By: Creighton, et al. S.B. No. 17
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public higher education reform; authorizing
administrative penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.352, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
follows:
(d) In addition to powers and duties specifically granted by
this code or other law, each governing board shall:
(1) establish, for each institution under its control
and management, goals consistent with the role and mission of the
institution;
(2) appoint the chancellor or other chief executive
officer of the system, if the board governs a university system;
(3) appoint the president or other chief executive
officer of each institution under the board's control and
management and evaluate the chief executive officer of each
component institution and assist the officer in the achievement of
performance goals;
(4) restrict the membership of a search committee for
the position of president or other chief executive officer of an
institution under the board's control and management to members of
the governing board;
(5) approve or deny the hiring of a person for the
position of vice president, provost, associate or assistant
provost, dean, or associate or assistant dean or a similar position
by each institution under the board's control and management;
(6) set campus admission standards consistent with the
role and mission of the institution and considering the admission
standards of similar institutions nationwide having a similar role
and mission, as determined by the coordinating board;
(7) approve or deny each course in the core
curriculum, as that term is defined by Section 61.821, at each
institution under the board's control and management;
(8) approve or deny each posting or other
advertisement for a tenured faculty position at each institution
under the board's control and management; and
(9) [(5)] ensure that its formal position on matters
of importance to the institutions under its governance is made
clear to the coordinating board when such matters are under
consideration by the coordinating board.
(g) An institution of higher education may not spend money
appropriated to the institution for a state fiscal year until the
governing board of the institution submits to the legislature and
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board a report certifying
the board's compliance with Subsections (d)(2), (3), (5), (7), and
(8) during the preceding state fiscal year.
SECTION 2. Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter L to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER L. PROHIBITIONS REGARDING IDEOLOGICAL OATHS OR
STATEMENTS
Sec. 51.601. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
prohibit institutions of higher education from requiring or giving
preferential consideration for certain ideological oaths or
statements that undermine academic freedom and open inquiry and
impede the discovery, preservation, and transmission of knowledge.
Sec. 51.602. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
Sec. 51.603. PROHIBITIONS REGARDING IDEOLOGICAL OATHS OR
STATEMENTS. (a) An institution of higher education may not:
(1) compel, require, induce, or solicit a student
enrolled at the institution, an employee or contractor of the
institution, or an applicant for admission to or employment or
contracting at the institution to:
(A) endorse an ideology that promotes the
differential treatment of an individual or group of individuals
based on race, color, or ethnicity; or
(B) provide a statement of the person's:
(i) race, color, ethnicity, or national
origin, except to record any necessary demographic information;
(ii) views on, experience with, or past or
planned contributions to efforts involving diversity, equity, and
inclusion, marginalized groups, antiracism, social justice,
intersectionality, or related concepts; or
(iii) views on or experience with race,
color, ethnicity, national origin, or other immutable
characteristics; or
(2) provide preferential consideration to a student
enrolled at the institution, an employee or contractor of the
institution, or an applicant for admission to or employment or
contracting at the institution on the basis of the person's
unsolicited statement in support of an ideology described by
Subdivision (1)(A).
(b) This section may not be construed to:
(1) restrict academic research or coursework;
(2) prevent a person from providing to an institution
of higher education information described by Subsection (a) on the
person's own initiative separate from any specific requirement or
request from the institution; or
(3) prevent an institution of higher education from
requiring an applicant for admission to or employment or
contracting at the institution to:
(A) disclose or discuss the content of the
applicant's research or artistic creations;
(B) certify compliance with state and federal
antidiscrimination law; or
(C) discuss pedagogical approaches or experience
with students with learning disabilities.
(c) Not later than December 1 of each year, each institution
of higher education shall submit to the lieutenant governor and the
speaker of the house of representatives a report certifying the
institution's compliance with this section.
SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 51.9317, 51.9318, and 51.9319 to read as
follows:
Sec. 51.9317. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION OFFICES AND
EMPLOYEES PROHIBITED. (a) In this section:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion office" means an
office, division, or other unit of an institution of higher
education established for the purpose of:
(A) influencing hiring or employment practices
at the institution with respect to race, sex, color, or ethnicity,
other than through the use of color-blind and sex-neutral hiring
processes in accordance with any applicable state and federal
antidiscrimination laws;
(B) promoting differential treatment of or
providing special benefits to individuals on the basis of race,
color, or ethnicity;
(C) promoting policies or procedures designed or
implemented in reference to race, color, or ethnicity, other than
policies or procedures approved in writing by the institution's
general counsel and the office of the attorney general for the sole
purpose of ensuring compliance with any applicable court order or
state or federal law; or
(D) conducting trainings, programs, or
activities designed or implemented in reference to race, color,
ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, other than
trainings, programs, or activities developed by an attorney and
approved in writing by the institution's general counsel and the
office of the attorney general for the sole purpose of ensuring
compliance with any applicable court order or state or federal law.
