Gov. Greg Abbott has issued an executive order requiring schools to curb and discipline what is being described as “the sharp rise in antisemitic speech and acts on university campuses.”
The order requires higher education institutions to update their free speech policies to include the definition of antisemitism and establish and enforce punishments for violating those policies. Punishment could include expulsion.
PerAbbott’s order, the chair of the board of regents at each college has 90 days to verify revisions were made to free speech policies and those policiesare being enforced.
According to the order, Abbott wrote, “Texas supports free speech, especially on university campuses, but that freedom comes with responsibilities for both students and the institutions themselves.”
Following the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, pro-Palestine and pro-Israel students have engaged in protests and heated discussions, including at some Texas institutions, with school leaders struggling between their roles as moderators and facilitators of intellectual debate on campus.
Abbott singled out Palestinian student groups on campuses — including the Palestine Solidarity Committee and Students for Justice in Palestine — who he claims have violated free speech policies and should be subject to discipline.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, an advocacy group for free speech on college campuses, said the order went to far, claiming it leans on a definition of antisemitism that would involve punishing students for “core political speech.”