University faculty\u00a0members sued the Texas Tech University System in federal court\u00a0on July 8, alleging that it\u00a0has created an\u00a0“extraordinary system of censorship” through restrictions on course content\u00a0related to\u00a0race and gender.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Texas American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers<\/a>\u00a0and the national\u00a0American Association of University Professors<\/a>\u00a0brought the lawsuit against Texas Tech University System Chancellor\u00a0Brandon Creighton<\/a>\u00a0and the university\u00a0system’s\u00a0Board of Regents<\/a>. The faculty groups accused them of working to “obscure documented history, facts and theories related to certain perspectives on race, sexual orientation and gender identity.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “Under this censorship regime, professors cannot teach Plato’s ‘Republic,’ the Pulitzer-Prize winning book ‘Between the World and Me,’ the fact that gay and bisexual men were persecuted in Nazi Germany, or the existence of health disparities in rural communities in Lubbock and border communities in El Paso,” according to\u00a0the complaint<\/a>, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.\u00a0It went on to allege one professor\u00a0was “barred from even using the word ‘systemic.'”\u00a0<\/p>\n The complaint argued the alleged actions violate the\u00a0First Amendment<\/a>\u00a0as well as the\u00a0Fourteenth Amendment’s<\/a>\u00a0due process and equal protection clauses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Erin Wilson, a spokesperson for Creighton’s office, said in a July 9 email to USA TODAY that the Texas Tech University System “is confident its policies are lawful, constitutionally sound and fully compliant with state and federal law.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “Our 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,” Wilson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n USA TODAY reached out to the Board of Regents for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Restrictions are ‘vague and contradictory,’ complaint says<\/p>\n The complaint centered on two alleged directives from Creighton\u00a0related to course content surrounding race,\u00a0gender\u00a0and sexuality.\u00a0<\/p>\n The first was issued on Dec. 1, 2025, according to the complaint,\u00a0and imposed restrictions\u00a0that included a prohibition on promoting the\u00a0ideas that someone “by virtue of race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, consciously or unconsciously” and that there are more\u00a0than two genders.\u00a0<\/p>\n It also required faculty members to\u00a0follow a review process if they believed any of their course materials\u00a0touched on such topics.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0second\u00a0directive\u00a0came on April 9\u00a0and “established\u00a0criteria to govern this review process at the discretion of the Board of Regents,” the complaint said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Creighton’s guidelines are “vague and contradictory,” according to the complaint, which also said\u00a0faculty members\u00a0have begun to\u00a0“immediately\u00a0and constructively self-censor constitutionally protected speech about race, gender\u00a0identity\u00a0and sexual orientation.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has supported restrictions on teaching such topics. He said the state was “targeting professors who are more focused on pushing leftist ideologies rather than preparing students to lead our nation” in\u00a0an October X post<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n American Association of University Professors President\u00a0Todd Wolfson<\/a>\u00a0called\u00a0the alleged directives a\u00a0“chilling, top-down attack on the freedom to teach designed to intimidate faculty into silence” in the\u00a0organization’s\u00a0July 8 news release<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Teresa Klein<\/a>, president of the\u00a0Texas American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers,\u00a0said the lawsuit\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0to\u00a0faculty\u00a0members\u00a0“that we will do everything in our power to defend them from these dangerous policies.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0faculty groups\u00a0asked the court to declare the alleged directives unconstitutional for violating both the First\u00a0and Fourteenth Amendments and to bar the defendants from enforcing\u00a0them or “any other policy or practice with similar restrictions or prohibitions.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at\u00a0bjfrank@usatoday.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n USA TODAY’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.\u00a0Funders do not provide editorial input.<\/p>\n