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The gubernatorially appointed boards that oversee Texas universities soon could have new powers to control the curriculum required of students and eliminate degree programs.

The legislation sent Monday to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott marks the latest effort among Republican-led states to reshape higher education institutions that they assert have been promoting liberal ideology. It follows similar moves in Florida and Ohio.

The state actions come as President Donald Trump’s administration also has injected itself into higher education, leveraging federal funding and its student visa authority to clamp down on campus activism and stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Some professors contend the moves violate the principles of academic freedom that many universities have followed for decades.

“Political operatives have basically used their positions of power — political power, economic power — to demand that the institutions conform to their ideas,” said Isaac Kamola, director of the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom at the American Association of University Professors.

“It’s an existential attack on higher education that we’re facing,” added Kamola, a political science professor at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
A Texas effort to shape general education requirements

Under the Texas legislation, governing boards at higher education institutions will be tasked with reviewing — and potentially overturning — general education curriculum requirements to ensure courses are necessary to prepare students for civic and professional life, equip them for the workforce and are worth the cost to students.

Governing boards also will gain greater power over faculty councils, the employment of academic administrators and decisions to eliminate minor degree or certificate programs that have low enrollment. The bill also creates a state ombudsman’s office to investigate complaints against institutions, including alleged violations of restrictions against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“The objective of this legislation is to provide consistency with respect to our curriculum and the degrees we’re offering our students,” Republican state Rep. Matt Shaheen, co-sponsor of the legislation, said during House floor debate.

Ray Bonilla, an attorney for the Texas A&M University System, one of the state’s largest higher education institutions, said the legislation formalizes decisions already being made at the university and wouldn’t create an “undue workload.”

But Democratic state Rep. Donna Howard said during a May committee hearing that the legislation “appears to be extreme micromanagement on the part of the Legislature.”

“The bill is not about improving education, it is about increasing control,” Howard said during the debate.
An Ohio law mandates specific curriculum

In Ohio, a new law bans DEI programs at public colleges and universities, strips faculty of certain collective bargaining and tenure protections and mandates a civil literacy course in order to graduate. In addition to covering the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, the three-credit-hour course must include a least five essays from the Federalist Papers, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. and a study of the principles of Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations,” among other things.

The law also places restrictions on the handling of “controversial beliefs or policies,” defined to include climate, immigration or foreign policy, electoral politics, DEI programs, marriage and abortion.

While testifying for his bill, Republican state Sen. Jerry Cirino cited John Dewey — one of the fathers of progressive education — to condemn what he believes to be a hard tack in the other direction at colleges and universities.

“He believed that all theories should be examined and debated,” Cirino told fellow lawmakers. “He would certainly have been against the woke conformity we see on so many campuses and the clearly demonstrated liberal leanings of faculty and staff who will not tolerate alternative views.”

Christopher McKnight Nichols, an Ohio State University history professor, said the law has already driven some faculty members to sanitize their websites of “controversial” content, alter course descriptions and, in some cases, cancel courses altogether. He said it’s never been proven that faculty members are systematically punishing students who don’t share their political beliefs.

Nichols is among a coalition of Ohio educators, students and administrators fighting back against the new law. Opponents face a late June deadline to collect enough signatures to place a referendum overturning it on the November ballot.
A movement with roots in a Trump order and Florida

In some ways, the efforts to exert greater state control over college faculty and curriculums are moving higher education closer to a governing model generally seen in K-12 education, said Alec Thomson, president of the National Council for Higher Education at the National Education Association.

“It’s a concerning change in the sense that you would expect the institutions to have a fair amount of autonomy to make these decisions about curriculum,” added Thomson, a professor of political science and history at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan.

During his first term in 2020, Trump issued an executive order “combating race and sex stereotyping” in federal agencies and contracting that forbid the promotion of “divisive concepts,” including that one race or sex is “inherently superior” to another, that individuals should feel guilty because of their race or sex and that merit-based systems are racist or sexist.

