The Latest Breaking News from University of Texas at Austin

The state Senate originally passed a bill to ban tenure, but on Saturday it approved the House’s counterproposal, which enshrines tenure in state law.

The Texas Senate wants to ban tenure. The House gave initial approval Monday to a bill that would instead enshrine tenure policies in state law. After final passage, the two chambers have a week left to come to a compromise.

State lawmakers passed legislation that would ensure the UT flagship can continue to cap the number of students it automatically admits because of their academic achievement at 75%, giving the university room to accept other students using different criteria.

Texas could become the second state in the country after Florida to ban diversity, equity and inclusion offices in higher education.

The Senate wants to eliminate tenure altogether while the House seeks to enshrine it in state law. The two chambers have until May 26 to come to an agreement.

A new version of Senate Bill 18 scheduled for a hearing in the House Higher Education Committee on Monday would keep faculty tenure and direct university governing boards to establish policies to grant and revoke tenure.

The legislation heads to the Texas House, where members have been more muted about the proposal to disband offices, programs and training that foster diversity.

Critics say Senate Bill 16 is overly vague and will create a chilling effect that will prevent important conversations about race and gender. But Republican supporters say the legislation is necessary to protect conservative students who are self-censoring in the classroom.

More than 380 supporters and opponents signed up Wednesday to testify on the proposal, which would allow parents to use state funds to send their children to private schools.

Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, has filed legislation that would establish The Civitas School of Civic and International Leadership as a formal college at the University of Texas at Austin.

The head coach is also being investigated for allegedly spitting on a player during a game earlier in the season.