As quickly as our union has been responding to the events from last week, it seems like state leaders are also working overtime to make educators’ lives harder. In just one week, two faculty members have been fired, the Lieutenant Governor established a new education committee in the House and Senate, the TEA has begun to investigate complaints against teachers for their social media posts, and colleges are cracking down on course content. We are battling an all-out witch hunt by our state’s top lawmakers.
The chaos in higher education started early last week, when Rep. Brian Harrison posted a now-viral video of a student confronting Texas A&M College Station professor Melissa McCoul about her course content. Things escalated quickly up to the Texas A&M system’s chancellor, president, and eventually Governor Greg Abbott. Just two days after the video went viral, the professor in the video was terminated. The next day, an article posted by Texas Scorecard, a right-wing media source, highlighted a clip of Texas State professor Thomas Alter speaking at a conference in his personal capacity. The same day, the tenured faculty member was fired without due process in a public letter from the Texas State University president.
Both faculty members are now seeking legal action against their universities. A lawyer for Melissa McCoul said she “was fired in derogation of her constitutional rights and the academic freedom that was once the hallmark of higher education in Texas.” Thomas Alter is suing his university on the grounds of political discrimination. A statement from his lawyer says, “In truth, Dr. Alter was terminated because he espoused views that are unpopular in today’s politically charged climate, in violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.”
Since then, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick established the “Civil Discourse & Freedom of Speech in Higher Education” committees in the House and Senate, invoking Charlie Kirk’s death as reason for its creation. In a press release on Friday, Sept. 12, Dan Patrick announced this committee would discuss and investigate “bias, discourse, and freedom of speech across Texas college campuses.” The committee will also report on the compliance and implementation of SB 37, the higher-ed “death star” bill, and SB 2972, which limits expressive activities on college campuses. There have been no other announcements from the committee yet.
Just yesterday, news broke that the Texas A&M University President, Mark Welsh, will be resigning from his position starting today. The viral videos posted by Rep. Harrison also included a recording of Welsh meeting with the student, with the clips showing he would not fire the professor, and that LGBTQ Studies at the university have long existed, and will continue to serve students who wish to take those courses. His response sparked outrage from top lawmakers, creating the immense political pressure that eventually caused his resignation. The dean and department head that oversaw the terminated professor were also terminated from their positions. Every faculty and administrative member involved in the situation have now been fired, all because of online pressure from Republican lawmakers.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) also released a letter last Friday, stating it will begin investigating “inappropriate” social media posts made by educators. As of Wednesday, the TEA states it has received 281 complaints. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath released a statement on Monday, saying he would “recommend the State Board for Educator Certification suspend the licenses of teachers who are disciplined,” although it is unclear what policies an educator would be breaking if it’s decided a teacher’s social media post was “inappropriate.” The TEA says it is still engaged in the complaint review process, and no sanctions directly from the agency have been applied yet.
However, several school districts have already taken action against their teachers, terminating them or putting them on administrative leave. This social media investigation is being spearheaded by elected officials—as high up as the governor— calling for the successful expulsion of two college students at Texas Tech and Texas State University for viral videos of their reactions to Kirk’s death.
As our president Zeph Capo states, the doxxing of our public-school educators is abhorrent. All educators have the right to free speech to say things elected officials don’t agree with. As this situation continues to develop, our union will fight for members like you with every resource we have. We will defend your right to due process, academic freedom, and freedom of expression.