This is the time in the calendar when bills from the last legislative session that are now in effect get sued for various reasons. This one is particularly head-scratching.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sued the University of Texas System in federal court on Wednesday to block a new state law that creates rules for campus protests and gives university systems’ governing boards the power to limit where they can take place.
In the 59-page lawsuit, attorneys from FIRE argue that Senate Bill 2972 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments because it prohibits protected expression and speech. According to the law, expressive activity is banned on campuses from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., a rule that applies to students, campus groups and university employees.
“The First Amendment doesn’t set when the sun goes down,” said FIRE attorney JT Morris. “University students have expressive freedom whether it’s midnight or midday, and Texas can’t just legislate those constitutional protections out of existence.”
Lawmakers passed SB 2972 during this year’s regular legislative session largely in response to last year’s pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses. Republicans who support the law say it will prevent disruption and unsafe behavior seen during those demonstrations. Critics say it contradicts previous conservative efforts to protect free speech rights on Texas campuses.
Here’s what you need to know about the effort to block the law.
What the law does: SB 2972, authored by State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, creates new limits on how people can protest on campus and carves out blackout hours for expressive activity, a term that has attracted criticism due to its broad interpretation.
SB 2972 took effect Sept. 1, essentially walking back a prior law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2019 that mandated all outdoor spaces on state universities be designated as open forums for public speech.
In addition to the overnight restrictions, the law prevents demonstrators from using microphones or other devices to amplify sound while protesting during class hours or if it intimidates others or interferes with campus operations, a university employee or a peace officer doing their job.
Protesters are also barred from building 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 or to intimidate others. In addition, university employees and students at a campus protest are required to provide proof of their identity and status with the school when asked by a university official.
Brandon Creighton is set to be the next Chancellor of Texas Tech. Clearly, he’s the guy you want in charge of young minds.
Not everything about this is egregious – some restrictions on sound amplification while classes are in session are fine, though why it requires a law and not just school rules is beyond me. I’ll let FIRE explain what the real problems are.
In 2019, Texas was a national leader in protecting student speech, passing a robust law enshrining free speech on public university campuses. But after a series of high-profile protests over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2024, the Texas legislature reversed course and passed Senate Bill 2972, transforming the speech-protective 2019 law into one mandating that the state’s public universities and colleges impose a host of sweeping censorship measures.
[…]
FIRE’s lawsuit is challenging two major provisions of the law, which went into effect on Sept. 1. The first requires public universities in Texas to ban all “expressive activities” on campus between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., which the law defines as “any speech or expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment.”
That is a shocking prohibition of protected speech at public universities. Under the new law, universities now have the power to discipline students at nighttime for wearing a hat with a political message, playing music, writing an op-ed, attending candlelight vigils — even just chatting with friends.
“This law gives campus administrators a blank check to punish speech, and that authority will inevitably be used to target unpopular speech,” said FIRE attorney Adam Steinbaugh. “Administrators have plenty of ways to prevent disruptive conduct that do not involve such a broad censorship mandate.”
FIRE is also challenging the law’s mandate that universities ban student groups from a host of protected expression during the last two weeks of any semester or term, including inviting guest speakers, using amplified sound, or playing a drum. The Fellowship of Christian University Students at UT-Dallas, for example, would be unable to invite an off-campus minister to lead a prayer during finals.
“Our organization gives students on campus a place to worship with one another and hear from Christian leaders,” said FOCUS committee chair Juke Matthews. “For many of them, this is their church away from home. This law would yank away part of their support system right at the most stressful time of the term.”
Note those last paragraphs – I have to assume that the likes of Brandon Creighton did not have this outcome in mind. Bravo to FIRE for its recruitment of plaintiffs. The Current notes one more bit of irony in all this.
The petition also points out that SB 2972 marks an abrupt about-face for the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature, which passed a 2019 law requiring universities to ensure that all campus outdoor common areas be available to stage protests, so long as demonstrators obey the law.
The Lege passed that legislation after Texas A&M leaders, voicing safety concerns, cancelled a rally featuring white nationalist Richard Spencer, the Texas Tribune reports. Around the same time, Texas Southern University refused to allow a speech by a Republican Texas lawmaker because it was organized by an unrecognized student group.
And now Christian groups are saying they’re being victimized by this latest Republican speech-suppressing effort. I feel pretty good about the chances of this suit to succeed. KXAN has more.