"Creation-Resistance in the Struggle for Mexican American Studies" by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D. July 11, 2025 at the San Antonia MAS Teachers' Academy

Friends,

I’m deeply honored to be keynoting at this year’s “MAS Teachers' Academy,” an inspiring initiative founded by Dr. Keta Miranda and now directed by Dr. Lilliana Saldaña, Dr. Gloria Gonzales, and Christina Soliz. Emilio and I highlighted this important work in our recent blog post, “The Need for Ethnic Studies Policy in Texas,” where we discussed the remarkable growth of Mexican American Studies classes across the state.

Certified Texas teachers will earn Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits for attending—credits that, by Texas law, must be renewed every five years. It’s a rare and meaningful opportunity to center Mexican American Studies as the focus of professional development. Educators from outside Texas are also welcome to join this powerful learning space that is accessible virtually if you register. The QR code is on the flyers below.

Follow the MAS Teachers' Academy on Instagram, as well, which explains the following: 

"This year’s theme is “A Decade of Creation-Resistance and MAS Legacies in Tejas” in celebration of our collective labor and grassroots organizing in growing and sustaining MAS in Texas PreK-12 schools over the past 10 years. 🙌🏾🔥🙌🏾🔥

We pay homage to MAS/Chicanx Studies scholar activist, Dr. Roberto Cintli Rodriguez(QEPD), and his concept of creation-resistance. Dr. Cintli’s concept reminds us of the importance of connecting to our creative expressions and ancestral practices like poetry, dance, song, writing, art, food, and ceremony in our struggles for humanization, social justice, and a culturally-sustaining education. With this in mind, this year’s academy will focus on how we can continue to center our community’s creative expressions and ancestral practices in our MAS curriculum and pedagogy. 🌽🌽🌽

We hope you can join us for this week-long academy which will include outstanding keynotes by leading MAS scholars, teacher-led curriculum workshops, pláticas, and student panels.

Special thanks to the amazing Ernesto Cuevas Jr. for creating this gorgeous poster which captures the spirit of this year’s academy!"

Adelante!"  @masteachersacademy

 

It is a true honor to uplift the legacy of the late Dr. Roberto Cintli Rodriguez by centering his powerful concept of creation-resistance—a hopeful and visionary framework that will ground my talk on the future of Mexican American and Ethnic Studies in Texas. With deep gratitude to our dedicated colleagues at the University of Texas at San Antonio—your tireless, committed work continues to inspire and uplift us all.

-Angela Valenzuela

#CreationResistance #EthnicStudies #MAS

Rep. Gene Wu sponsors tomorrow's "No King's March"—Saturday, June 14 | Texas State Capitol | Peacefully. Powerfully. Together.

Friends:

What's there not to love about Rep. Gene Wu, Chair of the Texas Democratic Caucus in the Texas House of Representatives? He, with approval from the State Preservation Board, is sponsoring tomorrow's “No Kings” protest at the Texas State Capitol.

If you don't live in Austin consider that at least 63 Texas locations are hosting anti-Trump demonstrations tomorrow.

When the Governor calls in the National Guard to intimidate peaceful protesters, we must respond with even greater resolve. If you see any provocateurs, do not take the bait—as they seek to discredit this movement.

We gather to say:
✊🏽 No to militarized suppression of dissent
✊🏿 No to mass deportations
✊🏻 No to fear-mongering politics
✊🏾 No to the vicious treatment of Sen. Alex Padilla
👑 And no kings—in Texas or anywhere else in this democracy.

Let’s show up for justice, for each other, and for the future of our state. Texas AFT provides information on what to expect. Be sure to sign up for the march, too.

-Angela Valenzuela

#NoKings #TXDeservesBetter #WeWillBeHeard #FirstAmendment #Solidarity

Houston Democrat sponsoring Saturday ‘No Kings’ Capitol protest


by: Matt Grant

Posted: Jun 12, 2025 / 12:49 PM CDT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The “No Kings” protest scheduled for this Saturday at the Texas Capitol — one of two confirmed cities the governor has called in the Texas National Guard — was sponsored by Houston Democratic state lawmaker Rep. Gene Wu, KXAN confirmed through the State Preservation Board.

“For three decades, Texans have watched Republicans like Greg Abbott and Donald Trump sell out working families while stripping away our freedoms and driving up costs. I’m sponsoring the ‘No Kings’ protest at our Capitol to give every Texan a chance to make their voices heard when they’ve been systematically ignored by those in power,” Wu said in a statement when asked about his involvement.

“The group organizing Saturday’s protest has a well-established record of peaceful advocacy and responsible civic engagement, and the event was approved by the State Preservation Board (of which Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov Patrick both are members) with the expectation of a safe, respectful gathering,” he added.

A sponsor is “required for approval of all events” held at the Texas State Capitol grounds and can include the governor, lieutenant governor or state lawmaker. The Texas Capitol Events Sponsorship Form says it will be considered “incomplete” if it is not signed by an official sponsor.
Texas National Guard on standby for ‘No Kings’ protests in Austin, San Antonio

On Thursday, Gov. Abbott released new details related to his decision to bring in reinforcement to undisclosed locations. The mayors of Austin and San Antonio said they were informed that Texas National Guard soldiers will be on standby in their cities. More than 5,000 Texas National Guard soldiers and more than 2,000 Texas Department of Public Safety troopers will be “strategically positioned” to bolster local law enforcement in response to planned protests advertised across the state fueled by recent immigration enforcement actions, the governor said.

KXAN previously found at least 63 Texas locations listed online where anti-Trump demonstrations are advertised to take place on June 14.

“Peaceful protests are part of the fabric of our nation, but Texas will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles in response to President Donald Trump’s enforcement of immigration law,” Abbott said in a statement. “Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be arrested and held accountable to the full extent of the law. Don’t mess with Texas — and don’t mess with Texas law enforcement.”

