"After Jesus Rises, the Legislative Knives Come Out"—The Dangerous Ambitions of Sen. Creighton's Senate Bill 37

Friends, 

A very important message from Dr. Maria Unda. Truth be told, the knives have been out! A tremendous amount of advocacy work has gone into this. I urge everyone who can to join us this week at the Texas Capitol. Numbers and testimonies do matter. Do this for Texas and the nation lest this horrible bill get copied in and for other states. Do this for the future of our fragile democracy and the freedoms we have enjoyed that are so crucial to truth, justice, and the enduring promise of a free and educated society. Thanks to the Texas AAUP, here is a complimentary legislative toolkit.

If you can't make it, click here to email members of the House Higher Education Committee that will be making a crucial decision on the fate of this legislation that comes from the Senate. 

Click here to e-mail the committee members

-Angela Valenzuela

Dear all,

Resurrection of Christ, Noël Coypel, 1700,
using a hovering depiction of Jesus

As Dr. Valenzuela often reminds us, "After Jesus rises, the legislative knives come out." The Texas Legislative Session ends in June—unless a special session is called—and we’re entering a critical moment for public higher education.

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Higher Education and is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, May 6 at 8AM. We encourage you to prepare a 2-minute testimony if you're able to attend or if not, you may submit a written statement.

What is SB37?
SB37 is a sweeping omnibus bill that:

• is DOGE for higher education 
• Grants political appointees control over curriculum and academic content;
• Severely limits discussion of race, ethnicity, sex, politics, religion, and social beliefs;
• Threatens faculty governance and academic freedom across all public universities.

Learn More:
Full SB37 Bill Text and Analysis
Texas Tribune Article – SB37’s impact on history and race education
AAUP Texas – “SB37 2.0: The Sequel Is Even More Authoritarian”
Every Texan – Jaimie Puente’s Testimony Against SB37

Please share this email widely (to personal non-university emails) with students, educators, and community members. The stakes are high, and we need all voices to ensure that higher education remains a space for critical inquiry, truth-telling, and justice.

In solidarity,

María del Carmen Unda, Ph.D.

Convener, Black & Brown Dialogues on Policy

It's Spring Break—Time to Advocate (March 17, 10 AM-4 PM) for Faculty Tenure and Academic Freedom!

Friends,

It's Spring break right now and members of the legislature always take advantage of this knowing that faculty are likely out of pocket. Accordingly, Please read this message from Texas AAUP President Brian Evans.

Of great concern to us in higher education is Senator Creighton's anti-tenure bill for university faculty Senate Bill 37 and Rep. Shaheen's companion bill HB 4499 that folks need to take time to read.

Rep. Donna Howard's House Bill 4277, in contrast, is a great proposal as it protects academic freedom by exempting scholarly research, creative works, and grant applications from restrictions, ensuring faculty, students, and researchers can freely conduct and share their work. It also preserves faculty support for career guidance and grants, public or private, fostering an open, innovative academic environment. Basically, it's a carve-out for academic freedom from within Senate Bill 17 that became law last session.

If you can make it to the capitol today for today's day of action with Texas AFT and Texas AAUP, please do so. We should be seriously alarmed by Creighton's persistent effort, continuing from the last legislative session, to undermine governance and tenure for Texas faculty and universities. Such measures risk transforming universities into a toxic mix of corporate entities and glorified secondary schools, causing the reputation and standing of Texas institutions of higher education to nosedive.

Texas AAUP and Texas AFT are wonderfully partnered such that today's Advocacy Day is for both organizations. Read below the various ways that you can be involved, in-person or virtually.

-Angela Valenzuela

Online and in-person activism
to oppose egregious bills


Dear Angela,

All bills have been filed for the Texas Legislative session, and hearings on higher ed bills will be on Tuesdays from March 18th to May 27th. Now is the time to ramp up online and in-person activism! The session ends June 2nd.


What’s at stake for higher ed? Everything. Several bills, if they become law, censor teaching, research, and expression; eliminate departments; and ban future offerings of tenure. SB 37/HB 4499, a high priority bill by the Lt. Gov., consolidates curriculum decisions in the governing board; excludes faculty in grievance and faculty disciplinary processes; and bans faculty senates or places them under administrative control. In the bill, courses in the core curriculum required for all degrees may not endorse specific public policies, ideologies, or legislation. Even so, there are encouraging bills to add exemptions for research grants to last session’s SB 17 and make college more affordable and accessible.

How to stay up to date? Daily updates are posted on X @TexasAaup and @aaup_utAustin and on Bluesky @texasaaup.bsky.social and @utaustinaaup.bsky.social. We also keep up-to-date the Texas AAUP-AFT Higher Ed Bill Tracker, which also includes our Legislative priorities, as well as the Texas AAUP-AFT web site. Also, please attend our monthly Legislative Updates and Testifier Trainings.

How do I advocate online? Fill out the Texas AAUP-AFT Questionnaire on SB 17 Impacts on Teaching and Research and sign the Texas AFT Educator’s Bill of Rights for K-12 and higher ed. Send posts to amplify to our social media coordinators Lauren Gutterman (ljg300@gmail.com) and Polly Strong (strongpolly@gmail.com). Call Legislative offices and talk with the staff member responsible for higher ed issues. Here’s who represents you. Talking with a staffer on the phone is generally more effective than sending email.

How do I advocate in person? Please join us in visiting Legislative offices on Thursdays at 9:30am and testifying on higher ed bills at hearings on Tuesdays. Contact Amanda Garcia (agarcia@texasaft.org) concerning testifying or visiting Legislative officers on days other than Thursdays. You can also visit the local offices for the Texas House member and Texas Senator who represent you. Here’s who represents you.

What else can I do? Invite others to join. Let them know why you joined. And It’s time to take action! Here’s the link to join Texas AAUP-AFT and several reasons to join. Here’s info about our member benefits.

Disclaimer: I am speaking for myself as a private individual, and not representing any group, institution, or organization, other than Texas AAUP-AFT.

Best

Brian

Brian L. Evans, PhD | He/His/Him | aaup.texas@gmail.com | 512-516-5991

President, Texas AAUP-AFT Conference, AFT Local 8041A