The University of North Texas administration has made sweeping changes to over 200 course titles and descriptions in its College of Education, removing references to race, class, gender, and equity in what Texas AAUP-AFT leaders are calling an extreme overreach that threatens academic freedom.
“Censoring course content is a clear violation of academic freedom,” said Dr. Brian Evans, president of Texas AAUP-AFT. “Faculty must have the freedom to teach without political interference so that students can have the freedom to learn.”
The changes, which affected 78 graduate and 130 undergraduate courses, were imposed despite Senate Bill 17 – the state’s so-called “DEI ban” passed in 2023 – explicitly exempting academic course instruction and research from its restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. UNT administrators initially claimed the changes were intended to align curriculum with K-12 teacher certification requirements and state curriculum standards, but internal emails have revealed they were responding to pressure from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to scrutinize DEI-related course content.
“Making up provisions in SB 17 that do not exist is the hallmark of a higher education system that has gone totally rogue,” said Jeremy Young, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Learn program, in a statement to media. “The situation at UNT is one of the most extreme cases of overcompliance with a censorship law we have ever seen.”
The controversy foreshadows an attempt to expand the state’s political interference in higher education in the upcoming 89th legislative session that starts in January. Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), chair of the Senate Higher Education Subcommittee, recently indicated that while academic content is technically exempt from SB 17, it “contradicts its spirit.” In a November interview, he praised UNT’s actions and predicted similar changes would soon come to other Texas universities.
Texas AAUP-AFT, along with the Texas Faculty Association and Texas Association of College Teachers, has demanded the immediate reversal of all course content changes. The organizations argue that UNT’s actions violate not only academic freedom principles but also the university’s own policies on shared governance.
“There is a current lack of explicit support from our leaders for the academic freedom and freedom of expression to teach academic topics most under attack, including racial and ethnic studies and LGBTQ studies,” Evans noted.
As Texas heads into the next legislative session, Texas AAUP-AFT remains committed to defending academic freedom and shared governance against politically motivated interference in higher education. Both are core tenets of our union’s Educator’s Bill of Rights.
If you’re a Texas faculty member who hasn’t joined our union, you can learn more on Texas AAUP-AFT’s website and join online.