Democratic Congressman Greg Casar is one of Saturday’s scheduled speakers at the Capitol. He said that the protests are meant to highlight concerns over mass deportations.

‘No Kings’ protest organizer calls TX National Guard an overreaction

“These are concerning things that people should be allowed to bring up without the governor trying to crush that message and intimidate people by sending in the National Guard,” Casar said.

The event’s sponsor, Wu, previously served as a prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office before being elected in 2012 and is currently an attorney in private practice, according to his official biography. He is vice chair of the House Criminal Jurisprudence committee.

“I categorically condemn any escalation into violence and vehemently support the right of Texans to exercise their First Amendment without intimidation or fear from the Governor or the President,” Wu said. “In America and in Texas, we have no kings – and we will not be bullied into surrendering our constitutional rights.”

Teaching Truth Under a Tree: Dr. Marvin Dunn and a Grassroots Stand for Black History in Florida

Friends:

This is inspiring! What Florida’s public universities won’t teach, Marvin Dunn is bringing to life—one lesson at a time, under a tree. At Florida International University, students gather beneath what’s now called the Black History Learning Tree to hear the real story of the Rosewood Massacre—just one of many erased or distorted chapters in Florida’s past. 

As state leaders censor curricula and dismantle DEI programs, the beloved Dr. Dunn, a retired professor and historian, is reclaiming public space to teach truths too uncomfortable for today’s politics. “DEI is not dead,” he declared. “We will be here again and again.” In a state where history is under siege, one tree has become a classroom of resistance.

I am so in awe of you, Dr. Dunn! Keep up the great work!

Sí se puede! Yes we can!

-Angela Valenzuela

‘Telling our history correctly’: Activist hosts Black history class under a tree at FIU 

By Raisa Habersham Updated April 2, 2025 | Miami Herald

Former Florida International University professor and historian Marvin Dunn speaks to attendees about the Rosewood Massacre during a “Black History Learning Tree” event at FIU on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Miami, Fla. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com

The Rosewood Massacre was just a short paragraph in one of Stephanie Borden’s textbooks when she was in grade school. “I did not get taught a lot of Black history from school,” the marine biology student at Florida International University, 27, told the Miami Herald. Slavery, Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves, Martin Luther King Jr. and his assassination, and Barack Obama’s presidency were the highlights of the Black history she learned in school.

“My learning of Black history came from my family,” she said.

Artist and student Leah Gayle, 34, hangs a sign that reads “WE LOVE D.E.I.” before a “Black History Learning Tree” event at Florida International University on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Miami, Fla. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com

But on Tuesday, as she sat by the newly christened Black History Learning Tree on Florida International University’s campus, the little morsel of history she learned of the Rosewood Massacre morphed into a full fledged lesson from historian and former professor Marvin Dunn. On a March 17 Instagram post, Dunn announced he was going to host a free class to anyone who wanted to learn Black history under a tree by the Steven and Dorothea Green Library. And he did it without the permission of FIU officials, he said.

“It’s important now to stand up. It’s important now to resist this attack on our democracy,” Dunn said. “Most of my colleagues, if not all of them at FIU, are vulnerable. I don’t expect any of them to sit under that tree with me, and I don’t blame them. I’m sure there’ll be photographs taken of who is there and reports given to the new president about who is under that tree.” In February, former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez was appointed interim president of FIU. Her appointment was the latest in a wave of conservative, well-connected politicians taking over presidencies at state universities under Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

RELATED: FIU’s new president in her own words: A Q&A with former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez

Dunn’s Black history lesson comes at a time when the state has limited how Black history is taught in school, a trend seen nationally as the Trump administration has signed executive orders to eliminate what they consider diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and threatening to withhold funding from schools that they find ideologically out of line. At the same time, FIU and the rest of the state’s universities have had to weed out general education courses that include “theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States.”

Former Florida International University professor and historian Marvin Dunn speaks to attendees about the Rosewood Massacre during a “Black History Learning Tree” event at FIU on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Miami, Fla. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com 

Dunn, who spent his academic career at FIU, chose the tree as a way of institutionalizing Black history on the campus and designating a place where Black history will be taught, he said. Dunn said Black people have often used trees as a gathering spot, when in Africa elders gathered to make decisions and pass on oral history. “I don’t know of a single Black community that does not have a tree where usually Black men gather to socialize, tell stories, play the dozen, get drunk sometimes, but mainly to pass on our history,” he said. “That’s the tradition from which I come and I’m hoping that other universities will establish Black History Learning Trees as well as a model of protecting our history on those campuses.”

Dunn’s voice fought against the din in the open plaza as he noted the importance of telling such history before the assembled class of about 30 people: “There’s a temptation to sometimes not recognize the depths of the problems of Black people. We have to make sure we’re telling our history correctly.” Today’s lesson dove into the story of the Rosewood Massacre, describing the burning of a predominantly Black Florida town after a white woman, Fannie Taylor, lied about a Black man beating her, which incited a violent white mob. Dunn owns five acres of land in Rosewood. One of his neighbors in the small gulf coast town launched a racially-motivated attack against Dunn and was convicted of hate crimes. Dunn famously forgave his attacker, asking for lenience at his federal trial. “I was raised in the church and my parents taught me to forgive, at least once,” he responded to a question asking why he forgave his neighbor. “That was the motivation for that, but I did catch some heat for it.” Dunn also recounted the lynching of Willie James Howard, a 15-year-old boy in Live Oak, Florida, who sent Christmas cards to all his co-workers, including a white girl named Cynthia Golf. Howard later sent her a letter, which her father found. Golf’s father and two other white men took the boy from his home, tied him up, drove him to the Suwannee River, gave him the choice between being shot or drowned. He would jump into the river as his father watched.

