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Sen. Brandon Creighton looks over paperwork with his staff at a Senate Committee on Education hearing. Creighton now leads the Texas Tech University System as chancellor. He is one of several Republicans appointed to higher education leadership positions in 2026.<\/p>\n
Ricardo B. Brazziell\/American-St<\/p>\n
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, left, with Texas AFT President Zeph Capo, speaks at a news conference at the AFL-CIO in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. Weingarten said in April that Democrats need to do more to address conservative reforms of higher education.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Randi Weingarten could have chosen anywhere to launch the American Federation of Teachers\u2019 plan to elevate higher education issues in the midterm elections. She chose the University of Texas.<\/p>\n
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Weingarten, the president of the national teachers’ union, last week spoke before a crowd of about 100 people gathered to oppose threats to\u00a0academic freedom<\/a> and protect ethnic studies programs<\/a> at higher education institutions.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n At UT, President Jim Davis has promised to address conservative concerns that the university has let indoctrination replace inquiry<\/a> by recommitting his institution to \u201cbalance\u201d and civic education.\u00a0The changes during Davis’ first year in office \u00a0\u2014 including the consolidation of gender and ethnic studies and leadership shakeups<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 have made some faculty fearful that UT is changing in response to political pressure<\/a>, not input<\/a> from students, staff or the public.<\/p>\n Get the latest UT news from Lily Kepner delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for Inside UT<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At a time when Republicans are successfully reforming higher education, Democrats, Weingarten said, are not doing enough to stop them or to advocate for universities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know where the Republicans stand,\u201d Weingarten said. \u201cWe see this stripping out of people\u2019s right to learn, right to teach, and we\u2019re seeing the undermining of pluralism. And so part of my question\u00a0\u2014 and I say this as a lifelong Democrat\u00a0\u2014 is where are the Democrats? Where is the fight?\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Ahead of midterm elections, changes to higher education should be a central issue for Democrats, Weingarten said. But as conservatives are shaping Texas universities in their image, Democrats, experts say, can\u2019t keep up\u00a0\u2014 and may not benefit strategically from trying.<\/p>\n Michael Harris, dean of Southern Methodist University\u2019s Simmons School of Education and Human Development and an expert in university behavior, said Republicans in Texas \u201cwithout question,\u201d have controlled the narrative around higher education for decades.<\/p>\n But how Texas conservative leaders have reshaped the state\u2019s colleges and universities is unlikely to be a big factor in the midterm elections for Democrats given the success Republicans have already had and the other pressing national issues dominating the news, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kendall Scudder, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, said that the party considers education access a \u201ckitchen table issue\u201d and is concerned about how political interference will impact educator retention. But Texas Democrats are limited in what they can message on as other issues like affordability or health care intensify, he said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The party isn\u2019t intentionally sidestepping higher education, but it is prioritizing other pressing concerns families face, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand this frustration from these organizations with us, I get it, but the challenge that Democrats are facing is that we\u2019re drinking through a fire hose,\u201d Scudder said. \u201cOf course, these issues are important to us. I mean, we are the ones who created these institutions and invested in them in the first place, and that could be part of why Republicans are trying to tear them down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Now we can finally start\u2019<\/p>\n As Democrats fight other battles, Republicans will want to center education in the midterms because their messaging works, said\u00a0Cal Jillson, a politics professor at SMU.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re running against universities as hotbeds of socialism,\u201d Jillson said. \u201cAnd that intimidates and frightens lots of parents.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans are also in a position of power to drive the debate around higher education in Texas, Harris said.<\/p>\n This year, conservatives have secured non-legislative wins too, pressuring universities to fire professors<\/a> and eliminate classes and departments<\/a> targeted for being too liberal. Since the beginning of 2025, three former conservative lawmakers were named chancellors of state university systems, putting them in a position to further change how their universities operate.