Latest news with #SB2972
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Senate weighs bill limiting universities as public spaces for speech, demonstrations
In 2019, Texas lawmakers passed a bill establishing open spaces at Texas universities as traditional public forums for anyone to speak freely. A new proposal in the Senate, however, would upend that statute and only allow students and employees to engage in expressive activities in common outdoor areas. Senate Bill 2972 by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, who chairs the Senate Education K-16 Committee, received its second approval from senators Tuesday, leaving one more vote before it advances to the House. The bill comes a year after multiple pro-Palestinian protests broke out at college campuses across Texas, resulting in more than 150 demonstrators getting arrested and some Jewish students feeling unsafe. The 2019 law, SB 18, was priority legislation for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, which was passed with enthusiasm from Republican lawmakers who feared conservative voices were being silenced on campus. However, an interim hearing in 2024 after the pro-Palestinian protests, which notably opposed Texas' strong pro-Israel stance, sought to investigate how universities could better manage free speech. "The committee substitute of SB 2972 balances First Amendment rights of faculty, students and staff while returning local control to university leadership to ensure order and safety on campus to limit disruption during finals and class hours and the ability for peace officers to keep students safe during these organized efforts," Creighton said on the Senate floor Tuesday. More: Texas lawmakers probe universities' compliance with anti-DEI law, free speech: Our takeaways As per the bill, university boards of regents would have authority to designate areas on a campus to serve as limited public forums, but they would no longer be required to have a free speech area. University open spaces would be considered private unless designated otherwise, Creighton confirmed in response to Democratic Sen. Sarah Eckhart's questions on the floor. Additionally, SB 2972 instructs institutions of higher education to prohibit expressive activities that include amplified sound or drums, encampments, wearing a face mask to conceal a person's identity and demonstrations that occur during finals week — all features of the pro-Palestinian protests, which universities and lawmakers deemed to be disruptive and threatening. The protesters have asserted their demonstrations were peaceful. Creighton's proposal would also bar speech on campuses between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. and the U.S. and Texas flags could not be replaced by any other. More: A year ago, 136 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at UT. How campus has changed. Creighton's bill resembles changes UT adopted after two large pro-Palestinian protests last spring, which a spokesperson said at the time were regular updates and clarifications to the school's policies. At an April 16 Senate K-16 Education Committee hearing, Amanda Cochran-McCall, UT's legal affairs vice president, was called as a resource witness for the bill, but senators did not call on her with questions. Multiple students have sued the University of Texas for allegedly violating their free speech rights when they were arrested during the pro-Palestinian protests in April 2024. Free speech groups have decried UT's police response to the demonstrations, which was supported by Gov. Greg Abbott and applauded by conservative lawmakers. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrived mounted on horseback to control the demonstrations. Police used zip ties to detain protesters and pepper spray was used as a crowd control measure. At a Senate hearing in April, Sameeha Rizvi, a UT alum who is also a representative of the Council of American-Islamic Relations for Texas, said the restrictions in Creighton's bill would chill lawful speech. The bill would bar students from holding peaceful vigils in the evening or speaking up during the last two weeks of a semester, she said. More: Analysis: UT increases limits on free speech after pro-Palestinian protests, Abbott order Creighton's bill joins several proposals aimed at curbing "disruptive" free speech after the pro-Palestinian protests. Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, authored SB 2595, which the Senate passed last week, would make it a criminal offense for people to conceal their identity while 'intentionally" harassing, intimidating or threatening someone or a group of people in a public space. Middleton's bill closely resembles model mask ban legislation by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, that has been implemented in places like Nassau County, New York and North Carolina. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Senate poised to advance bill limiting free speech at colleges
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After college students protested Israel-Hamas war, Texas Senate votes to restrict time, place and manner of future events
The Texas Senate on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would restrict protesting on college campuses in reaction to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year. The bill's author, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said he wants to prevent disruption and unsafe behavior, but opponents have said it contradicts the Legislature's previous commitment to campus free speech, championed by conservative lawmakers six years ago. Senate Bill 2972 would give university systems' governing boards the power to limit where protests can take place on campus and more tools to police them. Lawmakers voted 21-10 to advance the bill without debate. Under the legislation, students and staff would not be allowed to use microphones or any other device to amplify sound while protesting during class hours. The bill largely prohibits them from protesting at all overnight and during the last two weeks of a semester. They'd also be barred from erecting encampments, taking down an institution's U.S. flag to put up another nation's or organization's and wearing masks, facial coverings or other disguises to avoid being identified while protesting or to intimidate others. Finally, students and university employees at a protest would be required to present a valid ID when asked by law enforcement. In 2019, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 18, which required colleges and universities to ensure that all outdoor common areas of campus were traditional public forums. This meant anyone could protest there as long as they weren't breaking the law or disrupting the function of the college or university. SB 18 also said any restrictions institutions placed on protesting had to be 'narrowly tailored to serve a significant institutional interest.' SB 2972 would walk those provisions back, allowing governing boards to designate which areas on campus are traditional public forums and allowing them to restrict protests in these areas as long as it is 'reasonable in light of the purpose of the area.' Cate Byrne, a third-year law student at the University of Texas at Austin, said during a Senate K-16 Education Hearing last month that because the bill doesn't define what is 'reasonable,' it could lead to administrators discriminating against protesters based on their viewpoint. Other current and former UT-Austin students pointed out that some protesters must wear masks because they are immunocompromised and that this legislation would also impede conservative speech — which lawmakers sought to protect when they passed SB 18 in 2019. They pointed out that candlelight vigils for the unborn would not be allowed under this proposal because they would occur at night, for example. 'These restrictions create an impossible situation,' said Sameeha Rizvi, Texas policy and advocacy coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations and a UT-Austin graduate. 'Protest silently during the daytime or don't protest at all after hours. Whether students are advocating for human rights or religious freedom, all speech across the political spectrum will be constrained.' Following Hama's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, students across the country demanded their universities divest from Israel or manufacturers supplying Israel with weapons in its strikes on Gaza. Groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the Hillel International also reported a sharp uptick in antisemitic incidents on campus, which lawmakers vowed to address this session. When students protested at UT-Austin, administrators called in armed state troopers, who arrested more than a hundred people over several days. Several colleges across the country have since imposed limits on protesting that clamped down on pro-Palestinian encampments. The Indiana University board of trustees adopted a policy similar to the bill the Texas Legislature is considering that prohibits camping unless it is part of a university-approved event, protesting overnight and amplified noise that 'materially or substantially' disrupts university life. The Trump administration has also demanded that Columbia and Harvard universities ban masks at campus protests. Columbia agreed. The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