Ph.D. in International Relations Rob Piper, 53, reads a copy of ‘The 1619 Project’ by Nikole Hannah-Jones while waiting for speaker Marvin Dunn to speak to attendees about the Rosewood Massacre during a “Black History Learning Tree” event at FIU on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Miami, Fla. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com

Onlookers passed by and listened in while Dunn continued a few more stories of Florida’s Black history, teaching about what constitutes a lynching and the history of Kingsley plantation. Students also received free copies of “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story” by Nikole Hannah-Jones.

This is the kind of history FIU student Abigail Costello, 19, said she’s afraid will be erased. She said she had noticed how certain terms were now being used incorrectly. For instance, she said that teachers in high school had started using the term “indentured servitude” instead of “slavery” when referring to American slavery. Indentured servitude involves a labor contract in which a person agrees to work for a set number of years with the promise of freedom. “There’s a lot that I didn’t learn from school that I’m excited to learn outside of school in this space,” she said. “It was just a lot of information to take in, and now I know I got to bring a notepad next time.”

Borden echoed those sentiments, saying that she feels that there has been a push to remove professors who teach certain subjects and efforts to inaccurately teach history. “Black history is American history,” Borden said. “It all goes together. I’m sorry if you feel bad, because your history might be a little tainted,” she said, “ but that is where we are as a nation.” Dunn said he plans to continue the Black history lessons weekly and has already lined up two guest speakers including Shanreka Perry, whose leg was amputated when she was 12 during the Miami riots in the 1980s. Dunn encouraged people to follow his social media for when the next lesson will take place.

“It was important to me to make a presence, to make a beginning statement on this campus that DEI is not dead, and we will be here again and again and again,” he said. “That’s not a one off.” Dunn plans to tell more stories in other parts of Miami-Dade as well. On Wednesday afternoon, he posted on Instagram about the Overtown Black History Learning Tree, located in the Teach the Truth Garden at 901 NW Third Avenue. A date was not announced. As for Borden, she will make it as often as she can. “I’ve learned so much and it [was] only an hour and a half,” Borden said. “Whatever I have to do, come hell or high water, I’m going to be back.” 

This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 3:28 PM.

Texas' New School Voucher Law [INFOGRAPHIC] /Nueva Ley de Vales Escolares de Texas—FROM Intercultural Development Research Association [INFOGRAFIA]

 Friends,

Compliments of Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), here are infographics in English and Spanish, on Texas' new school voucher law.

-Angela Valenzuela

Honored and Humbled: Educational Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas Ranked 6th in the Nation for Education Reform

Friends,

I just received some incredible—and truly humbling—news that my blog is ranked 6th nationally among the Top 30 Educational Reform Blogs and Websites of 2025, just a few spots below the U.S. Department of Education's blog. Honestly, I’m a bit overwhelmed. I started this space with no expectations—just a deep need to speak truth, share knowledge, and stand alongside others fighting for justice in education.

I just added my "Top Education Reform Blog" badge just now. I think my next task is to go through the blog to make sure that all my links work! 😅

Abundant thanks to Anuj Agarwal and Feedspot for this recognition. Thanks, as well, to Blogger for hosting Educational Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas all these years, 2004-2025. And thank you, my dear community, for reading, sharing, and believing in the work. This honor belongs to all of us who dare to dream of a better, more humane educational system. 💗

In deepest gratitude,

-Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

The Youth of the 21st Century is in Crisis — And We’re Failing Them

This piece by Umair Haque should concern us. It is particularly focused on suicide rates among girls today. To this, I add research from Twenge (2017) who also raises concerns about screen time among Gen Z youth. I quote:

"Once again, the link between screen time and mental health issues is distressingly clear: teens who spend more than three hours a day on electronic devices are 35 % more likely to have at least one suicide risk factor.  That's much more than the risk related to TV watching, suggesting that it's not just screens but new media, such as smartphones, games, and social media that are behind the link. Nonscreen activities such as exercise instead lower suicide risk factors. So teens who spend a lot of time looking at their phones aren't just at higher risk of depression, they're also at an alarmingly higher risk for suicide. (pp. 83-84)"

As a parent of Gen Z youth reading this, I would be very much attuned to these findings. Research like this, when read and meaningfully internalized, can save lives. 

-Angela Valenzuela

Reference

Twenge, J.M. (2017). iGen: Why today's Super-connected kids are growing p less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy—and Completely unprepared for adulthood. NY: Atria.

The Youth of the 21st Century is in Crisis — And We’re Failing Them

Young People Aren’t Just Hurting — They’re Being Taught to Hurt Each Other, and It’s a Crisis that We Need to Talk About

By Umair Haque | Feb. 15, 2023 | Eudaimonia & Co



You don’t have to look too hard to see it. Our kids are in crisis. And it’s a serious crisis. There’s going to be the kind of guy — you know the type — who dismisses this out of hand, saying something like, “I had it tough, too!” Maybe you did, but the evidence, which is generational speaks for itself. And when you look at it, the findings are dire. What do I mean? Try this on for size.

Nearly 1 in 3 high school girls reported in 2021 that they seriously considered suicide — up nearly 60 percent from a decade ago — according to new findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

1 in 3 girls. Up 60 percent in a decade. Those are startling numbers. They should give us all pause. That a third of young women are considering killing themselves is a Big Deal, and no…

It hasn’t “always” been like this. When issues like this are discussed, there’s a reactionary tendency on the internet, an assumption of what social scientists call “mean reversion.” It’s always been like this, and we’re just talking about it openly now. In this case, that’s dead wrong. The statistics, which, like I said, are generational, are damning and shocking. Just 5% of people over the age of 50 say they’ve had a “major depressive episode” — but the number’s triple that amongst young people. And that’s likely a tremendous undercount, as these things tend to be. Here’s another number that’s probably truer: 45% of high school students say they’ve felt sad or hopeless in the last year, and 20% say they’ve had suicidal thoughts.

