Critics say Senate Bill 16 is overly vague and will create a chilling effect on important conversations around race and gender. But supporters say legislation is necessary to protect conservative students who are self-censoring in the classroom.
Students walk through campus on the first day of classes at the University of Texas at Arlington on Aug. 27, 2021., The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
“My worry here is that SB 16 is a solution looking for a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Karma Chávez, a University of Texas at Austin professor who testified on behalf of herself before the Senate subcommittee on higher education last month.characterized SB 16 as a ban on critical race theory in higher education when he unveiled his list of legislative priorities for the session.
"Critical race theory is a shorthand way to refer to the bill … but it’s about discrimination in higher education,” Hughes said Tuesday. In nearly all instances, Hughes responded that under his legislation, those hypothetical situations would be allowed. But when asked if this bill would allow faculty to teach about the concept of critical race theory, Hughes would not explicitly answer.
But faculty members say there is a difference between sharing opinions in a classroom versus facts and arguments that are backed by research.
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