UT System Regents to Vote on New Standards for Teaching Controversial Topics Across 14 Institutions

Policy vote scheduled during Austin meeting

The University of Texas System Board of Regents is set to vote Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, on a proposed update to its systemwide faculty rulebook that would add new standards for how instructors approach “controversial” and “contested” subjects in the classroom. The proposal is titled “The University of Texas System Expectations of Academic Integrity and Standards for Teaching Controversial Topics.”

The measure would revise Regents’ Rule 31004, “Rights and Responsibilities of Faculty Members,” which currently affirms faculty members’ freedom in research and classroom discussion of their subject, while also stating that instructors are expected not to introduce controversial matter unrelated to the subject. The proposed changes would add a more detailed set of expectations tied to classroom climate, viewpoint presentation, and syllabus practices.

What the proposal would require

As drafted for regents’ consideration, the standards would articulate responsibilities alongside existing protections for academic freedom. The proposal directs instructors, particularly when addressing disputed or unsettled matters, to cultivate classroom conditions where students can ask questions and express beliefs without coercion or belittlement, and to present differing views and relevant scholarly evidence fairly.

• Foster a classroom culture of trust where students feel able to voice questions and beliefs, including when those differ from the instructor’s or peers’ perspectives.
• Present differing views and scholarly evidence on reasonably disputed matters and unsettled issues.
• Equip students to assess competing theories and claims using reason and appropriate evidence, and to form their own conclusions.
• Exclude controversial or contested issues that are not germane to the course.
• Adhere faithfully to the syllabus and avoid introducing undisclosed material that is not clearly relevant.
• When controversial and contested issues are part of a course, ensure a broad and balanced approach to discussion and teaching.

Separately, the proposal also places expectations on UT System institutions to pursue “breadth and balance” in faculty and curricula, and to use curriculum review processes to determine when controversial material is required for a degree or available as elective credit.

Faculty criticism centers on definitions and discretion

A statewide faculty group affiliated with the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers has urged regents to reject the proposal, describing it as censorship and arguing it would constrain instructors’ professional judgment about relevance, evolving scholarship, and classroom discussion. The group’s objections focus in part on the absence of a clear definition of what qualifies as “controversial,” and on concerns that enforcement could shift authority away from faculty and toward administrators during disputes over relevance or balance.

Broader governance context in Texas higher education

The proposal comes amid ongoing changes in higher-education governance in Texas following Senate Bill 37, a state law that expanded the authority of governing boards and restructured how faculty senates operate across public university systems. In recent months, other Texas university systems have also adopted or advanced classroom-content policies, including measures tied to race and gender-related instruction and requirements that course instruction track an approved syllabus.

The regents’ vote will determine whether the UT System formalizes a new, systemwide framework for how instructors handle disputed issues in the classroom and how campuses evaluate the role of controversial material in degree requirements.

The UT System includes 14 institutions statewide. If approved, university leaders would be responsible for implementing and interpreting the new standards within existing academic policies and curriculum review processes.