Still not convinced? OK, let’s keep going, so that there’s a good understanding that this a very real crisis.

Self-harm and suicide both skyrocketed after 2010 in the U. S., and those results cannot be explained by self-report issues.

How much so? Rates of self harm more than tripled, which is what suicide rates did. Think about what it means in a society that young people’s suicide rates are exploding off the charts.

So, no it hasn’t always been like this. This is new, it’s different, and it’s grave.

And there are differences by gender, too. Girls seem to have it worse than boys, and that’s saying something, because, make no mistake, it’s not as if boys are sailing on smoothly by.

So what’s going on here? What’s this crisis about? Well, on one level, it’s pretty easy to understand. Young people are probably feeling overwhelmed. By…all of it. The state of collapse of their societies and the world around them. The return of the old poisons of fascism and hate and violence. Economies stagnating and shrinking. The sense we’re all haunted by — is there even going to be much of a future, when lunatics and billionaires and lunatic billionaires are hoarding the very resources we need to fix democracy, the planet, and life on it…or this it? Again, sure, you can be that guy. “Man up! Things have never been better!!” Only…

That’s not true. You see, things haven’t “never been better.” What else is going in the world these days? Well, progress, for the first time in centuries, has flatlined and gone into reverse. And that begins to explain a lot.

Why are girls affected most? Well, if you understand progress going into reverse, then everything snaps into focus a little bit more. They have the most to lose. Girls are the beneficiaries of decades of progress. It wasn’t so long ago that being a woman and having a professional career was a non-starter, and even today, of course, there are huge, huge gaps in everything from incomes to opportunities for women. Famously, the S&P 500 has more CEOs named Mike and James than… women.

Girls have the most to lose. Well, among the most to lose, if you want to nitpick, though I’m not sure that’s really worth anyone’s time. As progress comes undone…well, you can already see what they’re up against. Let’s take the story of, say, someone like the mega-influencer guy who recently got busted for sex trafficking in Eastern Europe. Figures like that make fortunes from…teaching young men to objectify, hate, and despise women, to literally sexually exploit them, to aim very real violence at them.

When I say “the reversal of progress,” it might sound abstract to you, or you might think of something numinous and vague, to happen in the future…but it’s happening to girls, right here and now. They probably feel as if they’re under attack. From every angle. They turn on social media, just want to share their lives, and the next thing you know, manfluencer-trained boys are calling them every sort of name under the sun, threatening to hurt them, and so on. And the feeling of being under attack isn’t just feeling. It’s real.


Umair Haque

In Texas, University Presidents May Soon Control Faculty Senates: University Faculty are not the problem. We are the conscience of the university.

Friends,

Please read the informative Inside Higher Education article authored by Ryan Quinn. It is about Senate Bill 37 that is now awaiting Governor Abbott’s signature. 

The bill represents a sweeping and deeply troubling assault on shared governance in Texas higher education. If signed into law, it will grant public university presidents, appointed by politically aligned boards of regents, unprecedented control over faculty senates and councils. This bill could very well be a template for legislation that could travel to other states.

SB 37 not only allows presidents to determine whether a faculty governance body exists at all, but also gives them authority over how meetings are run, who leads them, and who serves. However arbitrary, it imposes a rigid 60-member cap—unless a board grants an exemption—and enables a whopping half of those members to be presidential appointees.

This threatens to silence faculty representation, especially at large institutions like UT-Austin and Texas A&M, where thousands of faculty could be represented by just a handful of voices. 

Elected faculty would be limited to two-year terms, while presidential appointees could serve up to six. Faculty members could also be removed at the discretion of the administration, dismantling even the illusion of independence.

To be sure, this bill is part of a broader agenda to centralize power, weaken academic freedom, and target faculty viewed as too progressive or too willing to speak out. 

Interesting. After all, this is the party that always complains about "viewpoint discrimination."

SB 37 reinforces the notion that faculty governance is merely “advisory,” stripping it of any meaningful influence over curriculum, policy, or institutional direction. It arrives alongside other legislative efforts to gut DEI, review general education requirements with an eye toward reducing them, and eliminate low-enrollment programs—moves that place the humanities, Ethnic Studies, and other critical fields in the cross hairs of public policy.

I've said this before. I'll say it again. This is not about reform. It’s about control. And it is no accident that this comes at a time when faculty across the state have stood in defense of marginalized students, inclusive pedagogy, and truth-telling in our classrooms. 

It is so deeply offensive to cast us as threats—vilified not for wrongdoing, but for caring, questioning, and teaching with integrity. We are not at all political adversaries. We are scholars, mentors, and public servants committed to the well-being of our students and the future of our institutions. And we're damned good ones.

This inversion is not accidental—it is strategic. By portraying us as dangerous, those in power deflect attention from the real threats to education: censorship, authoritarian overreach, underfunding, silencing protest, and the systematic dismantling of academic freedom. 

We are not the problem. We are the conscience of the university. And in the face of fearmongering and repression, we must stand even more firmly in our roles as educators, truth-tellers, and guardians of our fragile democracy.

We must continue to organize, educate, blog, and advocate—not merely to defend shared governance and academic freedom, but to protect the very soul of higher education in Texas. 

If we fail, our universities risk becoming little more than glorified high schools—stripped of critical thought, autonomy, and the transformative power that defines a true education.

-Angela Valenzuela

In Texas, University Presidents May Soon Control Faculty Senates


A bill awaiting Gov. Abbott’s signature would require college administrators to set procedures for faculty governing bodies and appoint their leaders, part of an effort to address “liberal faculty control over universities.”

