BY JOHN K. WILSON On March 27, 2024, Texas governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order compelling “all Texas higher education institutions” to “update free speech policies to address the sharp rise in antisemitic speech and acts on university campuses and establish appropriate punishments, including expulsion from the institution,” ensure that “groups such as the…
BY JAMIE GONZALES The impending closure of the UH LGBTQ Resource Center caused by the passing of Senate Bill 17 weighs heavy on my heart. For those unfamiliar with SB 17, it states that “the governing board of an institution of higher education shall ensure that each unit of the institution: (1) does not, except…
BY JENNIFER RUTH On the August 3 episode of the Progress Texas podcast, guests discussed the recent incidents of political interference at Texas A&M University. One situation involved trustee interference in the hiring of distinguished professor of journalism Kathleen McElroy and the subsequent resignation of President Katherine Banks and the other involved the suspension and…
BY HANK REICHMAN A Texas school superintendent has now apologized after one of his top officials advised teachers that, if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom library, they should give students access to a book from an “opposing” perspective. Nevertheless, the assault on classroom and school libraries in Texas and elsewhere,…
BY Z. W. TAYLOR AND PATRICIA SOMERS With the rise of the #metoo movement, sexual harassment and sexual violence in all venues, including educational settings, have received increased scrutiny. Several troubling lawsuits have alleged either that college students were assaulted on campus—and that institutions did not exercise due diligence in Title IX reporting—or that students…
The following is taken from an article by Benjamin Wermund written for the Houston Chronicle: “Jennifer Lynn Glass, Lisa Moore and Mia Carter want a federal judge to block a new Texas law that would allow people to carry concealed handguns throughout college campuses beginning August 1. They are suing Texas Attorney General Ken…
BY HANK REICHMAN Last summer Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 11, also known as the “campus carry” law, at a shooting range. The law permits the concealed carry of guns in dorms, classrooms, and buildings at state universities and community colleges, while leaving individual schools some latitude to keep parts of their properties firearm-free, extending…
Marty Kich has provided a useful supplement to Aaron’s review with respect to standardized testing in Texas by quoting extensively from an account of the role played by British educational conglomerate Pearson. He also quotes from two reports on the process by which Texas selects textbooks, in which ideological factors often play an outsized and…
Last week, I wrote about the upcoming Supreme Court case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. I recently attended an event sponsored by the ACLU, discussing the upcoming court term, including this case. There are a few unusual elements to the case that I want to talk about this week. Once again I am…
On October 10, 2012, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a major affirmative action case that could fundamentally change college admissions for many students. At issue are questions of how schools achieve racial diversity in their student bodies—or if they should even be trying. The…