University of Texas regents approve rule limiting controversial subjects

The University of Texas Board of Regents on Thursday approved a rule requiring universities to allow their students to graduate without studying “unnecessarily controversial topics.”

The unanimously approved rule also states that faculty members must include the topics they plan to teach in their course schedules and follow that plan throughout the course, according to The Texas Tribune. When lectures involve controversial topics, instructors are directed to take a “broad and balanced approach” to the discussion.

The policy does not define what is “controversial” or a “broad and balanced approach.” Chairman of the Board Kevin Eltife said the reason for the lack of details was that the system wanted to create a policy that would work in the current politically charged environment.

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“We’re in tough times,” he said, according to The Texas Tribune. “Uncertainty can be our friend.”

Critics of the new rule argued that not defining these terms would force administrators to interpret them on a case-by-case basis, which could lead professors to leave out difficult material to avoid the risk of complaints.

“Will [administrators] Will they be experts in their respective disciplines, or will they simply try to avoid unpleasant publicity?” Peter Onyisi, a physics professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said in public testimony of faculty, students and alumni opposing the policy, according to The Texas Tribune.

Other speakers warned that limiting controversial topics would leave students unprepared for careers that require addressing complex political and social issues.

The rule states that faculty members must include the topics they plan to teach in their course schedules and follow that plan throughout the course. (Jay Janner/Austin American Statesman via Getty Images)

“The job market is really tough right now, ask any undergraduate,” David Gray Widder, a professor at the UT-Austin School of Information, said in public testimony. “We can’t do this to our students.”

Allen Liu, a civil rights attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, also argued that the rule could lead to “viewpoint discrimination” and prevent education about slavery, segregation and other issues tied to Black history.

For at least a decade, the UT System has had a rule that gives faculty freedom in the classroom while also stating that they are “expected not to include in their teaching controversial topics that have nothing to do with their subject,” The Texas Tribune reported.

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University of Texas System Board of Trustees Chairman Kevin Eltife said the rule’s lack of detail was because the system wanted to create a policy that could work in the current politically charged environment. (Sara Diggins/Austin American Statesman via Getty Images)

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Over the past year, public universities in Texas have been pressured by Republicans at the state and federal level to root out what is described as liberal bias.

Under new state law, governor-appointed regents have increased control over classroom instruction, hiring and discipline.

A gender identity class at Texas A&M University last fall that sparked conservative backlash also led the Texas A&M and Texas Tech systems to adopt policies restricting instruction on race, gender and sexuality; but the new rule of the UT System does not explicitly prohibit these topics.