A national professors’ union and its Texas chapter are suing Texas Tech University System’s chancellor and regents for restricting professors’ ability to teach about LGBTQ identity, gender and race, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court.
“This case presents an extraordinary system of censorship in higher education, in which professors in the Texas Tech University System are prohibited from teaching the most basic scholarship, while at the same time not fully comprehending the contours of prohibitions that place them under threat of losing their employment and livelihood,” lawyers for the professors’ union wrote in the filing. “To make matters worse, professors cannot reasonably make sense of what is and is not prohibited, further chilling their classroom speech.”
Texas Tech University System officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Creighton, who championed legislation restricting faculty input in decisions and diversity, equity and inclusion practices at universities during his time in the Texas Legislature, has said the restrictions ensure Texas Tech University provides “rigorous” and valuable degrees.
This is a breaking story that will be updated.