Texas Tech Faculty Lawsuit Highlights Academic Freedom Concerns
A faculty member at Texas Tech Health El Paso (TTHEP) has reportedly self-censored aspects of a course dealing with El Paso’s underserved communities following directives from campus leaders not to use the term “disparity.” This development is part of a broader legal challenge initiated by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and its Texas chapter against the Texas Tech University System.
The lawsuit, filed on July 8, targets Chancellor Brandon Creighton and the Board of Regents, claiming restrictions on teaching subjects related to sex, race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The plaintiffs have requested an immediate injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas El Paso Division to halt these policies, citing harm to faculty across the system.
Central to the case are memoranda issued by Creighton and approved by the board in December 2025 and April 2026. These directives require administrators to review course content across the system’s five institutions to ensure alignment with workforce preparation goals, as outlined in Creighton’s December memorandum.
Creighton, who authored Senate Bill 37, which was passed in 2025, has positioned this review as a means to enforce state prohibitions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This follows Senate Bill 17 from 2023, which eliminated DEI offices in public colleges and universities in Texas.
According to the plaintiffs’ legal team, approximately 8,500 courses were reviewed by May 2026, with about 500 assessed by the board’s Academic, Clinical, and Student Affairs Committee. This process resulted in modifications to many courses that had already received approval from academic leaders.
At TTHEP, the review has impacted medical education by limiting discussions on health disparities affecting racial and sexual minorities, including Hispanics, African Americans, and LGBTQIA individuals. Todd Wolfson, AAUP president, criticized the policy as a “chilling, top-down attack on the freedom to teach,” intended to silence faculty.
Attempts to reach TTHEP President Richard Lange and the president of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Faculty Council were unsuccessful. Questions regarding the impact of Creighton’s directives were referred to the chancellor’s office, which has not provided a comment to El Paso Matters but confirmed to The Chronicle of Higher Education that the policies comply with state and federal laws.
The TTHEP administration has not disclosed which courses were altered due to the directives. A Texas Public Information Act request was filed by El Paso Matters for this information, but the request was forwarded to the Texas Attorney General’s Office for a potential exemption from disclosure.
Antonio Ingram II, senior counsel for the Legal Defense Fund, emphasized that the implications extend beyond curriculum changes, touching on censorship issues related to race and gender identity. The plaintiffs are also represented by Lambda Legal and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
Ingram highlighted difficulties in assessing the impact of these directives on healthcare education, particularly concerning the treatment of transgender patients. He noted that faculty have been instructed not to serve transgender patients in the presence of students, compromising medical training.
The lawsuit argues that the directives violate First Amendment rights and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. The AAUP, a non-profit organization advocating for academic freedom, is spearheading the legal challenge.
Encompassing nearly 66,000 students and 21,000 staff across its campuses, the Texas Tech University System is under scrutiny as the case proceeds. Ingram anticipates the federal court in El Paso may rule on the case before the fall 2026 semester, potentially affecting the system’s policies.