Similar prohibitions on divisive concepts soon appeared in model bills backed by conservative think tanks and in state higher education laws, including in Florida in 2022. The next year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis initiated a makeover of the New College of Florida — a small liberal arts school once known as the state’s most progressive — by appointing a group of conservatives to its governing board. DeSantis then traveled to the campus to sign a law barring public funds from going to DEI activities in higher education or promoting political or social activism.

Governors and lawmakers this year have taken about twice as many actions targeting DEI initiatives as last year, according to an Associated Press analysis aided by the bill-tracking software Plural.

Among those is a new Idaho law that not only bans DEI offices and programs in higher education but also addresses what’s taught in the classroom. It prohibits colleges and universities from requiring students to take DEI-related courses to meet graduation requirements, unless they’re pursuing degrees in race or gender studies.

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Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

HOUSTON (AP) — Jonathan Joss, a voice actor best known for his work on the animated television series “King of the Hill” as John Redcorn, was fatally shot near his Texas home, authorities said Monday.

Police were dispatched to a home in south San Antonio about 7 p.m. Sunday on a shooting in progress call. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the wounded 59-year-old near the street.

“The officers attempted life saving measures until EMS arrived. EMS pronounced the victim deceased,” San Antonio police said in a statement.

Joss’ death was confirmed by his husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales.

“He was murdered,” de Gonzales told The Associated Press in a text. The two were married earlier this year on Valentine’s Day.

In a statement, de Gonzales said that before the shooting, he and Joss were checking mail at Joss’ home, which had been heavily damaged during a January fire that claimed the lives of their three dogs. A man approached the two and threatened them with a gun, de Gonzales said.

“Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life,” de Gonzales said in a statement.

After the shooting, authorities arrested 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja and charged him with murder in Joss’ death.

Police said their investigation was ongoing and did not immediately provide any information on what prompted the shooting.

Court records did not list an attorney who could speak on behalf of Ceja, who was being held in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.

Joss, who grew up in San Antonio, was best known as the voice of John Redcorn, a Native American character on the popular “King of the Hill” animated series that ran for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2008. A reboot of the show is set to start in August.

Joss also had a recurring role on the television show “Parks and Recreation,” playing Chief Ken Hotate. He appeared in two episodes of the series “Tulsa King” in 2022.

A GoFundMe page had been set up in January for Joss after the house fire. According to the page, Joss had lost all of his belongings in the fire, including his vehicle.

Before he was fatally shot, Joss had been in Austin, located about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of San Antonio, for events related to a sneak peak of the “King of the Hill” revival.

On Saturday, Joss had posted a video on Instagram in which he said he was signing autographs at a comic book store in Austin.

“The fans get to revisit ‘King of the Hill’ again, which I think is an amazing thing because it’s a great show,” Joss said in the video, adding he had already done voice work on four episodes of the revival.

Joss’s husband said Joss was grateful for his fans.

“To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family,” de Gonzales said.

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Express-News reports along the Louisiana border in East Texas, a rural area struggling with some of the highest unemployment rates in the state, government benefits for healthcare and food have become a necessity for many families, with among the highest participation rates in the state. It is also a deeply Republican area, where in many counties President Donald Trump carried the vote by more than a three-to-one margin in 2024. And with Republicans in Congress weighing hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and other programs over the next decade, East Texas and other rural areas around the country are at the center of a debate among conservatives about how far should they go in cutting a social safety net upon which the rural areas they represent rely. Republican leaders in the House, which passed a spending package last month, have promised the cuts will be achieved by removing “waste, fraud and abuse” from the system, largely by the expansion of work requirements and tougher reporting requirements for recipients.

