Sponsored by the Texas AAUP Conference, AAUP, AFT
Co-sponsored by the Texas Association of College Teachers and
the Texas Faculty Association, TSTA, NEA

All presenters are speaking for themselves as private individuals

“Don’t do the censors’ work for them” — Jeremy C. Young, PEN America

Academic freedom is the freedom from censorship by the institution or the government. This freedom extends to teaching, research, and expression. Academic freedom allows professors to develop and disseminate new knowledge from all viewpoints, including conservative, moderate, liberal, and apolitical. Academic freedom also allows professors to help students develop the critical thinking, knowledge, training, and professional networks needed for successful careers.

We at the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) are committed to assisting faculty, staff, and graduate students in understanding and navigating the implications of Senate Bill 17. SB 17 bans DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) employment practices and policies. Violations of SB 17 may result in severe penalties, including termination. Here is the Texas AAUP Analysis of SB 17. Please join Texas AAUP and here are several reasons to consider.

On Jan. 9, 2024, Texas AAUP hosted a panel discussion with Q&A concerning Texas Senate Bill 17 entitled “Guidance on anti-DEI SB17 and its exceptions for academic course instruction, scholarly research, and creative works”. Here are the slides.

At the panel discussion, faculty in the Texas AAUP Conference presented syllabus language to capture the exception under Texas Senate Bill 17 for academic course instruction:

Texas Senate Bill 17, the recent law that outlaws diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at public colleges and universities in Texas, does not in any way affect content, instruction or discussion in a course at public colleges and universities in Texas. Expectations and academic freedom for teaching and class discussion have not been altered post-SB 17, and students should not feel the need to censor their speech pertaining to topics including race and racism, structural inequality, LGBTQ+ issues, or diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Host, moderator, and panelists were:

• Host: Brian L. Evans is a faculty member and Interim President Texas AAUP Conference, aaup.texas@gmail.com. Slides.
• Moderator: Lauren Gutterman is a faculty member, Social Media Co-Coordinator for the Texas AAUP Conference, and Secretary for the UT Austin AAUP Chapter, ljg300@gmail.com
• Panelist: Antonio Ingram is a Civil Rights Attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, aingram@naacpldf.org
• Panelist: Tabitha Morton, is a faculty member and member of the Texas AAUP Conference, Tabitham12@sbcglobal.net
• Panelist: Crystal Tran is a member of Texas Students for DEI, txstudentsfordei@gmail.com

For concerns related to the campus implementation of SB 17 or issues of compliance (or overcompliance), please contact one or all of the following:

• Dr. Karma Chavez at karmachavez@gmail.com 
• Dr. Teresa Klein at terklein@gmail.com 
• Texas Students for DEI at txstudentsfordei@gmail.com 
• Antonio Ingram, who is a Civil Rights Attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, at aingram@naacpldf.org

Research Study. Call for participation in a research study on effects of anti-DEI SB17 conducted by Prof. Angela Valenzuela.

SB 17 Guidance from University Systems: Texas A&M – Texas State – Texas Tech – Texas Woman’s University – University of Houston – University of North Texas – The University of Texas

AAUP. Founded in 1915 by faculty, AAUP jointly developed principles on academic freedom, tenure and shared governance with college and university administrations that have been widely adopted by US colleges and universities. AAUP has 500 campus chapters and 42,000 faculty members across the country championing these principles and organizing all faculty to promote economic security and quality education. AAUP affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) on August 1, 2022. AFT has 1.8M members with 300,000 in higher education. Texas AAUP affiliated with Texas AFT on March 30, 2024,

Joining Texas AAUP-AFT. Here’s the link to join Texas AAUP-AFT and several reasons to join. Dues are on a sliding scale, and membership is kept confidential except for officers.  Membership is open is open to all tenure-track, tenured, and fixed-term faculty members; graduate students and postdoctoral researchers; and academic advisors and other professional staff.  When joining Texas AAUP-AFT, one would automatically join Texas AFT, AAUP, and AFT at no extra charge. If there is an AAUP chapter on your campus, then you would automatically become a member as well. Here are the local chapters in Texas.

Advocacy by Texas AAUP-AFT. Texas AAUP-AFT has chapters on 29 campuses and members on 75 campuses, and its advocacy on campus and at the State Legislature is amplified by the 66,000 members and 40+ staff at Texas AFT. Here’s more information about our Legislative Advocacy from our blog site. Please follow us on X  @TexasAaup and @aaup_utAustin for daily updates about our advocacy.