Texas House passes Campus Protection Act to regulate free speech

Free Speech on College Campuses to Face New Constraints

The Texas House has given final approval to Senate Bill 2972, dubbed the "Campus Protection Act," which will limit students' and employees' permitted expression on campus. The proposal reverses 2019 protections that established common outdoor areas of a higher education campus as traditional public forums.

Details of the Bill

The House approved its version of the bill with a 97-39 vote, including more free speech protections than the original Senate bill. Rep. Jeff Leach, a Plano Republican who sponsored the bill, supported an amendment proposed by Democratic Rep. Chris Turner of Grand Prairie to ensure that campuses "provide a public forum for free speech" and that nothing in the bill would contradict the U.S. or Texas constitutions.
Leach also proposed an amendment clarifying that amplified sound is only prohibited "when there's an intent to intimidate others or to interfere with campus operations," university leadership or police. The House approved both amendments.

Reaction to the Bill

"We've been working collaboratively with many of you here in the body, with our Senate counterparts, with the leadership at our university systems across the state, to guarantee the rights of students and faculty to gather peaceably on our college campuses," Leach said. "I'm taking what could have been a three- or four-hour debate and it's going to be less than five minutes," Leach said as the House approached its 12th hour on the floor.

Background of the Bill

Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, authored SB 2972 to tighten free speech rules on college campuses after pro-Palestinian protests erupted last year at universities across the country, including at several Texas campuses, where students called for an end to the Israel-Hamas war. More than 150 people were arrested in April 2024 during protests at Texas universities despite assertions by organizers and demonstrators that the gatherings were peaceful and lawful. University administrators and lawmakers, however, have accused protesters of being disruptive and antisemitic. In Austin, the Travis County attorney's office dropped all criminal trespassing charges for demonstrators who were arrested during the April 24 and April 29 protests at the University of Texas. At least five students who were arrested have sued UT over alleged violations of their First Amendment rights.

Creighton's Statement

"While the world watched Columbia, Harvard and other campuses across the country taken hostage by pro-terrorist mobs last year, Texas stood firm. UT allowed protest, not anarchy," Creighton said in a statement to the American-Statesman on Saturday about the bill. "No First Amendment rights were infringed — and they never will be."

Previous Free Speech Protections

Creighton's bill removes a provision authored six years ago that established universities as traditional public forums for everyone regardless of viewpoint — a conservative priority that he co-authored. State Republicans enthusiastically backed SB 18 in 2019, which they said protected speech at a time when campuses were wary of controversial conservative voices coming to campus.

Opposition to the Bill

Advocacy groups from across the political spectrum — from the national chapter of Young Americans for Liberty to the ACLU of Texas and the local chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations — opposed the bill's potential limit on free speech.

ACLU Statement

"The context of the (SB 18) bill is impossible to extricate from the protections, but it yielded a benefit to all Texans," Caro Achar, engagement coordinator at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said in an interview before the House amendments. "What's difficult about SB 2972 is that it feels more and more that the protections that were extended for all Texans' free speech rights and protest rights were a matter of convenience and viewpoint, and not inherently because they are valued rights."

Creighton's Response

Creighton denied that SB 2972 contradicts the 2019 law, saying it builds on the measure by protecting free speech that's peaceful while maintaining "safety and order" and empowering each institution to use "the local tools needed to preserve both free expression and the educational mission."

"Both laws protect the First Amendment rights of students, faculty and staff," Creighton said. "SB 2972 ensures that speech stays free, protest stays peaceful, and chaos never takes hold."

Vote on the Bill

Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, who authored SB 18 in 2019, voted in favor of Creighton's SB 2972. She did not respond to requests for comment on her vote.

Future of the Bill

Turner said on the House floor that his amendment would add critical protections to SB 2972, such as a requirement that institutions must have a public forum for speech. Several Democrats, including Rep. Donna Howard of Austin and Rep. Aicha Davis of Dallas, who both serve on the House's Higher Education Committee, voted for the amended version of the bill.

The House and Senate must reconcile the differences in the bill before it can become law.

"This is how we protect student safety, defend our institutions, and safeguard freedom for generations to come," Creighton said.

This story has been updated with new information.