AUSTIN – Today, following his press conference, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued the following statement:

“Tenured professors must not be able to hide behind the phrase ‘academic freedom,’ and then proceed to poison the minds of our next generation. I am outraged by the University of Texas at Austin’s Faculty Council’s 41-5 vote on a resolution in support of teaching critical race theory, and I am further outraged that the Faculty Council told the legislature and the UT Board of Regents that it is none of their business what they taught. Universities across Texas are being taken over by tenured, leftist professors, and it is high time that more oversight is provided.

“During the upcoming 88th Legislative Session, one of my priorities will be eliminating tenure at all public universities in Texas. To address already-tenured professors, we will change tenure reviews from every 6 years to annually. Additionally, we will define teaching Critical Race Theory in statute as a cause for a tenured professor to be dismissed.

“The Texas Senate will also take up giving Boards of Regents more authority to address issues of tenure.”