Updated Sept. 12, 2023.

On June 14, 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed the House version of SB 18 into law which the Senate had adopted on May 27, 2023. The House version of SB 18 which regulates tenure is completely differently from the original Senate version of SB 18 filed in March that sought to ban the future granting of tenure.

SB 18, as signed by Gov. Abbott, codifies a tenure system with dangerously broad grounds for termination and without the due process provisions adopted by more than 1300 colleges and universities [7], including competitors to our public universities and community colleges across the country.

The dangerously broad grounds of termination in Section 3(c-1) include

• exhibited professional incompetence
• failed to perform duties or meet professional responsibilities
• engaged in conduct involving moral turpitude
• violated laws or university system or institution policies
• engaged in unprofessional conduct that adversely affects the institution
• violated … university system or institution policies
• other good cause as defined in the institution’s policies

and can be weaponized by an administrator to get rid of a faculty member they don’t like.

Section 3(c-1) adds for the first time in State statute the termination of a faculty member as a result of a post-tenure review.

Section 3(c-4) sets minimum standards for an institution if it decides to adopt summary (“immediate”) dismissal of tenured faculty members. This section does not codify the faculty member being allowed to examine the evidence presented against them, cross-examine witnesses, have hearing in front of a faculty committee, or finish the grievance process before termination. This section does not provide the checks and balances by a faculty committee and other processes accepted nationally by more than 1300 colleges and universities [7].

Please see

• Slides. Lauren Gutterman and Brian Evans, UT Austin AAUP Chapter Meeting, “New Texas Tenure Law“, Sep. 9, 2023.
• UT System Policies. UT System Revamps Tenure Rules to Comply with Texas SB 18 and each UT component institution will be developing its own campus policy during Fall 2023.
• Webinar. Beaman Floyd, Legislative Director, Texas Association of College Teachers, “New Laws That Affect You This Fall“, Aug. 2, 2023. Discussion of tenure, post-tenure review, and summary dismissal policies due to SB 18 followed by a discussion of anti-DEI bill SB 17.
• Webinar. Brian Evans, Texas AAUP/TCFS Meeting, “Faculty Roles in Developing Policies for the New DEI and Tenure Laws” for compliance with SB 17 and 18, with slides & YouTube recording, June 23, 2023

Below is an introduction to faculty tenure, comparison of the House and Senate versions of anti-tenure SB 18, talking points, and a summary and analysis of both versions of the bill.

Faculty Tenure

“A tenured appointment is an indefinite appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency and program discontinuation”. [AAUP] Tenure is a vital protection for professors in developing, discussing, and disseminating knowledge from all viewpoints, including conservative, moderate, liberal, and apolitical. Tenure allows the full freedom to foster critical thinking and intellectual exploration by students. Tenured professors take on long-term curriculum development, research projects, and leadership positions vital to students. Tenure-track professors are rigorously evaluated in teaching, research, and service over a six-year period by internal and external experts, and those who do not earn tenure are dismissed. About 50% of the faculty at UT Austin and 70% at Texas A&M University are either tenured or on the tenure track, as is common for Tier-1 Universities. For more information, see Talking points on bills limiting academic freedom, eliminating tenure and banning DEI practices (SB 16, 17, 18), April 29, 2023.

Quick Comparison of the Senate and House Versions of SB 18

• Senate: Prohibits hiring of tenure and tenure-track faculty after Jan. 1, 2024. Allows faculty tenured before Jan. 1, 2024, to remain tenured.
• House. Codifies a weak faculty tenure system that lacks due process provisions commonly afforded tenured faculty nationally.
• Talking Points: See “Texas AAUP Press Release for House passes Senate Bill 18“, May 23, 2023.

Additional Talking Points

• Talking points on bills limiting academic freedom, eliminating tenure and banning DEI practices (SB 16, 17, 18) April 29, 2023. Talking points against the version of SB 16 17, and18 that passed the Senate.
• “How the National Tenure System is Critical to Being Competitive for Federal Research Grants to Public Universities in Texas: A STEM Perspective“, May 22, 2023
• Brian L. Evans, Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty in the United States, Texas A&M & UT Austin, Apr. 3, 2023. Why tenured and tenure-track faculty are critical to universities achieving and maintaining R1 and R2 doctoral granting institution status.

Chronology

Senate Version. In April, the Senate passed SB 18 to eliminate future offerings of tenure:

• Prohibits hiring of tenured and tenure-track faculty after Jan. 1, 2024
• Allows faculty tenured before Jan. 1, 2024, to remain tenured

House Committee Substitute. On May 8, 2023, the House Higher Education Committee heard the House committee substitute of SB 18 and on May 12, 2023, approved it along party lines (6 Republicans, 5 Democrats).

