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Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, authored Senate Bill 26, which would invest more than $4 million in teacher pay increases.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n
A national professors’ union and its Texas chapter are suing the Texas Tech University System\u2019s chancellor and regents for restricting professors’ ability to teach about LGBTQ identity, gender and race, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court.<\/p>\n
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Brandon Creighton, chancellor of the Texas Tech University System and a former Republican state senator, announced last academic year that the five universities he oversees\u00a0could not teach courses that advocate for race or gender<\/a> \u201cprejudice\u201d or mention\u00a0that\u00a0more than two genders exist.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In April, he canceled all academic programs \u201ccentered on\u201d sexual orientation and said professors \u201cgenerally\u201d cannot teach courses that include LGBTQ<\/a> themes.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s lawsuit, filed by the American Association of University Professors and its Texas chapter<\/a>, alleges that the decisions violate the First and 14th amendments and censor course discussion.<\/p>\n \u201cThis 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,\u201d lawyers for the professors’ union wrote in the filing. \u201cTo make matters worse, professors cannot reasonably make sense of what is and is\u00a0not prohibited, further chilling their classroom speech.\u201d<\/p>\n Creighton said in a statement that the university system is confident its policies are \u201clawful and compliant.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cOur commitment to academic integrity and the First Amendment rights of our students and faculty will not be distracted by lawsuits as we continue our mission to deliver rigorous academic programs, relevant coursework, and groundbreaking research,\u201d Creighton said.<\/p>\n What do the policies restrict?<\/p>\n Creighton, who championed legislation restricting faculty input and diversity, equity and inclusion practices at universities during his time in the Texas Legislature, has said the restrictions ensure the Texas Tech University System provides \u201crigorous\u201d and valuable degrees.<\/p>\n There is no law restricting what can be taught in Texas higher education. In 2023,\u00a0Creighton authored Senate Bill 16, which would have restricted teaching that compels students to adopt beliefs that one race or sex is superior.\u00a0The bill did not pass.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A higher education reform bill\u00a0he authored, Senate Bill 37<\/a>, succeeded in giving regents more power over curriculum and defanging faculty governance in 2025, but it did not include specific restrictions on race and gender.\u00a0Initial drafts included those limitations<\/a>.<\/p>\n Regardless, university systems have increasingly adopted policies to restrict what professors can teach after a Texas A&M University professor was fired at Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s urging <\/a>for teaching about gender identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n The viral fallout ultimately resulted in the president of Texas A&M stepping down<\/a>, and the A&M System restricting\u00a0courses that \u201cadvocate\u201d for gender identity or race. Before\u00a0Creighton was appointed, the Texas Tech University System banned teaching that there were more than two genders, and the University of Texas System also announced an audit of courses concerning gender identity<\/a>.<\/p>\n The professors’ union lawsuit specifically targets two decisions from Creighton that go further. In one of his first acts as chancellor, Creighton\u00a0banned advocacy or promotion of race or sex-based \u201cprejudice.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n