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The following message was shared with members of the University community on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
 

Late this afternoon, the µÛÍõ»áËù Senate passed Senate Bill 1: Advance µÛÍõ»áËù Higher Education Act. It is important to note that this bill is still moving through the legislative process and is not yet final. The bill must pass the House before it can go to the Governor for signature, which would be the final step of the process.

As this bill would have broad impacts on our operations and community, we wanted to assure you that we are closely following this bill’s progress and have begun leadership conversations about potential next steps should a version of this bill ultimately become law.

In its , as passed by the Senate, Substitute Senate Bill 1 includes several significant changes to laws governing higher education, including, but not limited to:

• Prohibits any orientation or training course regarding diversity equity and inclusion, the inclusion of DEI in any job descriptions and the continuation or establishment of DEI offices or departments.
• Mandates that universities make a syllabus for each undergraduate course publicly available on its website beginning in the 2026-27 academic year.
• Mandates that students, with some limited exceptions, complete a course in American civic literacy with certain required reading.
• Prescribes some specific changes to faculty performance evaluations.
• Expands the list of public employees who are prohibited from striking to include full-time faculty members among other categories.
• Requires that state universities eliminate any undergraduate degree program it offers if the institution confers an average of fewer than five degrees in that program annually over any three-year period. Exceptions can be presented to the Chancellor for consideration.
• Requires that universities post all speaker fees and honoraria in excess of $500 for events sponsored by the institution.

Should any of these proposed changes become law, we will be required to make necessary adjustments to comply with state law. While we recognize that such adjustments would impact the ways in which our students, employees and community members engage with many of our existing operational support services, we must, and will, remain committed to fulfilling our institutional mission and to effectively supporting faculty and student success and retention.

These two obligations – to our state and to our mission – are equally non-negotiable and, in many ways, interlinked. The question, not specifically in light of this proposed legislation but in every situation and every day, is how we effectively fulfill both of these obligations and ensure student success.

As this bill moves through the legislative process, we will continue to provide relevant updates to our University community.

Sincerely,

Lori Stewart Gonzalez
President

Donald J. Leo
Executive Vice President and Provost