As the 88th regular session of the Texas Legislature rapidly approaches its conclusion, the Senate has passed several bills designed to counteract alleged ‘woke’ practices in education.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, heralding the passage of several pieces of his legislative agenda, said in a statement received by The Dallas Express, “The Texas Senate has now passed the strongest pushback on woke policies in higher education nationwide.”
“For far too long, academia has been poisoned by woke policies and faculty seeking to indoctrinate our students. Professors did not believe we would push back on their advances, but they were wrong. Students should be taught how to think critically, not what to think,” Patrick continued.
“The Texas Senate has now drawn a line in the sand and stated loud and clear that these woke policies will not be tolerated in Texas,” Patrick claimed, pointing specifically to Senate Bills 15, 16, 17, and 18.
Some have been highly critical of the legislature’s approach to educational controversies.
One Texas resident, Mark French, suggested on social media that the Texas Senate was “making Texas dumber each legislative session” in response to Patrick’s announcement.
SB 15, authored by Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), one of the bills that Patrick highlighted, would ensure that only biological females can play collegiate-level women’s sports.
A growing movement among female athletes to limit participation in women’s sports to biological females advocated for similar legislation both nationally and in Texas, as reported by The Dallas Express.
SB 16, authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes’ (R-Tyler), is designed to ban the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in institutions of higher education, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) authored SB 17, which would ban allegedly discriminatory “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) policies in Texas’ public universities. The bill also forbids the employment of DEI officials and the institution of DEI hiring practices.
Creighton justified the bill, saying, “Texas hosts world class institutions of higher education that are as diverse as the state itself. However, certain Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices are polarizing and work against the goal of inclusion.”
The passed version of SB 17 bans universities from “promoting differential treatment of or providing special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity.”
One Harris County resident responded to the bill on Twitter, writing, “No, Texas is trying to outdo Florida and Tennessee for the absolute worst number of garbage bills passed in a year.”
“This is not Mississippi,” the commentator continued.
Likewise, on April 20, the Senate passed SB 18, which would eliminate tenure at public institutions of higher education.
The bill, also authored by Sen. Creighton, stipulates, “An institution of higher education may not grant an employee of the institution tenure or any type of permanent employment status.”
Lt. Gov. Patrick explained in a statement provided to The Dallas Express that “over the past year, it has become abundantly clear that some tenured faculty at Texas universities feel immune to oversight from the legislature and their respective board of regents.”
“These professors claim ‘academic freedom’ and hide behind their tenure to continue blatantly advancing their agenda of societal division,” he suggested, pointing to a resolution passed by the University of Texas Faculty Council in February 2022.
The resolution read, “The Faculty Council resolutely rejects any attempts by bodies external to the faculty to restrict or dictate the content of university curriculum on any matter, including matters related to racial and social justice, and will stand firm against any and all encroachment on faculty authority including by the legislature or the Board of Regents.”
Patrick denounced the resolution, arguing, “It is shocking that these professors, who live inside a bubble, genuinely believe they are not accountable to anyone. That is not how the real world works.”
“Of course they are accountable to the Texas Legislature and their board of regents. This behavior must not be tolerated,” he added.
Some critics, however, claimed that removing tenure would drive qualified professors from the state and limit the applicant pool moving forward.
Sen. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston) denounced the bill, saying, “SB 18, another bill attacking our Texas universities passed the senate today. Tenure is an essential tool that helps attract & retain the brightest minds in academia. Its elimination & lack of protections for faculty already on tenure track will negatively affect our universities.”
Similarly, Bradley Carpenter, a professor at Baylor University, claimed, “I promise you removing tenure will create a brain drain in Texas universities.” Carpenter received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.
All of these bills will now go to the Texas House for consideration and debate.
There is already a drain brain in Texas universities and all universities. Removing tenure will get rid of the more liberal indoctrinators and probably attract better instructors, meaning less liberal who are more passionate about teaching. There is no tenure in the private sector. Tenure needs to be banned bc it allows crap teachers to never lose their employment. Merit needs to be applied to all teachers and if they are not productive they should be let go. Just like the real world.
To all those nay-sayers against these bills…BOO-HOO…sucks to be you. So happy to see some sanity (and backbone) by Texas State Legislators. For anyone who doesn’t like the bills being passed, there’s always an exit out of Texas. Bub-bye…don’t let the door hit ya’ where the good Lord split ya’.
Democrats are always the first to howl when their nice little scams are revealed. If the education system is so great, why are kids failing and or behind the curve of European schools?
texas is 34th in the nation on education and has been run by the GOP and has a 56B school fund from oil taxes as previously reported by the express in their blackwater article. So how is it that GOP leadership has failed us? And European schools don’t have these restrictions do they? Texas Rankings and Facts | US News Best States
Most likely Texas schools are failing because Republicans have been in charge of every elected office for the past 25 years. So democrats are not to blame for higher crime, school shootings or bad test scores: Republicans are to blame. So conservatives, own your failures!!!
Republicans aren’t in charge of the schools in Dallas, Houston, Austin or San Antonio but nice try!
You believe GENERALIZED BS? Dems are somehow at fault, of what? You would faint if our schools adopted the open European very woke curriculum. What does woke even mean ?
Its about time that these teachers and schools are accountable to TAXPAYERS who pay for the schools. Politics is not something that should be taught in schools and neither is CRT/DEI. Its Garbage and we aren’t going to stand for it. PERIOD! For you teachers that think you will do it anyway are on notice. We will turn you in and you will be FIRED!
