Texas Tech’s new limits on how faculty teach gender identity and sexual orientation challenge more than free speech
- Written by Henry F. Fradella, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University
Texas Tech University, a public university in Lubbock, announced in April 2026 that its five schools would phase out all academic credentials centered on sexual orientation or gender identity. The new policy, detailed in a six-page memo[1] on April 9, also requires instructors to use “alternate materials” when courses address these topics.
Texas Tech, led by former Texas Republican state legislator Brandon Creighton[2], is not the first university to try to restrict instruction on gender, sexual orientation and other topics in recent years.
In 2023, for example, Florida passed legislation[3] that banned students at public universities from majoring in critical race theory, gender studies, queer theory and intersectionality[4].
Texas Tech, however, goes further with this new memo. It also bars graduate students from writing “degree-culminating” theses or dissertations on sexual orientation or gender identity, something no other major public university[5] system appears to have done.
As a scholar who studies the intersection of law, science and public policy[6], I doubt the policy would survive a possible constitutional challenge in court, given First Amendment[7] freedom of speech protections. Even if courts ultimately strike the policy down, though, it may still leave a lasting mark, by signaling that some universities are willing to prioritize politics over independent academic inquiry.
Texas Tech’s policy shift
Texas Tech’s policy, which will begin taking effect in June 2026, requires faculty to teach in compliance with a 2025 Texas law[9] that declares there are “only two human sexes[10].”
The law echoes the language of an executive order[11] the Trump administration issued in January 2025 that said “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.”
Despite that air of certainty, there is substantial[12] scientific literature[13] that shows people’s biological variation[14] does not fit a strict binary[15] model.
Texas Tech faculty will soon be largely prohibited from teaching about gender fluidity or gender as a spectrum. There are narrow exceptions to this rule, such as discussions about intersex traits[16], so long as instructors do not “advocate for or validate sociological frameworks.”
Although current faculty may continue researching “topics of their choosing,” new faculty will be hired “in alignment” with the memo.
Students, meanwhile, can continue to conduct “general independent student research,” and write standard term papers, for example, on one of these subjects. But students cannot write graduate theses or dissertations on sexual orientation and gender identity.
By legal standards, these new policies are not neutral, curricular decisions. This is because the state of Texas favors one viewpoint – that there are only two biological sexes – that this public university system now reflects.
For nearly 60 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected[17] the idea of viewpoint discrimination at universities[18]. This discrimination occurs when the government or another authority[19] allows speech favoring one opinion, while restricting speech expressing an opposing opinion.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees the region where Texas Tech is located, has also long recognized that “classroom discussion is protected activity[20].”
In a statement to the Associated Press in April, Creighton said that the school[21] is “focused on ensuring our academic programs are rigorous, relevant, and produce degrees of value.”
He added that this focus “is matched by our unwavering support for the First Amendment and the open exchange of ideas that define a public university. Texas Tech will continue to be a national leader on both fronts.”
Part of a broader story
The Texas Tech policy is the latest example of a broader political effort to reshape what public universities may teach and research.
Several other public universities have also recently limited programs or coursework involving gender and identity studies.
In 2022, Florida’s “Stop WOKE” Act[22], restricted instruction[23] perceived as endorsing certain[24] race-related concepts in classrooms and workplace training sessions. Some faculty members left Florida public universities, citing concerns about censorship[25] and political interference[26] in higher education[27].
In 2022, federal judge Mark Walker called that Florida law “positively dystopian[28]” and barred its enforcement[29], holding that the state cannot grant academic freedom only to viewpoints it favors. The restrictions remain blocked, pending appeal[30].
Texas A&M English professor Melissa McCoul sued that university after she was fired in September 2025, following a classroom discussion she led about gender identity[31].
Texas A&M later eliminated its women’s and gender studies degree program[32] in January 2026.
The University of Texas at Austin consolidated four[33] ethnic studies departments[34] and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department into a single Department of Social and Cultural Analysis[35] in February 2026. The university is also reviewing which majors, minors and courses within that new department students may pursue and enroll in.
These changes reflect a broader political climate in which some politicians and university leaders increasingly frame gender identity and other academic subjects as ideological positions, rather than scholarly areas of research[36]. That trend has intensified alongside the Trump administration’s executive orders, actions and rhetoric[37] surrounding gender identity[38] and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives[39].
