Lawmakers approve bill limiting protests at public universities

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Protests on college campuses in Texas could be more muted in the fall after lawmakers agreed Sunday to a final version of Senate Bill 2972, which would give university systems’ governing boards the power to limit where protests can take place on campus.

Republicans who support the measure say it will prevent disruption and unsafe behavior seen during the pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year. Critics say it contradicts previous conservative efforts to protect free speech rights on Texas campuses and is unconstitutional. The bill now goes to the governor's desk.

Under the new legislation, members of a university community would not be allowed to use microphones or any other device to amplify sound while protesting during class hours if it intimidates others or interferes with campus operations, a university employee or a peace officer doing their job. The bill prohibits protesting in the last two weeks of the semester in the common outdoor areas of a campus "in a manner that materially or substantially disrupts the function of the institution" by inviting speakers to speak, using a device to amplify sound or using drums or other percussive instruments. It prohibits protesting on campus between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Students would also be barred from erecting encampments, taking down an institution’s U.S. flag to put up another nation’s or organization’s banner and wearing disguises to avoid being identified while protesting or to intimidate others.

Finally, students and university employees at a campus protest would be required to present proof of their identity and status with the university when asked by a university official.

In 2019, the Legislature passed a law requiring colleges and universities to ensure that all outdoor common areas of campus can be used to stage a protest, as long as demonstrators don’t break the law or disrupt school activities.

That measure came after Texas A&M leaders canceled a white nationalist rally and Texas Southern University scrapped a planned speech by Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park. Both happened in 2017. Texas A&M said it canceled the event due to safety concerns while TSU said it canceled Cain’s speech because it was organized by an unregistered student group.

“Our college students, our future leaders, they should be exposed to all ideas, I don’t care how liberal they are or how conservative they are,” Sen. Joan Huffman said at the time.

Huffman, a Houston Republican who authored that 2019 law, voted earlier this month in favor of the new limits on protests, citing similar reasons mentioned by other supporters. She said the new measure doesn’t undermine the former one.

“Both bills work to ensure that our academic environments remain spaces for open dialogue and learning, fostering an atmosphere where diverse perspectives can thrive while maintaining safety,” Huffman said in a statement to the Tribune.

During a public hearing on April 16, several University of Texas at Austin students testified against the new legislation. UT-Austin was the site of massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year. Police arrested more than 100 people. Gov. Greg Abbott and others applauded the law enforcement response amid reports that Jewish students were suffering from a sharp rise in antisemitism. Critics have said the arrests were an affront to protesters’ free speech rights and that state leaders have broadly conflated criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

“This bill scares me because the University of Texas has already demonstrated hostility towards free speech when they sent police to arrest students peacefully protesting last spring,” said Gwynn Marotta, third-year law student. “Please do not give them the tools to further restrict our speech.”

The Senate passed the new legislation 21-10 without debate on May 14.

Students did not get another chance to testify against the measure when the House Higher Education Committee held a last-minute meeting on May 19 and voted to forward it to the full chamber.

Caro Achar, engagement coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, called it an alarming and ironic move that reinforced why the right to protest must be protected.

“People can’t be expected to go through ‘proper’ routes when those routes are quietly closed,” Achar said.

The House passed a less restrictive version of the bill, 97-39, on May 28.

Its version would have prohibited using microphones or other amplification devices while protesting during class hours with the intent to intimidate or interfere. It would have allowed overnight protests provided they were at least 300 feet from any residence.

While neither of those changes made it into the final version of the law, Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, noted he was able to insert a provision requiring that any restrictions universities and colleges impose on protests must be content neutral and provide ample alternative means of expression.

"I think what the result is, is a reasonable bill that gives our colleges and universities a couple of additional tools to help them safely manage their campuses while preserving the First Amendment rights of our students, faculty members and anyone else on a college campus or university campus," Turner said on Sunday before both chambers ultimately adopted the conference committee report.

Democratic Sens. José Menéndez of San Antonio and Sarah Eckhardt of Austin still expressed concerns with the bill. Eckhardt asked whether it contained a mechanism for students to challenge a university's restrictions before and after a protest. Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican who authored the legislation, said "no."

"I'm sure that, from an organic standpoint, that that will happen on its own with an appeal that's made, but the bill doesn't, I don't believe, speak to that," he said.

Prior to the bill's passage, Tyler Coward, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said in an interview with The Texas Tribune that prohibiting overnight protests is “flatly unconstitutional.” Coward and Achar with the ACLU of Texas also pointed out that courts have found that the First Amendment protects anonymous speech. They said America has a long history of it (ie. the letters from Publius in support of the Constitution).

At least one state, Arizona, has passed a law banning overnight encampments on college campuses in reaction to last year’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations. And several universities have imposed their own limits on protesting. Columbia University banned masks after the Trump administration demanded it.

Creighton said on Sunday that the First Amendment should be protected, "but we also want safety to be a factor. And we also want to be mindful of students that may or may not feel safe with such an activity going on on campus and finals week overlapping. There can be some discretion by campus leadership to take action."

Disclosure: Texas Southern University - Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

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