The Texas State Legislature passed Senate Bill 37 on May 31. It awaits the governor’s signature.
Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Contributor/Getty Images

by Ryan Quinn | Inside Higher Ed | June 9, 2025

Texas public college and university presidents will be able to take control of their faculty governing bodies if Gov. Greg Abbott signs a bill now before him.

“Shared governance structures may not be used to obstruct, delay, or undermine necessary institutional reforms or serve as a mechanism for advancing ideological or political agendas,” says Senate Bill 37, which the Republican-dominated State Legislature passed May 31. Multiple states have considered GOP bills targeting shared governance, but SB 37 is a sweeping example.

It says that “only the governing board of an institution of higher education may establish a faculty council or senate.”“The board of regents has to decide whether or not there will even be one, that’s problem No. 1,” said Brian Evans, president of the Texas American Association of University Professors–American Federation of Teachers Conference.

If a college or university board decides to keep a faculty governing body, the institution’s president gets to prescribe how it conducts meetings. The president also gets to pick the “presiding officer, associate presiding officer, and secretary.”

In addition, unless the college or university’s board decides otherwise, faculty senates and councils must shrink to no more than 60 members.

Those remaining 60 would have to include at least two representatives from each of the colleges and schools that comprise the institution—including what the bill describes vaguely as “one member appointed by the president or chief executive officer of the institution” and the rest elected by the faculty of the particular school or college. This could mean that half of a faculty senate or council would be chosen by the president if an institution’s board doesn’t grant exemptions from these requirements.

Andrew Klein, speaker of the Texas A&M University Faculty Senate, said the biggest concern among his 122 senators is the 60-senator limit, which will take effect unless the Texas A&M System Board of Regents grants an exemption. Klein questioned how a senate that small could represent 4,300 faculty across the university, and how a requirement for at least two representatives per college or school would provide fair representation when the College of Arts and Sciences has over 800 faculty, compared to a number in the low double-digits at the School of Engineering Medicine.

“With 60 people, that’s not enough different viewpoints that can be brought to bear on questions, given our complexity,” Klein said.

In another blow to faculty control of their own governance bodies, SB 37 establishes term limits for faculty senate and council members—and allows presidential appointees to serve longer than the elected members. The presidential appointees would get to serve six consecutive years before having to take two off, while the elected members could only serve two years before the mandatory two-year break.

A faculty senate or council member could also have their seat stripped at any time; the bill says the provost can recommend to the president that members be “immediately removed” for failing to attend meetings or conduct their “responsibilities within the council’s or senate’s parameters” or for “similar misconduct.”

“It’s no longer an elected faculty voice,” Evans said. “It’s controlled by the administration.”

The bill still says that faculty senates or councils can hold votes of no confidence in administrators. But its language elsewhere stresses that faculty governance has no final say over anything.

“A faculty council or senate is advisory only and may not be delegated the final decision-making authority on any matter,” the bill says. (The faculty senate leaders at Texas A&M University at College Station and the University of Houston said their bodies are already advisory.)

Ultimately, the bill defines shared governance in a way that stresses the supremacy of college and university boards, which are composed of gubernatorial appointees who are confirmed by the state Senate.

“The governing board of the institution exercises ultimate authority and responsibility for institutional oversight, financial stewardship, and policy implementation, while allowing for appropriate consultation with faculty, administrators, and other stakeholders on matters related to academic policy and institutional operations,” the bill says. “The principle of shared governance may not be construed to diminish the authority of the governing board to make final decisions in the best interest of the institution, students, and taxpayers.”

In addition to overhauling faculty senates, SB 37 would require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish an advisory committee that would review general education requirements statewide and be responsible for considering methods for “condensing the number of general education curriculum courses required.” Furthermore, colleges and universities would be required to review minors and certificate programs every five years “to identify programs with low enrollment that may require consolidation or elimination,” according to the bill.

Dan Price, president-elect of the University of Houston Faculty Senate, said this goes “hand in hand” with the Legislature’s efforts to diminish faculty senate power.

“The ways in which the humanities could be really transformed, I think that’s not well considered,” he said.

‘Woke College Professors’

Will Abbott, a Republican, sign this into law? His press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, didn’t directly answer in an email to Inside Higher Ed.

Abbott has indicated he wants faculty power reduced.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

“More than 1,000 pieces of legislation have been sent to Governor Abbott’s desk and he is closely reviewing them all,” he wrote.

But Mahaleris’s email indicated that the governor is strongly in favor of reducing faculty power.

“Governor Abbott was clear in his State of the State address: Woke college professors have too much influence over who is hired to educate our kids,” Mahaleris wrote. 

“Texas needs legislation that prohibits professors from having any say over employment decisions.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Texas Senate, also touted the bill. Upon the Legislature’s adjournment, he issued a statement calling it the “Senate’s most conservative and successful legislative session.” He attributed that in part to SB 37, which he said was about “reforming liberal faculty control over universities.”

The author of the introduced version of the bill, Republican senator Brandon Creighton, didn’t respond to Inside Higher Ed’s requests for an interview or to written questions last week.

For faculty, Abbott’s decision on the bill is merely the first step. If he signs it, they’ll still be looking to their institutions’ boards to decide whether, and how, their faculty senates and councils can continue to operate.

“I really don’t have a good idea of what we’re going to look like next year,” said Klein, the speaker of the Texas A&M University Faculty Senate.

Price, the University of Houston Faculty Senate president-elect, said he thinks the bill is partly “based on a misunderstanding of what faculty senates had been doing. It assumed that faculty senates were run much more like unions.” He said there was “a lot of animosity toward faculty senates.”

“We’ve got work to do to make sure that the public sees the value of faculty,” Price said, along with the values of open inquiry and “faculty having real and influential voices and choice of curriculum.”

Immigration Raids Are an Assault on Our Communities and Our Educational Institutions by Enrique Murillo, Ph.D.

