Kate McGee

The new policy says universities should remain neutral on “issues of the day” while allowing students, faculty and staff to express their ideas.

The university was started by a group of higher education critics who believe traditional higher education has abandoned its commitment to open inquiry, free speech and civil discourse.

The professor, an expert on the opioids crisis, was placed on paid administrative leave and investigated, raising questions about the extent of political interference in higher education, particularly in health-related matters.

The system leaders’ decision comes weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop considering diversity in their hiring practices. Texas A&M University also recently changed its hiring practices.

In a memo written Monday and obtained by The Texas Tribune, Abbott’s chief of staff Gardner Pate told agency leaders that using diversity, equity and inclusion policies in hiring violates federal and state employment laws, and hiring cannot be based on factors “other than merit.”

High-money donors are concentrated on larger boards, including those of the University of Texas System and Texas A&M University System.

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that Gov. Greg Abbott’s 15% lead has shrunk to 5% over Beto O’Rourke as more Texas voters now say gun policies are a top priority.

Since Texas launched the school marshal program in 2013, just 84 school districts out of more than 1,200 have armed school staff. Educators say the program’s lack of popularity shows that teachers don’t want to be the ones to defend schools from mass shootings.

Many Texas public universities have committed to accepting students who do not submit SAT or ACT standardized test scores, signaling that test-optional policies could be here to stay.

The two-term incumbent, beset by a criminal indictment and FBI probe, will face Bush, the state’s land commissioner and scion of a political dynasty, in the May 24 runoff.