Limiting academic research
Texas Tech was established in 1923 to prepare students for technical and agricultural professions, and “elevate the ideals, enrich the lives, and increase the capacity of the people for democratic self-government[40].”
That mission reflects the American Association of University Professors’ 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure[41]. The statement describes universities as dedicated to “the common good” through the “free search for truth.”
Universities are therefore expected to pursue scholarly inquiry according to disciplinary standards and academic expertise[42], not partisan priorities. That commitment is reflected in the thesis and dissertation process, through which faculty evaluate students’ ability to conduct independent research and contribute to disciplinary knowledge[43].
Although disfavored on some Texas and Florida campuses, topics such as HIV disparities in LGBTQ+ populations continue to be studied elsewhere[44] as public-health subjects. The same is true for suicide risk[45] and family rejection among LGBTQ+ adolescents and services for transgender youth.
With such lines of inquiry curtailed, some Texas Tech students now question whether the university can still provide an “honest education.” Some Texas Tech faculty members are openly discussing looking for other jobs[46].
Restricting academic independence
A September 2025 survey[48] by the American Association of University Professors documented the toll of political interference on university faculty across the country, including in Texas.
One-quarter of the 1,100 Texas professors and researchers surveyed said they are seeking jobs outside the state. More than 60% said they would not encourage graduate students or colleagues to work at a university in Texas.
When the state decides which questions may and may not be researched, it is doing more than shaping curriculum. It is regulating the boundaries of knowledge itself by determining what future scholars may study and what universities are permitted to discover.
That – more than any single line in a memo – is what I believe should concern anyone who cares about the integrity of higher education. And it is precisely the danger longstanding First Amendment protections for academic freedom were designed to prevent.
References
- ^ detailed in a six-page memo (www.texastech.edu)
- ^ Brandon Creighton (www.texastech.edu)
- ^ Florida passed legislation (www.flsenate.gov)
- ^ queer theory and intersectionality (www.ted.com)
- ^ no other major public university (www.insidehighered.com)
- ^ intersection of law, science and public policy (scholar.google.com)
- ^ First Amendment (constitution.congress.gov)
- ^ David Kozlowski/Moment Mobile via Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com)
- ^ a 2025 Texas law (capitol.texas.gov)
- ^ only two human sexes (gov.texas.gov)
- ^ executive order (www.whitehouse.gov)
- ^ is substantial (doi.org)
- ^ scientific literature (www.ohchr.org)
- ^ shows people’s biological variation (www.ama-assn.org)
- ^ strict binary (doi.org)
- ^ intersex traits (my.clevelandclinic.org)
- ^ repeatedly rejected (supreme.justia.com)
- ^ discrimination at universities (supreme.justia.com)
- ^ when the government or another authority (supreme.justia.com)
- ^ classroom discussion is protected activity (law.justia.com)
- ^ Creighton said that the school (apnews.com)
- ^ “Stop WOKE” Act (www.flsenate.gov)
- ^ restricted instruction (time.com)
- ^ endorsing certain (scholarship.law.ufl.edu)
- ^ citing concerns about censorship (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ political interference (time.com)
- ^ higher education (www.aft.org)
- ^ positively dystopian (law.justia.com)
- ^ barred its enforcement (www.politico.com)
- ^ pending appeal (www.aclu.org)
- ^ classroom discussion she led about gender identity (apnews.com)
- ^ eliminated its women’s and gender studies degree program (www.texastribune.org)
- ^ consolidated four (www.texastribune.org)
- ^ ethnic studies departments (www.houstonpublicmedia.org)
- ^ Department of Social and Cultural Analysis (www.kut.org)
- ^ ideological positions, rather than scholarly areas of research (pen.org)
- ^ executive orders, actions and rhetoric (19thnews.org)
- ^ gender identity (19thnews.org)
- ^ diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (civilrights.org)
- ^ people for democratic self-government (www.texasalmanac.com)
- ^ 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure (www.aaup.org)
- ^ disciplinary standards and academic expertise (www.nationalacademies.org)
- ^ independent research and contribute to disciplinary knowledge (archive.carnegiefoundation.org)
- ^ studied elsewhere (sph.umich.edu)
- ^ suicide risk (case.edu)
- ^ are openly discussing looking for other jobs (www.texastribune.org)
- ^ nadia_bormotova/iStock via Getty Images Plus (www.gettyimages.com)
- ^ September 2025 survey (www.texastribune.org)
Authors: Henry F. Fradella, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University