Friends:

I really appreciate Cal State San Bernardino professor Dr. Enrique Murillo's editorial below on how these raids are an assault on communities and educational institutions everywhere. 

Here are a couple of photos I took from yesterday's protest in Austin on the ICE raids in Los Angeles.

June 9, 2025, Austin, Texas Photo Credit: A. Valenzuela

Regrettably, Trump's people are vowing to continue their evil deed of separating families. Gov. Gavin Newsom is, of course, protesting this, telling Trump that California is NOT getting invaded. 

June 9, 2025, Austin, Texas Photo Credit: A. Valenzuela

In his LEAD Butterfly Project, Dr. Enrique Murillo offers a robust suite of educational resources and institutional recommendations aimed at supporting undocumented and mixed-status students amid increasing deportation threats. These include Know Your Rights materials, guides for families and employers, rapid response toolkits, and mental health research on toxic stress. 

Dr. Murillo provides a comprehensive policy blueprint for educational institutions to become sanctuary campuses, promoting safe zones, staff training, data privacy, financial aid, community engagement, and institutional support structures like undocumented student centers. He also highlights critical readings and testimony-based scholarship, including two newly published volumes and a special journal issue, to deepen understanding and advocacy for undocumented student success. 

Together, these resources call on educators to create equitable, trauma-informed environments rooted in justice, protection, and systemic transformation. Thank you, Dr. Murillo, for your tremendous leadership in California over the years.

I also appreciate our Austin community for standing up.

-Angela Valenzuela

Immigration Raids Are an Assault on Our Communities and Our Educational Institutions

by 

Enrique Murillo, Ph.D.

The recent immigration raids sweeping across Southern California and other regions are not merely examples of federal overreach — they are calculated acts of terror against the very communities that sustain our schools, colleges, and broader society. These raids do not happen in a vacuum. They rip families apart in the dead of night, traumatize students in classrooms and dorms, and leave educators struggling to maintain a sense of safety, continuity, and care.

Let us be clear: when immigrant and undocumented communities are targeted, our educational institutions are targeted. Our schools and colleges do not operate separately from the communities that support them — they are inextricably linked. The raids are not just about immigration enforcement; they are about instilling fear, undermining education, and dismantling the social fabric that holds our learning communities together.

Many of those impacted by these raids are Indigenous and undocumented — and they have a legal and moral right to education. Their presence in our classrooms and on our campuses enriches the learning environment for everyone. Their stories, languages, histories, and dreams deepen the meaning of education itself. Furthermore, many of our most passionate, innovative, and courageous educators are themselves immigrants, Indigenous migrants, or descendants of immigrant families. They are living proof that inclusive, just policies do not weaken our institutions — they strengthen them.

These raids threaten to undo decades of progress. They unravel trust, sow fear, and erode the basic commitments we make to every student: that school should be a place of growth, support, and safety. We cannot allow campuses to become sites of surveillance, heartbreak, and exclusion.

This moment calls for more than symbolic gestures or generic statements of solidarity. It demands bold, responsive, and compassionate leadership rooted in justice. In the wake of these devastating raids, we recognize and appreciate the initial steps taken by some leaders to stand with immigrant and undocumented students and families. But now is the time to go further. Much further.

We call on all educational leaders, policymakers, and institutions to:

• Immediately expand access to legal aid, emergency housing, and culturally sensitive mental health support for students and families impacted by immigration raids.
• Implement and enforce sanctuary policies that keep ICE and all immigration enforcement agencies away from school grounds and higher education campuses.
• Support and pass legislation that guarantees the safety, legal protection, and long-term employment of immigrant educators, staff, and faculty, recognizing their indispensable role in our educational systems.

We cannot be neutral in moments of injustice. Our values, our communities, and our institutions are at stake. The time to act is now.

We invite you to revisit our LEAD Equity Alert issued earlier this year, which outlines meaningful steps that individuals, educators, institutions, and allies can take to protect and uplift immigrant and undocumented children, students, and their families. These resources offer actionable guidance to help ensure that every learner — regardless of immigration status — is able to attend school, engage fully in their education, and pursue their dreams in an environment of safety, dignity, and support.

This is more than a call to action — it is a call to conscience. Education is a human right. No child should be afraid to walk into a classroom. No student should carry the burden of fear while trying to focus on their studies. And no family should have to choose between opportunity and safety.

LEAD NetRoots remains steadfast in our commitment to defending the rights and humanity of all members of our educational community. We will not waver in our fight for justice, inclusion, and equity. Our vision is one in which every student — regardless of origin, documentation, or language — is free to learn, grow, dream, and live without fear.

Let us stand together in this ongoing struggle. Let us amplify our efforts. Let us lead with compassion and courage. The future of our communities depends on it.

LEAD Butterfly Project: Undocumented Student Success - Recommendations in terms of implementing policies and practices

The current federal administration is conducting both mass and targeted deportation against all undocumented residents of the U.S. This includes DACA and other undocumented students as well as the students’ families.
As educators committed to a secure, equitable learning environment, we cannot allow this. Education entities should make stronger demands for anti-racist, social justice policies and practices.

