State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) has renewed his campaign against the University of Texas at Austin, resurfacing materials he first exposed last spring and calling them “trash.”
Harrison reposted images of materials he said he found on campus earlier this year, including a book titled Non-Medical Transition Resource Guide stamped for circulation in UT’s library system. Produced by the Queer and Trans Student Alliance, the guide outlines non-surgical methods of “gender expression” such as binding and tucking.
The book was part of the university’s library collection, not assigned coursework, but Harrison told The Dallas Express it was taxpayer-funded and “teaching people — female students how to become boys and male students how to become girls.” He added that UT maintains a separate library section dedicated to LGBTQ+ materials, which he said remains “permanently there.”
In March, Harrison posted a viral thread after attending a University of Texas event titled “TRANS CONVENING Against Disposability: Trans Care & Lessons from Disability Justice,” hosted by the school’s Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department. The event featured sessions on queer temporalities, pronoun usage, and a theology lecture called “Is God a Sub or a Dom?”
Harrison said the material he documented on campus — including classroom displays and a “Non-Medical Transition Resource Guide” — showed UT was using public funds to promote radical ideology.
Earlier this year, The Dallas Express also reported on UT’s woke courses, highlighting programs and degree offerings that incorporated “DEI”, “critical race theory”, and “gender ideology.” That coverage, along with Harrison’s earlier findings, underscored growing concern among state leaders about how taxpayer dollars are being used in higher education.
Harrison’s renewed attention comes as the UT System and other Texas universities face heightened scrutiny. On Sept. 30, the UT System announced it is auditing “gender-related” courses at all 14 institutions to ensure compliance with state law and the “direction and priorities of the Board of Regents.” The review will be discussed at the board’s November meeting, officials told The Daily Texan.
Similar reviews are unfolding across Texas. The Austin American-Statesman reported that the Texas A&M University System ordered an audit of its courses in September, citing “academic responsibility” as the reason.
The Texas Tech University System announced it would prohibit discussion of “more than two genders” in classrooms following the passage of HB 229, while Angelo State University — part of that system — warned professors they could face discipline for displaying pronouns, LGBTQ flags, or teaching about “transgender” topics.
Pauline Strong, president of UT’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, told the Statesman such audits threaten academic freedom. “We oppose state censorship of college courses and support the right of gender studies faculty to teach in their areas of expertise,” Strong said. “There is no law that says teaching about gender in a university classroom is illegal.”
The policy environment has shifted since Harrison’s March investigations. As The Dallas Express reported in May, lawmakers passed HB 229 — the “Women’s Bill of Rights” — defining “man” and “woman” by biological criteria. Supporters said it would protect single-sex spaces; critics argued it marginalizes “transgender” and intersex Texans.
Harrison discussed the materials in a recent interview with The Dallas Express, calling the Non-Medical Transition Resource Guide “trash” and arguing it was bought with taxpayer dollars.
“It’s trash,” Harrison said. “Tax dollars funded that. And it’s teaching people — female students how to become boys and male students how to become girls.”