AUSTIN, Texas – If early bill filings for the next Texas Legislative session indicate priorities, then one thing is clear: Lawmakers are again hyperfocusing on the state’s higher education institutions.
Lawmakers in Austin were busy in November preparing early bill filings for the 89th Texas Legislature. By the end of the day on Tuesday, Nov. 12 — the first day for early filings — more than 1,200 bills had been filed on a slew of familiar issues.
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As of Monday morning, 1,526 House bills and 536 Senate bills had been filed. Bills can continue to be filed during the legislative session’s first 60 days. The session begins on Jan. 14.
Renewed interest from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures feature prominently alongside bills on polling availability and antisemitism.
Potential bills pertaining to tenure and faculty senates, both listed as interim charges by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have yet to be filed.
Faculty senates typically can lead and shape curriculum development, all while allowing professors to practice academic freedom, according to reporting by The Texas Tribune.
Interim charges — commonly known as a list of priorities, so to speak — are typically released to set agendas for committees ahead of the session.
During the legislative session in 2023, lawmakers from the Texas House and Senate filed 13,090 total bills; however, only 1,124 were signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, according to Texas Legislature Online.
The 89th Legislature runs until June 2, 2025.
Below is a breakdown of some of the higher education bills filed by lawmakers so far.
House Bill 173
The bill would prohibit Texas colleges and universities from soliciting or accepting gifts from four foreign countries, including China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
The same restrictions would apply to any governmental entity of a country that has provided material support to foreign terrorist organizations, according to the bill’s language.
The proposed legislation preceded an Executive Order issued by Abbott on Nov. 19. The order requires public higher education institutions to implement security protocols to safeguard Texas from Chinese communist parties.
China and the three other countries listed on Capriglione’s legislation are named in the order; however, Abbott specifically targets China.
Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) filed the bill.
House Bill 181
The bill, authored by Rep. Suleman Lalani (D-Sugar Land), would require colleges and universities to clearly communicate students’ eligibility for Medicaid and child health plan programs.
The bill states information must:
- “Clearly explain” a student’s eligibility requirements.
- Address the most common healthcare needs of the student population regarding available health benefits.
- Be tailored specifically to students, specifically “entering freshman” and “undergraduate transfer students.”
- Identify enrollment procedures for the programs utilizing information on the Health and Human Services Commission’s website.
If passed, the law would take effect at the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester.
House Bill 393
Language for this bill is sparse, outside of “repealing certain requirements” for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the state’s public colleges and universities.
Higher education was a hotly contested topic during the last legislative session. However, one bill, Senate Bill 17, was signed into law despite drawing criticism from some Democratic lawmakers and faculty across the state.
The law took effect on Jan. 1, 2024, and banned college and university governing bodies from maintaining diversity, equity and inclusion offices.
Rep. John H. Bucy III (D-Austin) filed the bill.
House Bill 718
This proposed bill would broadly prohibit universities from partnering with “certain” construction developers on student housing projects.
A university would not be able to partner with a private entity that “has a pending action or lien against the entity or entity’s property relating to a claim of nonpayment,” language for the bill said.
The measure would only apply to contracts entered into on or after the bill’s effective date, which, if passed, would be Sept. 1, 2025.
Rep. Cecil Bell (R-Magnolia) filed the bill.
Senate Bill 147
The bill, authored by Rep. José Menendez (D-San Antonio) and five others, calls for designated polling locations on the campuses of certain institutions.
Specifics for the universities, according to the bill’s language, would ask county commissioners to designate a university’s main campus as a polling site if at least 5,000 students are enrolled there.
Commissioners would designate two polling locations on a campus with 10,000 students enrolled, and one additional polling place would be established for every additional 10,000 students.
Senate Bill 184
The proposed bill would exempt certain activities not funded by state money from the effects of Senate Bill 17, the state’s overarching DEI ban passed during the 88th Texas Legislature.
SB 17 specifically targeted DEI offices, programs and training based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation.
Exemptions in the proposed bill, authored by Menendez, include protections for:
- Course instruction.
- Scholarly research or creative work conducted by students and faculty.
- The activity of student organizations registered with or recognized by a university.
- Guest speakers or performers on short-term engagements.
- A policy, practice, procedure or program enhancing academics or postgraduate outcomes without regard to race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation.
- Data collection.
- Student recruitment and admissions.
- Programs, activities and scholarships funded by private donations, federal money or funds not sourced from the legislature.
The bill could take immediate effect with two-thirds votes of all elected members from each house. If this does not happen, then, if passed, it would be effective on Sept. 1, 2025.
Senate Bill 187
The proposed bill would ask universities to develop and implement a process for students to report alleged cases of harassment and discrimination based on race, color, or ethnicity.
The complaint would be submitted online or in a dedicated hotline maintained by the university. It would include an option to remain anonymous, the bill’s language said.
Each year, universities would be asked to inform freshmen and returning students about the policy and process for submitting complaints. Complaints would be reviewed by the university, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and that university’s accrediting agency.
Abbott’s office and Patrick largely drove actions to address alleged cases of antisemitism.
In April, the governor issued an Executive Order to the state’s universities, directing them to review their free speech policies. Abbott’s call came after student protests against the Israel-Hamas war heightened on campuses across the state.
The bill could take immediate effect with two-thirds votes of all elected members from each house. If this does not happen, then, if passed, it would be effective on Sept. 1, 2025.
Menendez filed the bill.
Senate Bill 326
In a bill targeting antisemitism on college campuses — likely a focal point during the next session — Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) suggests amendments to the education code.
The proposed bill would also apply to public school districts or open-enrollment charter schools.
Higher education institutions, when determining if a student’s behavior violates a code of conduct rule or is motivated by antisemitism, would refer to the amended education code in their decision-making, the bill’s language said.
Schools or institutions would consider the definition of antisemitism provided by the government code.
Per the code, antisemitism is defined as “A certain perception of Jews that may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. The term includes rhetorical and physical acts of antisemitism directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals or their property or toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The bill could take immediate effect with two-thirds votes of all elected members from each house. If this does not happen, then, if passed, it would be effective on Sept. 1, 2025.
King filed the bill.