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Texas Tech University Chancellor Brandon Creighton is one of those newly appointed conservative leaders. He authored major higher education reforms laws as a state senator and was critical of perceived indoctrination at universities. At a recent conference hosted by the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation, he told the audience <\/a>that there was \u201cgarbage\u201d in higher education curriculum that he and others had to root out.<\/p>\n Glenn Hegar, the newly appointed chancellor of the Texas A&M University System is now overseeing a vast overhaul<\/a> of how LGBTQ, gender and race topics are taught at all his system campuses.<\/p>\n Before 2027, when the Texas Legislature next meets for a regular session, Republicans are planning how to be more proactive around higher education policy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been getting rid of stuff in higher ed, and now finally we can actually start to pass things instead of clearing the way,\u201d said Kate Bierly, higher education policy director for TPPF.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In an interview, Bierly said the think tank is planning future changes, including drafting legislation that would center Western civilization in core curriculum,<\/a> curb foreign influence and target grade inflation.<\/p>\n \u2018An assault on public education\u2019<\/p>\n Higher education is certainly not above reproach, according to the Pew Research Center, which found 70% of Americans believe higher education is heading in the wrong direction<\/a>. Universities are to blame for the public\u2019s lack of trust, a report<\/a> from a specially appointed Yale University committee concluded this week.<\/p>\n The committee, charged with investigating public distrust in higher education, found that grade inflation, varied intellectual experience, political correctness, affordability challenges and investments into areas outside of a university\u2019s core academic purpose\u00a0detract from universities\u2019 ability to build public trust and grow and produce knowledge.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cBoth sides of the political aisle should be alarmed and even appalled at the lack of quality civic education that kids are getting at universities,\u201d Bierly said in an interview before the report was released.\u00a0 She added that her organization\u2019s suggested policies could gain bipartisan support.<\/p>\n But Weingarten said the Republican-controlled discourse discredits the good higher education already does and distracts from pressing issues like affordability and equal college access. \u00a0<\/p>\n AFT\u2019s policy<\/a>\u00a0blueprint\u00a0for the midterms<\/a> centers around broad issues with wide appeal, including regulating artificial intelligence and enhancing career education and innovation. The teachers\u2019 union higher education platform also outwardly opposes the federal government\u2019s \u201cunprecedented campaign to control higher education\u201d through research and program cuts that threaten<\/a> the institutions, she said.<\/p>\n Weingarten said the policies are something either party could adopt to get higher education back on track. But Democrats aren\u2019t engaging, she said, and in doing so, they\u2019re leaving higher education behind.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Centering higher education\u2019s value and adopting AFT\u2019s platform before the midterms would be an unnecessary political risk for Democrats with little potential reward, Jillson, the political scientist, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because of the Republican majority, \u201cit is very difficult for Democrats in Texas to shape issue definition, let alone policy,\u201d he said. With affordability issues and the declining trust in President Donald Trump\u2019s leadership, Democrats, he said, \u201cshould play the hand that they hold right now.\u201d They should focus on attacking Republican policies instead of trying to define new ones,\u00a0Jillson said.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch of the public believes that there are issues and problems that need to be addressed and resolved. So you can\u2019t just be a proponent of higher education as it currently exists without some danger,\u201d said Jillson. \u201cCertainly they don\u2019t want to make it a midterm issue.\u201d<\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t always the case. Two years ago, Democrats often stood with students in opposition to Republican policies on college campuses. U.S. Rep. Greg\u00a0Casar, D-Austin, visited UT with other Democrats the day after dozens of people were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest<\/a>. Texas Democrats also drafted statements and made public remarks opposing UT\u2019s decision to fire staff after it adopted Senate Bill 17,<\/a> a law banning diversity, equity and inclusion support for students.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n At the AFT press conference last week, Casar, who is up for reelection, decried Texas\u2019 \u201cextremist politicians trying to control what gets taught in our classroom,\u201d but left before questions. Colin Diersing, a spokesperson for\u00a0Casar, declined to respond to criticism from AFT on Democrats\u2019 lack of action or answer if Casar has reached out to Texas university leaders directly.<\/p>\n Still, some Texas Democrats are paying closer attention and weighing in on higher education changes in their own way.\u00a0 Last December, the Texas House Democratic Caucus held a virtual \u201cPeople\u2019s Caucus\u201d on free speech in December to counter an official interim hearing focused on civil discourse after Charlie Kirk\u2019s murder.<\/a><\/p>\n