(3) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) An institution of higher education may not establish or
maintain a diversity, equity, and inclusion office or hire or
assign an employee of the institution, or contract with a third
party, to perform the duties of a diversity, equity, and inclusion
office.
(c) Subsection (b) may not be construed to:
(1) restrict:
(A) academic course instruction;
(B) research or creative works by an institution
of higher education's students or faculty;
(C) the activities of student organizations
registered with or recognized by an institution of higher
education;
(D) the guest speakers or performers who may be
invited to speak or perform at an institution of higher education
for short-term engagements;
(E) health services provided by licensed
professionals at an institution of higher education;
(F) services provided by appropriate
professionals at an institution of higher education to veterans of
the armed forces of the United States or persons with a physical or
cognitive disability; or
(G) an institution of higher education's ability
to:
(i) respond to a request for information
from a grantmaking agency or athletic association; or
(ii) collect data; or
(2) prohibit an institution of higher education from:
(A) establishing or maintaining a legal office or
other unit, hiring or assigning an employee who is an attorney, or
contracting with a third-party attorney or law firm to ensure the
institution's compliance with any applicable court order or state
or federal law;
(B) establishing or maintaining an academic
department that does not establish policy or procedures for other
departments; or
(C) registering or recognizing student
organizations at the institution.
(d) Nothing in this section may be construed as prohibiting
bona fide qualifications based on sex that are reasonably necessary
to the normal operation of an institution of higher education.
(e) Any person may notify the attorney general of a
violation or potential violation of this section by an institution
of higher education. The attorney general may file suit for a writ
of mandamus compelling the institution to comply with this section.
(i) If an institution of higher education determines that an
employee of the institution has violated this section, the
institution shall:
(1) take the following action against the employee:
(A) for the first violation, place the employee
on unpaid leave for the next academic year; or
(B) for the second or a subsequent violation,
discharge the employee; and
(2) report the determination and the action taken by
the institution to the coordinating board.
(j) The coordinating board shall maintain and provide to
each institution of higher education a list of persons against whom
action has been taken under Subsection (i).
(k) An institution of higher education may not hire an
employee who is included on the coordinating board's list
maintained under Subsection (j) before:
(1) if the employee was placed on unpaid leave under
Subsection (i)(1)(A), the end of the academic year for which the
employee is placed on unpaid leave; or
(2) if the employee was discharged under Subsection
(i)(1)(B), the fifth anniversary of the date on which the employee
was discharged.
(l) If the coordinating board determines that an
institution of higher education has violated this section, the
coordinating board shall assess an administrative penalty against
the institution in an amount equal to the lesser of $1 million or
one percent of the amount of the institution's operating expenses
budgeted for the state fiscal year preceding the state fiscal year
in which the violation occurred.
(m) An administrative penalty collected under Subsection
(l) may only be appropriated to an institution of higher education
that the coordinating board has not determined to have violated
this section during the two state fiscal years preceding the state
fiscal year for which the appropriation is made.
Sec. 51.9318. STATEMENTS REQUIRED TO BE INCLUDED IN MISSION
STATEMENT, BYLAWS, FACULTY HANDBOOK, AND STUDENT HANDBOOK. (a) In
this section, "institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) Each institution of higher education shall adopt an
institutional mission statement that includes, or incorporate into
the institution's institutional mission statement if the
institution has already adopted an institutional mission
statement, the following statements in whole and without
interruption:
(1) "We affirm that (name of institution) will educate
students by means of free, open, and rigorous intellectual inquiry
to seek the truth.";
(2) "We affirm our duty to equip students with the
intellectual skills they need to reach their own informed
conclusions on matters of social and political importance.";
(3) "We affirm the value of viewpoint diversity in
campus intellectual life, including in faculty recruitment and
hiring.";
(4) "We affirm our duty to ensure that no aspects of
(name of institution) life, in or outside the classroom, require,
favor, disfavor, or prohibit speech or action that supports any
political, social, or religious belief.";
(5) "We affirm our commitment to create a community
dedicated to civil and free inquiry that respects the intellectual
freedom of each member, supports individual capacities for growth,
and tolerates the differences in opinion that naturally occur in a
public university community.";
(6) "We affirm the value of institutional neutrality:
that institutions of higher education should not take collective
positions on political and social controversies of the day."; and
(7) "These values take priority over any other value
we may also adopt."
