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An online portal monitored by a new state oversight office will field complaints against public universities accused of failing to comply with anti-DEI and curriculum mandates.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Office of the Ombudsman was created last year by the state Legislature through Senate Bill 37, a bill criticized by education advocates for expanding government oversight on universities. Since going into effect on Sept. 1, Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed the state’s first Higher Education Ombudsman, who is charged with investigating complaints.
The new office launches at a time when public universities are facing increasing pressure. Crackdowns on free speech, expression and curriculum content across campuses have put a strain on professors and students. Some politicians, such as state Rep. Brian Harrison, have claimed the legislation is crucial to addressing liberal influence on college campuses.
Here’s what to know about the latest crackdown.
What is the New Website?
The portal launched on Jan. 9 allows anyone in Texas to file a complaint against a public university for non-compliance with Senate Bill 17, the bill that banned diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on campus, and SB 37. Students, employees and faculty members can submit complaints through the portal, effectively turning those in classrooms into watchdogs for state leaders.
The website does not actually require verification of that status to enter a complaint, but a separate portal is available for complaints from members of the public. As outlined in SB 37, the ombudsman’s office will be able to recommend that universities be barred from spending or receiving state funds while under investigation.
In a statement, the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors warned that the investigatory process outlined in SB 37 offers “little provision for due process, making this office ripe for abuse.”
What Sorts of Complaints Can Be Made?
The website offers six options for the type of infraction a university may be committing: curriculum issues; faculty council or senate violations; diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; President/CEO annual evaluations; hiring or disciplinary authority of the President/CEO; and claims against the committee charged with evaluating curricula.
If you select the DEI initiative violation, the website attempts to clarify whether the infraction occurred during course instruction, a guest speaker presentation, student recruitment efforts, or in a handful of other situations. The final page of the portal requests that the complaint be written out in detail.
“Please specifically state the institution’s failure to comply with the previously identified specific statutory sections. Please include specific facts supporting the allegation, including relevant dates, identifying information regarding the individuals involved, and any supporting evidence in the individual’s possession,” the instructions read.
How Does This Fit in With Other Oversight Attempts?
SB 37 takes a swing at faculty senates, one of a university’s governing bodies that ensures faculty voices are considered in decision-making. Now, faculty senates will be smaller, and members will be appointed by the university president rather than elected. The Board of Regents — an oversight board that is appointed by the governor and can influence who is president of a university — will also be able to control the size of its university’s faculty senate.
“SB 37 will put what we teach in the hands of political appointees rather than in the hands of faculty who have studied these subjects and understand their nuances,” Brian Evans, president of the Texas Conference of AAUP, said in a statement.
Although the bill does not dictate the content of university curricula, it certainly aligns with that goal. SB 37 was authored by Texas Sen. Brandon Creighton, who also authored the state DEI ban and a law that limits student protests during the evening hours. In September, Creighton was named chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. One of his first initiatives was introducing restrictions on how race, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation can be discussed in classrooms.
A similar content-review crackdown was passed by the Texas A&M system in November. According to Inside Higher Ed, the ban has affected at least 200 courses, including a philosophy course in which an instructor was asked to remove passages from Plato’s works from his syllabus because of the philosopher’s comments on gender.
