Texas has launched a website where the public can file complaints or give feedback about the state's colleges and universities.
The site, announced Friday by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Office of the Ombudsman, includes a portal where people can report possible violations of Senate Bill 17, the 2023 state law banning DEI policies and programs in state schools, and Senate Bill37, which gives greater powers to administrators, increasing their oversight of curriculum at their institutions. Lawmakers have said the measure makes Texas higher education institutions more accountable to the public.
"Through a user-friendly website and engagement on campuses across Texas, I look forward to a collaborative, productive partnership with our institutional leaders and students," Brandon Simmons, who leads the Office of the Ombudsman, said in a statement.
Critics of SB17 have called the bill discriminatory. The American Association of University Professors has complained SB 37 threatens academic freedoms.
Bill Zeeble is KERA's education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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