We need to specifically urge for our institutions to implement policies and practices to ensure a safe, supportive environment for undocumented and mixed status students.
Know Your Rights Under the U.S. Constitution – No Matter Who Is President
No matter who is president, everyone living in the U.S. has certain basic rights under the U.S. Constitution. https://www.nilc.org/resources/everyone-has-certain-basic-rights/ [nilc.org]

What Immigrant Families Should Do Now
It’s important for everyone to know their rights if approached by an immigration (ICE) agent as well as how families can best prepare for something happening. This resource provides practical tips for things immigrant families can do now to prepare as well as information on rights everyone has in the United States, regardless of immigration status. https://www.ilrc.org/resources/know-your-rights-and-what-immigrant-families-should-do-now [ilrc.org]


Warrants & Subpoenas: What to Look Out for and How to Respond
This factsheet clarifies immigration enforcement and subpoena powers and what to do in response to receiving an immigration warrant or subpoena. https://www.nilc.org/resources/warrants-and-subpoenas-facts/ [nilc.org]


Messaging Guide: Immigration Enforcement in Sensitive Locations/Protected Areas
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BFAvmGR9cJ4UYSwTWyMKpuTHIpXqQNag5oV7GjebsEs/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.ast3mgpdvh9g [docs.google.com]


Toxic Stress
Research shows that concerns related to immigration enforcement can create toxic stress for entire families, limit access to critical services, and lead to limited mobility and reduced outings, even to places like libraries and playgrounds. This type of anxiety is harmful to children’s development, especially for young children. https://www.clasp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2018_ourchildrensfears.pdf [clasp.org]


Protecting Student Data
Information and resources about federal protections regarding student data, such as FERPA. https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/protecting-student-data/ [higheredimmigrationportal.org]


Data Information
Information and resources about immigration databases, information sharing systems and more. https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/datainformation-and-protection-resources/ [higheredimmigrationportal.org]


A Guide for Employers: What to Do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace
This guide, developed in collaboration with the National Employment Law Project (NELP), provides practical advice for addressing immigration-related actions in the workplace. First published in December 2017, it is available in multiple languages, including Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Thai. https://www.nilc.org/resources/a-guide-for-employers-what-to-do-if-immigration-comes-to-your-workplace/ [nilc.org]


Protest and Civic Participation
Everyone, regardless of immigration status, has a constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech and lawful assembly. Noncitizens, however, are uniquely placed at a disadvantage when exercising those rights if law enforcement intervene and make arrests.
10 Things Noncitizen Protestors Need to Know - https://www.ilrc.org/resources/10-things-noncitizen-protestors-need-know [ilrc.org]
Immigrants’ Participation in Protests - https://www.nilc.org/resources/immigrant-participation-in-protests-rights/ [nilc.org]


Rapid Response Toolkit
The newly released toolkit is based on best practices and lessons learned from communities conducting rapid responses during ICE raids and arrests. It provides a plan of action for communities to support and guide people during and after a raid, as well as a how-to guide and a model notebook to help you build an inclusive rapid response team. Help empower your community by organizing and staying informed. https://www.cliniclegal.org/toolkits/rapid-response-toolkit [cliniclegal.org]


LEAD Projects - general blueprint to Support Undocumented Students

1. Increase College Access

• Develop a coordinated outreach plan with immigrant youth-led organizations, immigrant advocacy coalitions, and other community-based organizations to build trust and help undocumented students learn about accessing the community college system

• Strengthen the K-12 pipeline to engage undocumented students, parents, teachers, and counselors and facilitate transition to higher education

• Recruit undocumented students as community ambassadors and student role models

• Develop online sites that promote programs and resources for undocumented students

• Promote dual enrollment in high school and college courses as a cost-saving college preparation strategy

2. Make College Affordable Through Financial Assistance

• Assist in finding and applying for available scholarship resources

• Increase college and private fundraising for scholarship opportunities

• Adopt institutional funding for scholarship-based internships

3. Support College Readiness and Success

• Designate staff responsible for advising undocumented students

• Provide professional development to college personnel about unique challenges facing undocumented students and resources to help them

• Engage parents and keep them involved during the college experience

4. Offer Alternatives for Adult Learners

• Connect adult education and community college systems through partnerships and case management

• Adopt ABE-ESL bridge courses, career pathways, and online learning to support adult students

5. Improve College Retention and Completion

• Promote campus safe zones and empower immigrant students as leaders

• Provide a continuum of support services to promote the academic, social, and emotional well-being of undocumented students

• Organize campus-wide events to build institutional awareness and support for undocumented students

• Facilitate transfer to the workplace

Seeking to work towards a sanctuary campus

1. Create or reinvigorate an active campus task force to effectively implement the recommendations below. Include the voices and concerns of those who are directly impacted.

2. Campuses should allocate sufficient resources to provide "Know Your Rights" workshops and literature.

3. Campuses should not share student data with ICE or any entity, including family or financial data from the FAFSA, under any circumstances.

4. Campuses should develop and disseminate a strong message of support for undocumented and mixed status students from the institution’s highest administrative leaders. The message should include steps that each campus community member should take to ensure the highest degree of noncooperation with federal entities allowed by state law. It should be posted on the top administrator’s webpage and disseminated to all members of the campus community.

5. Campuses should provide mandatory training for all faculty and staff regarding the state laws referenced above and the campus’ specific policies and practices regarding contact with federal agencies. In particular, campus administrators should have substantive dialogue with all the different departments that might manage information about students’ or families’ immigration status, such as information technology, admissions, registrar, and financial aid. The training should make explicit that there are consequences for faculty and/or staff that violate these state laws and campus policies and practices.

6. Campuses should follow state law and guidelines regarding noncooperation with ICE and/or other federal entities. In California, for example, this includes SB 54, a 2017 California state law that prevents state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources on behalf of federal immigration enforcement agencies, and AB21, 2017 legislation that requires California state and community colleges, and requests UC universities to establish various policies and procedures on their campuses to foster a campus environment that is safe and welcoming for all members of our community, regardless of immigration status.

This also includes recent guidelines disseminated by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California’s Colleges and Universities)

https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-issues-guidance-educational-rights-immigrant-students-and [oag.ca.gov]

7. Representatives from ICE and/or any other federal agency should not be allowed to contact students on campus without a judicial warrant. In California. campuses should follow California's guidelines disseminated by the CA Attorney General to protect students.

