Texas Tech University System Chancellor Brandon Creighton imposed restrictions on how faculty discuss race, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms and introduced a new course content approval process, underlining that instructors could face discipline for not complying.
According to a memo to university presidents, Creighton said instructors may not promote that “one race or sex is inherently superior to another; an individual, by virtue or race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, consciously or unconsciously; any person should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of race or sex; moral character or worth is determined by race or sex; individuals bear responsibility or guilt for actions of others of the same race or sex; or meritocracy or a strong work ethic are racist, sexist or constructs of oppression.”
Creighton defined promotion as “presenting these beliefs as correct or required and pressuring students to affirm them, rather than analyzing or critiquing them as one viewpoint among others.”
Faculty will be required to submit the materials to department chairs, university administrators and ultimately the Board of Regents for their review and approval.
Instructors are first asked to determine whether the material is relevant and necessary. If it is, they’ll next be asked if the material is required for professional licensure or certification or patient or client care. If it is, the material may remain in the course, but the Board of Regents will be notified. If it is not required for those purposes, instructors must seek approval to keep the material by submitting it to their department chair, dean and provost, who will forward their recommendation and justification to the Board of Regents.
In a news release, Creighton said the goal of the new policies was to provide “clarity, consistency and guardrails that protect academic excellence.” A system representative said the memo was intended to guide faculty as they prepare for the spring semester, which starts in six weeks.
Creighton’s memo concludes that “the integrity of this process depends on the earnest participation of every faculty member” and warns that noncompliance “may result in disciplinary action consistent with university policies and state law.”
Creighton’s memo describes the new requirements as the “first step” in the Board of Regents’ implementation of Senate Bill 37, a state law authored by Creighton before he resigned from the Texas Senate to lead the Texas Tech System.
The law, which was approved earlier this year, requires regents to conduct a comprehensive review of the classes all undergraduates must take to graduate to ensure they prepare students for civic and professional life and reflect Texas’ workforce needs. The first review is due in 2027.
System leaders launched restrictions on how faculty discuss gender identity in classrooms in September after a viral video of a Texas A& M professor teaching about gender identity drew conservative backlash, led to the professor’s firing and the university president’s resignation, and prompted universities across the state to scrutinize their course offerings.
Angelo State University, one of Texas Tech University System’s five institutions, was the first to act, quietly directing faculty in September to stop discussing transgender identities in class.
The new policies at the Texas Tech University System follow in the footsteps of the Texas A& M University System, which last month approved a new policy that requires each campus president to sign off on any course that could be seen as advocating for “race and gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.” Texas Tech’s new rules appear to go further than A& M’s by adding a formal approval process that ends with the Board of Regents.