Latest news with #MattShaheen
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas bill changing control of higher ed curriculum goes to governor's desk
The Texas legislature passed a bill on Monday that would give state boards appointed by the governor more power over universities' curriculum, sending the legislation to Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) desk. Governing boards at higher education institutions, which are appointed by the governor, will be able to review and strike down general curriculum requirements at the universities. The new legislation also gives these boards more power over hiring, elimination of degrees with low enrollment and creates a new oversight office for noncompliance complaints. The bill, which will likely be signed by the governor, is the latest effort among Republican states to control curriculum and other aspects of higher education institutions. 'The objective of this legislation is to provide consistency with respect to our curriculum and the degrees we're offering our students,' said Republican state Rep. Matt Shaheen, co-sponsor of the legislation, the Associated Press reported. In places like Florida, it has become common place for similar boards to strip requirements for gender or diversity courses and replace it with civics classes. The move comes as the Trump administration has also been exerting more pressure on universities, stripping them of funding if demands such as eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion aren't met. '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, according to the AP. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
03-06-2025
- General
- The Hill
Texas bill changing control of higher ed curriculum goes to governor's desk
The Texas legislature passed a bill on Monday that would give state boards appointed by the governor more power over universities' curriculum, sending the legislation to Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) desk. Governing boards at higher education institutions, which are appointed by the governor, will be able to review and strike down general curriculum requirements at the universities. The new legislation also gives these boards more power over hiring, elimination of degrees with low enrollment and creates a new oversight office for noncompliance complaints. The bill, which will likely be signed by the governor, is the latest effort among Republican states to control curriculum and other aspects of higher education institutions. 'The objective of this legislation is to provide consistency with respect to our curriculum and the degrees we're offering our students,' said Republican state Rep. Matt Shaheen, co-sponsor of the legislation, the Associated Press reported. In places like Florida, it has become common place for similar boards to strip requirements for gender or diversity courses and replace it with civics classes. The move comes as the Trump administration has also been exerting more pressure on universities, stripping them of funding if demands such as eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion aren't met. '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, according to the AP.
CBS News
11-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Are the days of the Texas Lottery numbered? Why some lawmakers want it abolished
Questions are swirling at the Texas Capitol over the future of the Texas Lottery and the Lottery Commission. It comes after state leaders say questionable jackpots have been awarded. Lawmakers have not approved a budget for the Lottery Commission for the next two years as of yet. The agency was already under a sunset review, which all state agencies face every 12 years. If lawmakers don't approve its continuation, it will be shut down. The Lottery Commission is under a number of state investigations by the Texas Rangers, requested by Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. Attorney General Ken Paxton is also looking into the Lottery Commission. Various officials at the commission have resigned. After questionable multi-million dollar jackpots, the state Senate banned the use of couriers who helped customers buy lottery tickets, which lawmakers said violated state law. The agency stopped allowing the practice of couriers to sell lottery tickets after it maintained for years it didn't have the authority to do so. In addition to all that, some lawmakers, including State Representative Matt Shaheen, R-Prosper, want to abolish the lottery. He told Eye On Politics on CBS News Texas, "I absolutely do. The state really shouldn't be in the business of driving what I call an addiction to gambling. The lottery was meant to be this thing where you go to the grocery store, you buy a lottery ticket, you go home and see what happens. Now, it's evolved into this real expansion, as far as you can buy lottery tickets online. We had these courier services that were literally buying lottery tickets in bulk. In our state budget, we fund just K through 12, about $90 billion. Less than $3 billion of that comes to the lottery and we're flush with huge surpluses because our economy is doing so well. In the State of Texas, we could easily replace that." Shaheen has filed a bill to abolish the lottery. It was referred to a committee. State Senator Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, has filed an identical bill in the upper chamber and could be debated during a Senate committee in the next week. State Representative Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie told Eye On Politics that he hopes the lottery can be saved. "I am concerned, but I am confident though at the end of the day, the legislature is not going to abandon more than 30 years of mostly successful work that the Texas lottery has done. The lottery raises significant money for public education in our state and raises importantly valuable funds to serve our veterans. Back in my first legislative session, I passed the veterans lottery scratch of bill that has raised over $260 million for veterans just in the last 15 years. That money is not going to get replaced. People who say let's get rid of the lottery, tell me how you're going to replace a quarter billion dollars in funding for our veterans? While lottery revenues are a small percentage of the overall education budget, it's still a couple billion dollars. Where is that money going to come from? To the extent that there are problems in the Lottery Commission or with the lottery game itself, let's identify those and let's work to fix them. I am confident we can do that." State Senator Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, has filed an identical bill to Shaheen's legislation in the upper chamber and it could be debated during a Senate committee in the next week. Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 Sunday morning on CBS News Texas on air and streaming Follow Jack on X: @cbs11jack
