Tech Puts Its Anti-Trans Rules in Writing, Inside Higher Ed, Dec. 2, 2025.
Texas Tech Clarified Its Anti-Trans Policies in an FAQ—Then Removed It, Inside Higher Ed, Oct. 3, 2025.
Texas Tech System Bans Mention of Transgender, Nonbinary Topics in Classrooms, Austin American Statesman, Sept. 26, 2025.
Texas Tech’s Limits on Gender Identity Discussion Deepen Fears of Politics Breaching Academic Freedom, Texas Tribune, Sept. 26, 2025.
Texas Senate Bill 530 alters higher education accreditation policies.
Texas Senate Bill 37 approves curriculum oversight of higher education institutions and affects institutional governance.
Texas Senate Bill 17 restricts DEI activities in higher education.
Texas House Bill 229 defines "biological sex" and asserts that there are only two human sexes recognized under law.
Texas Senate Bill 8 and House Bill 239 govern that individuals may only use bathrooms and changing facilities based on their sex assigned at birth, and specifically legislate the use of these facilities in higher education institutions.
Image attribution: Calsidyrose, Vintage Texas, CC BY 2.0