Texas lawmaker threatens university budget cuts over LGBT research

Texas taxpayers, as well as conservative Christians and other religious groups opposed to gender ideology in public schools, could soon find themselves unable to fund LGBT curriculum, according to some Republican lawmakers. It is said that there is.

Texas Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Waxahachie) has vowed to take drastic action against Texas public universities that offer “LGBT/sexuality” programs that Harrison calls “left-wing indoctrination.” .

Harrison is one of more than a dozen Texas state legislators who have expressed concern about the University of Texas System’s decision to offer tuition-free tuition to undergraduate students from families with annual incomes of less than $100,000. be.

This new policy is an expansion of the Promise Plus program, which allows eligible students to attend one of UT’s nine institutions tuition-free. Previously, in 2019, UT Austin created a $167 million endowment to cover costs for students from families with adjusted gross incomes of $65,000 or less.

The initiative was later expanded across the state in 2022 with a $300 million donation.

In a letter shared on Nov. 21, Harrison, along with 10 other state legislators, many of whom identify as Christians, called the plan “socialist, regressive and unconstitutional.” There is a possibility of a violation.” “UT’s budget should be cut and bureaucrats should be fired,” Harrison said.

In an interview with CP on Tuesday, Harrison said that if the policy were enacted, Christian families, along with other Texas taxpayers, would often be forced to subsidize curriculum that directly goes against their most deeply held beliefs. He said that he would be provided with the following.

“I am tired of my constituents’ tax dollars being used as a weapon against them, their values, and their children,” Harrison said in an email. “Public universities are for education, not left-wing indoctrination. If you want to study (lesbian, gay, bisexual), that’s fine, but don’t do it with your own money. please.

Harrison said he plans to introduce a bill in the next Congress that would “zero out the president’s budget for all public universities that do not eliminate minors or on-campus courses.”

Democratic Rep. Donna Howard, in a response to Mr. Harrison’s letter on

“No tax dollars were used,” wrote Mr. Howard, Austin’s attorney. “Higher education institutions are already helping families afford college. This will expand philanthropic giving and help meet Gov. (Greg) Abbott and the Texas Higher Education Commission’s affordability goals. .”

Harrison previously said lawmakers did not have the opportunity to vote on how the money should be used for these types of programs.

“The left is in charge of our public universities, and inmates are now running asylums and abusing tax dollars to promote liberal propaganda instead of educating the next generation,” he said. .

Although Republicans have expanded their majorities in the state House and Senate, it’s unclear whether they have the political will to pursue legislation like the one Harrison supports.

“Texas has a reputation for being a progressive state in personal liberty, liberty, and limited government. But for too long, we have lived on that reputation without living up to it.” I’ve come,” he said. “Texas must become what everyone outside Texas thinks we are: low taxes, limited government, and a bastion of freedom.”

Under a bill passed last year, public universities in Texas are prohibited from establishing or maintaining programs or offices that promote hiring or employment practices based on race, gender or other protected characteristics. .

In addition to banning so-called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices, Senate Bill 17 also bans mandatory DEI training for taxpayer-funded schools. As a result of the bill, UT Austin and other campuses would be forced to eliminate or significantly reduce DEI offices at public universities in the state and close university-run LGBT centers and groups.