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas moves closer to land ban for non-resident citizens of China, Russia, others
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Legislature voted to make it illegal for citizens of China, North Korea, Iran and Russia to own Texas land if they're not legally residing in the United States. On Friday, the Texas House voted to pass Senate Bill 17 after adding seven amendments to the bill on Thursday evening. The bill will now head back to the Senate to either adopt the House's changes, or to start a conferencing committee to find common ground. In 2021, the Texas Legislature unanimously passed Senate Bill 2116, preventing China, North Korea, Iran and Russia from connecting to critical Texas infrastructure due to national security concerns. In 2023, State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, tried to build off the legislation by preventing citizens of the same nations from buying Texas land. 'Texans have raised concerns of national security ranging from energy security to food security,' Kolkhorst wrote in her statement of intent. 'Preventing private property rights from being controlled by entities from adversarial nations is key to ensuring national security.' The bill underwent several changes due to concerns over rights violations and was eventually killed in the Texas House. State Sen. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, introduced an amendment to make those who live in the U.S. legally eligible to buy land regardless of nationality. While the amendment passed 120-19, it immediately drew backlash from some conservative activists and lawmakers on social media. '3/4 of Republicans vote to allow Chinese nationals with student visas to buy land,' Former Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi said on X. 'Just enroll in an ESL course at a local community college and you are good.' 'Here's a short explanation on how this guts the bill,' Rinaldi said in a follow-up post. 'Chinese nationals (even those who are members of the CCP) are not prohibited from getting tourist visas (B-2). Once in the United States, immigration lawyers will advise them to enroll in an ESL or other course at a local community college, so they can change their status to a student visa (F-1), which can last 5 years.' Rinaldi supported three other amendments brought forward by Republicans. The first, by State Rep. Steve Toth, R-Spring, prevented citizens of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran from leasing land for more than a year. Previously, the bill allowed for 99-year leases. The second, brought forward by State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Dallas, prevented those who are 'a member of the ruling political party or any subdivision of the ruling political party in a designated country,' from owning Texas land. The last, brought by State Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, allows the governor to designate new nations to the designated country list at will. Schatzline specifically mentioned Venezuela and the gang Tren de Aragua as a reason the governor may have to act quickly. On Friday before the third reading, two attempts were made to undo the controversial Shaheen amendment. Both times the amendments failed because they didn't receive the two-thirds majority needed to amend a bill on third reading, but both times they received a majority vote. 'The [Shaheen] amendment… it's not in the Senate bill,' Chuck Guo said. Guo is a Chinese citizen who practices immigration law in Texas on a H-1B visa. 'They will maybe listen to the proponents of the bill to strengthen the bill and to strip the [Shaheen] amendment from the bill that will eventually become law.' Guo has been concerned about SB 17 since it was first floated as SB 147 in 2023. On Saturday morning, he's helping host a rally outside the Texas Capitol in opposition to the bill. 'Discrimination is still discrimination,' Guo said. 'It is targeting the entire community and is creating a chilling effect.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why university professors say Texas Senate Bill 37 would be disastrous for higher education
A Texas House committee is proposing to eliminate several controversial measures targeting higher education from a Senate-approved bill that seeks to remove university faculty from shared governance and hiring decisions, while restricting required coursework for students. As the Texas House Higher Education Committee took up Senate Bill 37 late Tuesday, with discussions stretching into early Wednesday, dozens of professors and students sat in stiff chairs urging lawmakers to reject the legislation. The central debate between the bill's proponents and opponents focused on a key question: When does education shift into indoctrination, and does higher education in Texas require more regulation? The House's version of SB 37, presented by Republican state Rep. Matt Shaheen of Plano, made significant changes to the Senate's proposal, notably keeping final authority on academic degrees and curriculum with universities. The Senate's version grants that authority to university boards of regents, which are political appointments. Shaheen said he met with university leaders three times before introducing his revisions, and many who testified before the committee thanked him for the changes. 