(c) Each institution of higher education shall incorporate
into the institution's bylaws, faculty handbook, and student
handbook the substance of the following reports issued by the
University of Chicago:
(1) the Report of the Committee on Freedom of
Expression; and
(2) the Kalven Committee Report on the University's
Role in Political and Social Action.
Sec. 51.9319. CERTAIN MANDATORY TRAINING PROHIBITED. (a)
In this section:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(3) "Training" includes a training, seminar,
discussion group, workshop, or other instructional program,
whether provided in person, online, or by any other means, with a
purpose of advising, counseling, influencing, or teaching
participants. The term does not include:
(A) an academic course offered for credit; or
(B) an activity of a student organization
registered with or recognized by an institution of higher education
that affects only the organization's members.
(b) An institution of higher education may not require a
student, employee, or applicant for employment at the institution
to participate in training on diversity, equity, inclusion, bias,
oppression, gender identity, or related concepts as a condition of:
(1) admission to or enrollment at the institution;
(2) employment or promotion at the institution;
(3) participating in any function of the institution;
or
(4) graduating from the institution.
(c) This section may not be construed to:
(1) limit the academic freedom of any individual
faculty member to direct the instruction of a course taught by the
faculty member; or
(2) prohibit any training:
(A) that is:
(i) developed by an attorney; and
(ii) approved in writing by the
institution's general counsel and the office of the attorney
general as being required to comply with any applicable court order
or state or federal law; and
(B) for which the materials are made publicly
available on the institution of higher education's Internet
website.
(d) Any person may notify the attorney general of a
violation or potential violation of this section by an institution
of higher education. The attorney general may file suit for a writ
of mandamus compelling the institution to comply with this section.
(e) A student or employee of an institution of higher
education who is required to participate in training in violation
of this section may bring an action against the institution for
injunctive or declaratory relief.
(h) If an institution of higher education determines that an
employee of the institution has violated this section, the
institution shall:
(1) take the following action against the employee:
(A) for the first violation, place the employee
on unpaid leave for the next academic year; or
(B) for the second or a subsequent violation,
discharge the employee; and
(2) report the determination and the action taken by
the institution to the coordinating board.
(i) The coordinating board shall maintain and provide to
each institution of higher education a list of persons against whom
action has been taken under Subsection (h).
(j) An institution of higher education may not hire an
employee who is included on the coordinating board's list
maintained under Subsection (i) before:
(1) if the employee was placed on unpaid leave under
Subsection (h)(1)(A), the end of the academic year for which the
employee is placed on unpaid leave; or
(2) if the employee was discharged under Subsection
(h)(1)(B), the fifth anniversary of the date on which the employee
was discharged.
(k) If the coordinating board determines that an
institution of higher education has violated this section, the
coordinating board shall assess an administrative penalty against
the institution in an amount equal to the lesser of $1 million or
one percent of the amount of the institution's operating expenses
budgeted for the state fiscal year preceding the state fiscal year
in which the violation occurred.
(l) An administrative penalty collected under Subsection
(k) may only be appropriated to an institution of higher education
that the coordinating board has not determined to have violated
this section during the two state fiscal years preceding the state
fiscal year for which the appropriation is made.
SECTION 4. Section 51.942, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) For purposes of Subsection (c)(5), good cause for
revoking the tenure of a faculty member includes the faculty
member's violation of Section 51.9317 or 51.9319.
SECTION 5. (a) Section 51.352(d), Education Code, as
amended by this Act, applies beginning with the 2023-2024 academic
year.
(b) Section 51.352(g), Education Code, as added by this Act,
applies beginning with money appropriated to a public institution
of higher education for the state fiscal year beginning September
1, 2024.
SECTION 6. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, Subchapter L, Chapter 51, and Sections 51.9317, 51.9318,
and 51.9319, Education Code, as added by this Act, apply beginning
with the 2023-2024 academic year.
(b) Sections 51.9317(i) and 51.9319(h), Education Code, as
added by this Act, apply only to a person who enters into or renews
an employment contract at a public institution of higher education
on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. A public institution of higher education may not
spend money appropriated by the legislature for the state fiscal
biennium beginning September 1, 2025, until the institution's
governing board has filed with the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board and posted on the institution's Internet website
a report that:
(1) states the steps taken by the institution to
comply with Section 51.9317, Education Code, as added by this Act;
and
(2) certifies the institution's compliance with
Section 51.9317, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.