Compared to the version that passed the Senate, House committee substitute of SB 18 is a different kind of anti-tenure bill in that it maintains a system of tenure but tenure in name only:

• Can be read to define tenure as a one-year guaranteed employment contract subject to annual renewal in Section 3(c)
• Severely restricts due process protections under the 14th Amendment for tenured faculty for termination and other discipline in Section 3(c)
• Provides reasons open to wide interpretation and abuse for termination of tenured faculty members for cause in Section 3(c-1)(A)(2) including
  • engaged in unprofessional conduct that adversely affects the institution
  • moral turpitude
  • violated … university system or institution policies substantially related to the performance of the faculty member ’s duties
• Adds Legislature and Governing Board involvement on tenure and post-tenure review processes that are normally institutional decisions
• Lacks in Section 3(c-4) national due process provisions for tenured faculty members that were jointly formulated by American Association of University Professors, University Presidents, and Governing Boards, and adopted by 1300 colleges and universities [7]

House Version. On May 22, 2023, the Texas House debated, amended, and approved the second reading of the bill. Amendments #2 and #4-11 that would have brought the bill closer to the national AAUP tenure standards adopted by more than 1300 colleges and universities, but only one passed. Rep. Sheryl Cole introduced, and bill author Chair John Kuempel accepted, the following amendment to to fix the two issues in Section 3(c) mentioned above. The new wording adopted for Section 3(c) follows:

The granting of tenure may not be construed to create a property interest in any attribute of a faculty position beyond a faculty members continuing employment, including his or her regular annual salary, and any privileges incident to his or her status as a tenured professor.

It has the other drawbacks discussed above under “House Committee Substitute”.

On May 23, 2023, the Texas House approved the third and final reading of SB 18 without any further amendments.

On May 27, 2023, the Texas Senate voted to adopt the House version of SB 18, after voting against the same version two days earlier.

Bill Analysis

Whereas the Senate version of SB 18 outright bans new awards of tenure, the House version keeps tenure. For those with tenure, the House committee substitute greatly expands the number and types of activities that could lead to termination for cause in Section 3(c-1). At least three of these activities are ill-defined and open to wide interpretation by college and university administrators:

• engaged in unprofessional conduct that adversely affects the institution
• moral turpitude
• violated … university system or institution policies substantially related to the performance of the faculty member ’s duties

Section 3(c-1) adds for the first time in State statute the termination of a faculty member as a result of a post-tenure review:

failed to successfully complete any post-tenure review professional development program

The House version of SB 18 codifies a weak tenure system that lacks the due process provisions recommended by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Section 3(c-4) does not codify the faculty member being allowed to see the evidence presented against them, cross-examine witnesses, have hearing or the equivalent in front of a faculty committee, or finish the grievance process before termination.

Texas AAUP is opposed to Senate version of SB 18 and the House version of SB 18 substitute. Given the choice among the two, the Texas AAUP strongly recommends that the Senate accepts the House version of SB 18.

For more information, please see

[1] Brian Evans, Texas AAUP / TCFS Meeting, “Faculty Roles in Developing Policies for the New DEI and Tenure Laws” for compliance with SB 17 and 18, with slides & YouTube recording available, June 23, 2023.
[2] Texas AAUP Conference Press Release on Passage of SB 18, May 27, 2023
[3] “Texas AAUP Press Release for House passes Senate Bill 18“, May 23, 2023.
[4] “How the National Tenure System is Critical to Being Competitive for Federal Research Grants to Public Universities in Texas: A STEM Perspective“, May 22, 2023
[5] Statement Against SB 18 by Texas AAUP and TACT, May 16, 2023
[6] Texas AAUP Response to the Passage of Anti-DEI and Anti-Tenure Bills by the Texas House Higher Education Committee, May 13, 2023
[7] National AAUP standards for tenure including due process for tenured faculty members include

• 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom & Tenure, jointly formulated by American Association of Colleges & Universities representing college and university administrations and the American Association of University Professors representing professors. AAC&U has more than 800 college and university members.
• 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities, jointly formulated by the American Association of University Professors, American Council on Education, and Association of Governing Boards of Universities & Colleges. The AAUP represents faculty members, ACE represents university administrations, and AGB represents University Systems, Boards of Regents and Boards of Trustees. ACE has more than 1500 college and university members and AGB has more than 1300 college, university, and system members.

Advocacy Resources

• Texas AAUP Response to the Passage of Anti-DEI and Anti-Tenure Bills by the Texas House Higher Education Committee, May 13, 2023
• Statement Against SB 18 by Texas AAUP and TACT, May 10, 2023
• Submitted Comments on SB 18, May 8, 2023
• Talking points on bills limiting academic freedom, eliminating tenure and banning DEI practices (SB 16, 17, 18) April 29, 2023
• Op-Ed: Adam Sitze, “Tenure Is a Founding American Value“, Inside Higher Ed, April 17, 2023.
• Eliminating tenure: one-page white paper and two-page talking points
• Brian L. Evans, Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty in the United States, Texas A&M & UT Austin, Apr. 3, 2023
• Op-Ed: Jen Ebbeler, “What Ending Tenure Would Mean to Texas“, Inside Higher Ed, April 20, 2023.
• Op-Ed: Andrea Gore, “UT scientist: Killing tenure would ruin the state’s research universities“, Houston Chronicle, March 24, 2023.
• Texas AAUP Supporting Higher Education Values in Texas, Feb. 2023
• AAUP & AFT Analysis of SB 16, 17 & 18 (original versions of the bills)