But as the Senate considers the legislation, there’s also an acknowledgement by some Republicans in Washington and Texas that many qualified recipients will inevitably lose their benefits. In East Texas, Harrison County Judge Chad Sims, a Republican, said he supported Trump’s efforts to slash government spending but it was up to state and federal officials to make sure those who met the requirements were kept on the rolls. “Sometimes you will catch some of the people who are in need of those cuts, it’s bound to happen,” he said. “As long as you have good people, active and involved, who can see who really needs it, I think we’ll be okay.” Democrats have already latched onto the issue ahead of next year’s midterm elections, with House Majority Forward, a nonprofit affiliated with House Democratic leadership, announcing last month it was launching an ad campaign attacking House Republicans who voted for the spending bill in 25 districts across California, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin.

AUSTIN – Rep. Tony Tinderholt of Arlington, a leading Republican hardliner in the Texas House who once ran for speaker, announced his retirement after six terms on Monday, the last day of this year’s session.

Surrounded by lawmakers of both parties, Tinderholt said he decided to retire knowing that there was a new generation of ultraconservative lawmakers in the House who would continue the movement he has helped lead for over a decade.

“I returned to this chamber with one goal: accomplishing as much conservative policy as possible, while humbly evaluating if it was time to go home and let others continue this vital fight for the conservative movement,” he said. “We’ve accomplished a lot in six sessions, but there’s still more work to be done.”

Tinderholt, a voice of the insurgent far-right faction of the Legislature who often disagreed with his more mainstream peers, acknowledged his colleagues from across the political spectrum in a tearful speech on the floor — while encouraging his hard-right colleagues to continue the fight.

“To my Democrat colleagues, I hope you know that I’ve always tried to treat you with the respect that you deserve as members of this body who are chosen by your districts to fight for the values you hold,” he said. “To the Republican colleagues that I’ve oftentimes disagreed with, please know that my absence next session will not remove in any way the pressure to deliver real conservative results to the people of Texas. And though we’ve disagreed at times, I’ve been truly honored to serve alongside each of you.”

His departure comes after last year’s earthquake election season. Those primaries ushered in over a dozen more conservative Republicans and significantly grew the ranks of the far-right faction from last session, when Tinderholt ran for speaker on a hardline platform.

“Texas is in good hands with each of you, and it’s time for me to step aside,” he said.

Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, alluded to their evolving influence in the 150-member body with a grin: “The first vote I ever took in this chamber was to vote for you to be speaker, and we were only 73 votes away. We were so close.”

Tinderholt, now 54, joined the Legislature after more than two decades serving in the military, where he earned a Bronze Star and the Combat Action Badge after taking part in counter drug missions in the Air Force and volunteering in combat zones with the Army after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“Arguably,” he said to laughs, “my 12 years here has been one of the more difficult combat zones I’ve had the pleasure of serving in.”

He attributed his decision to retire to a desire to spend more time with his family, who surrounded him after his speech.

“To my wonderful wife, Bethany, and my children, Tyler and Brenan,” he said, choking up, “I’m coming home.”

“I get to be a dad,” he said. “I don’t have to miss practices and dances. I’m going to be able to do prayer at dinner with you, instead on FaceTime.”

Colleagues in both parties who spoke after his speech emphasized his integrity, respect for his peers and the influence he developed within his caucus.

“It’s not a matter of where we are when we come, it’s a matter of whether or not we grow,” Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston and a veteran lawmaker, said. “I’ve never seen a legislator grow as much as Tony.”

Tinderholt recalled one of the earliest lessons he learned in the House, when Dutton helped him hash out the details of a technical challenge he wanted to raise to a bill the Houston Democrat supported. When he asked Dutton why he was helping him, Tinderholt recalled Dutton saying that, “we’re colleagues, and I want you to look smart when you go up there and I beat you.”

“The lesson is we are colleagues and we are family,” Tinderholt said, adding that he had tried to impress that lesson onto freshmen Republicans over each session. “We’re going to fight, and we’re going to argue, and then we’re going to go into the members’ lounge, and we’re going to make up.”

Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read originally published article, click here.