Academic Freedom and Speech

The University of Texas System Board of Regents has unanimously approved a new rule directing its campuses to let students complete degrees without taking courses that cover what it calls 'unnecessarily controversial subjects,' and requiring faculty to spell out planned topics in syllabi and stick to them. For classes that do include controversial material, instructors are ordered to take a 'broad and balanced approach,' although the policy pointedly does not define what counts as controversial or what that balance entails. Board chair Kevin Eltife defended the deliberate vagueness as a way to craft a rule that can survive in today’s 'politically charged environment,' bluntly saying 'vagueness can be our friend.' Faculty, students, and civil‑rights advocates warned in testimony that the ambiguity will chill teaching, push administrators to second‑guess course content case‑by‑case, and could be used to deter instruction on slavery, segregation, race, gender and other politically sensitive topics tied to Black history and civil rights. The move comes amid sustained Republican pressure on Texas public universities to root out perceived liberal bias, and follows new state oversight powers and earlier race and gender teaching restrictions at Texas A&M and Texas Tech.