8. Campuses should institutionalize its support for undocumented student centers and their services. Such centers cannot work effectively without sufficient, consistent resources and supportive collaboration from faculty and staff. This includes providing sufficient resources to enable undocumented student centers to be fully staffed, including the services of a full-time director/coordinator to manage the day-to-day operations, train and supervise employees, organize events and retention programs, and manage the budget. The staff should also include a full-time counselor for undocumented and mixed status students. The centers should also be resourced to provide emergency funds to undocumented students in crisis.

See general bluprint above, and here: https://www.csusb.edu/lead/events/lead-butterfly-project

9. Campuses should attempt to provide sponsorship for undocumented campus members to ensure their continued institutional contributions.

10. Campuses should take all steps necessary to discourage and/or punish vigilante actions by any member of the campus community, including reports by faculty, staff, and/or students to ICE that allege undocumented status for any member of the campus community.

For additional institutional reflection and action, consult the “10 Practices to Safeguard Undocumented Student Data in Higher Education” developed and disseminated by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration: https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/resources/rights-protections-hub-guidance-for-institutions-and-immigrant-students/?fbclid=IwY2xjawH9GjxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfl5NkMybS-sv0zYGYGQwqzt6wYwJvbGQg_PrC67_i4UzIk0Tov8Ron8qQ_aem_tGDYzwqdhUdTboFhhzR2ZQ [higheredimmigrationportal.org]

Here are two new books on Undocumented Student Success. The research is clear; deportation causes significant harm, as the research has shown. It is a major source of stress, fear, and worry. Detention and deportation involve a sudden removal from one’s home, school, and family; incarceration without due process; and forced migration to a place where students may no longer have family, a home, work connections, or even the facility to speak the language. Then as students’ family members are deported, students are deprived of their family member’s care and support. Deportation leads to major financial and mental health setbacks, threatening their ability to complete their educational journey.

Aspirations and Challenges for Undocumented Student Success: Critical Readings and Testimonios

- Enrique G. Murillo, Jr., Sharon Velarde Pierce

https://www.routledge.com/Aspirations-and-Challenges-for-Undocumented-Student-Success-Critical-Readings-and-Testimonios/MurilloJr-Pierce/p/book/9781032626703 [routledge.com]

Advocacy and Policy Change for Undocumented Student Success: Critical Readings and Testimonios

- Enrique G. Murillo, Jr., Sharon Velarde Pierce

https://www.routledge.com/Advocacy-and-Policy-Change-for-Undocumented-Student-Success-Critical-Readings-and-Testimonios/MurilloJr-Pierce/p/book/9781032892580 [routledge.com]

Special Issue of the Journal of Latinos and Education - Topic: Undocumented Students Volume 20, Issue 3 (2021)
Undocumented College Students in California: Lessons from a Research Collaboration
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hjle20/20/3 [tandfonline.com]

Other Useful Articles, Reports and Tools:
- Undocumented Students: History and Implications for Higher Education Administrators - Sage Journals
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1538192719860482 [journals.sagepub.com]
- “They’re in the Shadows”: School Counselors Shar e in the Shadows”: School Counselors Share the Live the Lived Experiences of Latino/a Undocumented Students
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1152&context=jca [scholarworks.wmich.edu]
- Education Equity for Undocumented Graduate Students and the Key Role of My Undocumented Life
https://www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Equity-for-Undocumented-Graduate-Students-and-My-Undocumented-Life.pdf [higheredimmigrationportal.org]
- In Their Voices: Undocumented in California Public Colleges and Universities (The Campaign for College Opportunity)
https://collegecampaign.org/portfolio/in-their-voices/ [collegecampaign.org]
- Use the interactive map below to find information about campus centers for undocumented students, support programs, website addresses with relevant information, and contact information of undocumented allies/liaisons. This information is critical to improve access and success for undocumented students in higher education (The Campaign for College Opportunity)
https://collegecampaign.org/undoc-student-resources/ [collegecampaign.org]
- UNDOCUCOLLEGE GUIDE & EQUITY TOOL - CALIFORNIA 2016
WORKING TOWARD EDUCATIONAL EQUITY & INCLUSION OF UNDOCUMENTEDSTUDENTS AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA
https://immigrantsrising.org/wp-content/uploads/Immigrants-Rising_CA-UndocuCollege-Guide-and-Equity-Tool_Full-Report.pdf [immigrantsrising.org]


Thank you - Gracias - Tlazokamate, EM
---------------------------------------------------
Enrique G. Murillo, Jr., Ph.D. [emurillo.org]
Full Professor, COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Executive Director & Founder, LATINO EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY DAYS (LEAD)
Founding Editor-In-Chief, JOURNAL OF LATINOS AND EDUCATION [emurillo.org]
Faculty Director, DOCTOR OF EDUCATION IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
California State University, San Bernardino


I acknowledge, recognize and respect the local Indigenous Peoples of where I reside and work: Serrano-Cahuilla-Cupeño-Tongva-Tataviam-Chumash- Kumeyaay, and others from Southern California...as the traditional stewards of these lands and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories. This acknowledgement, respect and recognition extends to the de-tribalized diaspora, native descendants of Maiz- or Corn-based cultures of the greater Mesoamerican regions who themselves displaced of land, have found ourselves as residents in the homelands and nations of other Indigenous peoples.


Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of CSUSB or the CSU system. Academic freedom gives faculty the right to express their views — in speech, writing, and through electronic communication, both on and off campus — without fear of sanction, unless the manner of expression substantially impairs the rights of others or those views demonstrate that they are professionally ignorant, incompetent, or dishonest with regard to their discipline or fields of expertise. Free inquiry and free speech are the cornerstones of an academic institution to the creation and transfer of knowledge. Expression of diverse points of view is of the highest importance, not solely for those who present and defend some view but for those who would hear, disagree, and pass judgment on those views. The belief that an opinion is pernicious, false, and in any other way despicable, detestable, offensive, or ‘just wrong’ cannot be grounds for its suppression."