'A lot of the changes that they requested are in this bill,' Shaheen said about university leaders. The House version also restricted university system regents' hiring authority to presidents, vice presidents and deans. Texas A&M University System General Counsel Ray Bonilla testified that this revision would reduce the boards' legal liability for employment decisions. The House panel also cut the Senate-outlined process for ending degree programs with certain levels of associated debt, softening language to direct presidents to review programs and minors for low enrollment that "may require consolidation or elimination." Most processes now are "at the institutional level," Shaheen said in allaying fears about political appointees ― such as boards of regents that are appointed by the governor ― overruling decisions made by faculty experts. The bill, however, kept in place the regents' "ultimate authority" over nearly all decisions, including on whether to allow faculty senates to exist at an institution and to annually review leaders who oversee curriculum. Despite the House changes, professors, students and higher education advocates who testified against the bill argued that any version of SB 37 would crush institutions' ability to foster productive faculty governance and education. SB 37 states that a university's core curriculum cannot 'advocate or promote the idea that any race, sex, or ethnicity or any religious belief is inherently superior to any other race, sex, or ethnicity or any other religious belief," and it creates a new Office of Ombudsman to investigate public accusations that a school's curriculum isn't following SB 37 or an anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bill that lawmakers passed in 2023. Professors from disciplines including medicine, history, social work, music and art testified that the bill would restrict their ability to address topics such as diversity, racial disparities or history. "In the past, I have not shied away from exploring difficult aspects of American history, including racial segregation and Japanese internment. This would no longer be possible if SB 37 passes," said Lauren Gutterman, who testified as an individual but spoke from her experience as a UT associate professor who teaches history classes that count toward core requirements. "How could I talk openly about history of immigration or LGBTQ rights movement when I know what could happen?" she asked. 'Pigeonholed': Why some lawmakers, students are backing Texas SB 37 Sen. Brandon Creighton, the Republican from Conroe who chairs the Senate Education K-16 Committee and authored SB 37, said his legislation provides a clear delineation of faculty senates' advisory role and tailors university curriculum and degrees to "credentials of value" at a time when trust in higher education institutions is shrinking among Republicans. From 2012 to 2019, Republicans' views on colleges having a negative effect on the country jumped from 35% to 59%, while Democrats have remained largely stable in their positive view of higher education at 67% over the same period, according to the Pew Research Center. "We're teaching courses that are not going to aid a student in their career and the like, we need to seriously ask why that's being offered," Shaheen said. William Rodriguez, a senior at Texas A&M, testified that as a finance major to fulfill his requirement, he took a class in which he felt "pigeonholed" into only certain views, such as with global warming. Those who testified later said scientific facts and historical events do not need to be political, but they fear they will become partisan tools. Paola Martinez, a senior at UT-El Paso, took a women studies course and said she read no politically conservative or moderate lessons, and she wished she had been exposed to more viewpoints. Texas isn't alone in seeking to regulate higher education. In Indiana, lawmakers inserted a provision in its state budget that stripped faculty senate powers, allocated more authority to regents and established an enrollment threshold for degrees. Ohio and Utah have also passed laws limiting how and what faculty members may teach. But the Texas proposal has gained national attention for its scope and its implications for academic freedom. Under SB 37, faculty members can't be involved in considerations over faculty grievances nor will they have final decision-making authority over someone's hiring, delivering on Gov. Greg Abbott's call during his State of the State address in February to keep faculty members from employment deliberations. The bill would also prohibit faculty members from electing their own faculty governance leader and from electing its membership. Instead, an institution's president would pick the faculty senate leadership, while retaining the power to remove any member who appears to advance a political agenda. Caitilin Smith, who testified as an individual but teaches human sexuality and development, shared anonymized end of semester feedback from her students about critical thinking in her classes, including a conservative Christian who said they found "opportunities for greater education and understanding, especially with topics I'm not comfortable with." With SB 37, she said, students would not be pushed to learn in the same way, lowering the value of a university education that is supposed to prepare students not just for careers but for meaningful lives. "Our society and our workforce need graduates who are able to have difficult conversations while remaining grounded in their values," Smith said. "SB 37 will transform our institutions of higher learning into mere degree mills, and many of us will not stand for that or even stay in Texas for that." At 1 a.m. Wednesday, the bill was left pending in committee after about a half-hour of committee members quizzing Shaheen on officials' testimony. Shaheen said he has "high confidence" the Senate will accept the changes. Wynne Chin, a distinguished professor at the University of Houston who is a past faculty senate president, advised the House panel that SB 37 is already depriving Texas of top talent. "Regarding recruiting, this bill is already being raised as a point of concern from people I'm trying to hire. Conversely, several star professors at UH have told me they are seriously considering leaving Texas because of this bill," Chin said. "And personally, a number of universities have already reached out to me to consider joining their institutions explicitly mentioning their awareness of this bill. "Overall, this bill's proposed structural changes will lead to increased costs and less effectiveness immediately and negative longer term economic impact on Texas due to inability to recruit top talent and brain drain of our world class researchers." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: SB 37 risks Texas' higher education freedom, excellence: faculty
