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Texas Tech faces lawsuit over course review restrictions
Faculty at Texas Tech are suing the university over what they say are "unconstitutional" mandates to review course material that involves race, sex, gender identity and more. FOX 4's Amelia Jones has more.
LUBBOCK, Texas - Professors at Texas Tech University are suing the school over mandatory course reviews they say are discriminatory and censor instruction.
Texas Tech University faculty lawsuit
What we know:
The National American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Texas Chapter of the AAUP (AFT) filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton of censoring their instruction abilities.
The lawsuit targets two memorandums issued by Creighton; one from Dec. 2025 and a second from April 2026.
Creighton's memorandums mandate Texas Tech professors to have their course content reviewed and flagged for certain topics, including:
- Race
- Sex
- Gender identity
- Sexual orientation
If a course's material falls under those categories, professors would be required to submit their course for review or remove it from their course entirely.
The lawsuit alleges that the requirements are too vague to be enforced, violate First Amendment rights, and intentionally discriminate against Black faculty members.
Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton
Dig deeper:
Part of the lawsuit argues that Creighton previously tried to include similar language when serving in the Texas Senate.
The complaint alleges language Creighton used in earlier versions of legislation at the state level reappeared in Texas Tech memos after Creighton became chancellor in 2025.
"That is unconstitutional"
What they're saying:
"This is based on a viewpoint. This is based on discrimination against populations that have ideas that the Chancellor finds to be disfavorable, and that is unconstitutional," Antonio Ingram, an attorney involved in the case, tells FOX 4's Amelia Jones.
Antonio Ingram
Teresa Klein, the President of the Texas Chapter of the AAUP, tells Jones the review requirements hinder how professors can do their job.
"We want to make sure that this is quality education for our students," Klein said. "That's that's what we come back to over and over again. American universities are stronger because they have academic freedom."
Teresa Klein
What's next:
The faculty groups are asking the federal court to issue a preliminary and permanent injunction to block Texas Tech from enforcing the two memorandums or similar policies.
Texas Tech has not responded to FOX 4's request for comment.
The Source: Information in this story comes from a lawsuit against Texas Tech University and interviews with those involved in the lawsuit.