So basically you’re say, it’s okay to teach our children certain truths but not truth? Our children knowing the truth about how this nation’s indigenous were conquered for their land and how blacks were enslaved is not going to change one thing about the systematic machine that’s been in place since our founding fathers that keeps us in a position of power. I swear too many of us are in fear of the wrong things in this country. We should own up to this nation’s past, for the past can’t be changed, however we can move forward together as one nation to and into the future. Our fear should be with the foreign entities that have ownership in our ports, major stock holders in our corporations and control in our government via lobbyists. Our children have more to fear than CRT buddy.
They only teach CRT in law school, to college students aka adults. Stop trying to control what courses an adult has access to. None of you people in here would recognize CRT if you read it. Geez.
Why would a “law school” teach Marxist CRT? One can learn about the history of Marxist CRT in a history class. Why would a “law school” advocate for Marxism?
Marxist CRT basically replaces “oppressed workers” (“Workers of the World, Unite!”) with “oppressed minorities”, as a tactic, in the spread of globalist Communist ideology. Marxist CRT was developed from Marxist “Critical Theory”. The main Communist promoter of Marxist CRT was Herbert Marcuse. His disciples included Angela Davis, Richard Delgado, and Derrick Bell.
Some interesting books:
“American Marxism”, by Mark Levine
“The Politically Incorrect Guide to Communism”, by Paul Kengor
“United States of Socialism”, by Dinesh D’Souza
“BLM-Making a new Marxist Revolution”, by Mike Gonzalez
“Race Marxism”, by James Lindsay
“Lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theories are not free speech. They are fraud and propaganda.”
Texas has its stuff together. Great job lawmakers.
Yeah, telling adult college students what they can learn about. Lol. Sounds together to me. Hahahaha
Thanks for the opinion rendered from your Mom’s basement. She just called: Your Hot Pockets are ready.
Sarcasm, right?
Tenure is one of the things wrong with our schools now if we could just get rid of it in the government
Yeah, like term limits on the Supreme Court and state governments, like governors.
TOTALLY AGREE. At most it should be limited to two terms. @Senator Cruz sponsored a bill for term limits and nobody would pass it. Shocking, I know 🙄
Big AMEN to that!
It is way past time to reign in the democrats and their failing policies. Our kids deserve the best we can give them and the protection they need to grow and thrive. Thank you Texas for stepping up to the plate for our kids.
How are these policies affecting education? How about parents not treat school as day care?
Which teachers union is paying you to post here hun?
Kids? Again, people full of fear not knowing what they are talking about. CRT is taught to law students. Last time I checked most law students are adults. Adult students should be able to learn what they want to learn about. This is just fear mongering under the guise of solving a nonexistent problem.
The “brain drain” referenced by Professor Carpenter, is precisely what’s needed in academia. These leftwing brains are the problem; ending tenure is the solution.
Research is needed at University level schools. No tenure will destroy it. Patrick is a disgrace.
“Students should be taught how to think critically, not what to think”
Politicians should not be the ones deciding what students learn.
If people would vote critically the three stooges would be long gone You know Hitler on wheels, Watermelon Head Paxton aka Jailbird and bird faced hate radio veteran Patrick. They have mismanaged the state of Texas.
Typical Dem, always with their name calling. So predictable 🙄
And this new GOP telling adult law students that they can’t learn about CRT is all too predictable these days.
Let’s all go back to the old GOP and not these new fear mongering wanna be autocrats.
Paid trolls.
Or the tax payers either, I suppose?
The Dallas Express is good when it reports on things the Dallas Morning News would cover up. That is one of the advantages of the Dallas Observer also. Further, it is good to present points of view that the neoliberal press such as the NYTimes and WashPost wouldn’t allow.
However, I think this triumphalist report lacks critical thinking.
How are these Republican passed bills different than the crackdown on dissent thought by the Chinese Communist Party?
Instead of undertaking to debate issues, the Republicans and conservatives will use the power of the state to censor.
For example, in regards to DEI policies, what would Republicans suggest to address the problems that DEI policies are claimed to address. I suspect DEI as it exists is the neoliberal management of racial issues and sexual minorities. I am actually writing up a critique of DEI for Gays.
As for the rationals given that these bills are for racial equity, I am not sure that is very credible.
Finally, I have never read any paper on Critical Race Theory since I presumed it was just neoliberal theory to manage the issues of race that didn’t upset things. Now, even though I have a busy schedule of reading, I am going to have to read about it, since the Republicans have through their actions made it a sacred object among those cosplaying being radicals.
Also, nothing is more attractive to read than what is suppressed. Who would Salman Rushde be if an Iranian cleric hadn’t issued his fatwa?
Additionally, suppressing what people might say, by use of threat is very much felt as a foot pressed upon the neck. Being able to express yourself is one of the fundamental rights Americans enjoy and further expect. When people don’t feel they exist in a democratic regime, they don’t feel the obligations of citizens and they are free to consider what might be necessary to have a democratic government. It usually doesn’t end well.
Of course it is your right to be an paper that is for an ideological cause, but I think you lose a great opportunity to be an alternative source for news that otherwise wouldn’t be reported.
Students should be taught how to think critically, not what to think,” Patrick continued.
So why curb their subject matter? Seems a bit hypocritical that someone in college can’t learn about whatever they are interested in.
Talk about a police state.
How about fixing the power grid? That’s something that actually benefits Texans.
Let’s talk about CRT, all this is they don’t want there kids to know what there ancestors did to a group of people, and still trying to do, that’s why Florida Governor is trying to ban history books, and every state is trying to do the same thing, dumb are kids down, they have been doing this for years now, look at this test they are taking, that’s all they are doing, people please don’t fall for this.
Dr. Carpenter’s research is focused on three primary areas of scholarship: (a) Development of Social Justice- and Anti-Racist-oriented School Leaders; (b) Leadership Wellbeing; and, (c) How Discourses and Policymaking Shape Federal, State, and Local Policy. This tells you all you need to know about Carpenter. We need to focus on the basics. Reading, writing and arithmetics.