Banning students from writing theses and dissertations on sexual orientation and gender identity could be seen as curtailing students' freedom of speech rights.

(TEMPE, AZ) Texas Tech University, a public university in Lubbock, announced in April 2026 that its five schools would phase out all academic credentials centered on sexual orientation or gender identity. The new policy, detailed in a six-page memo on April 9, also requires instructors to use “alternate materials” when courses address these topics.

Texas Tech, led by former Texas Republican state legislator Brandon Creighton, is not the first university to try to restrict instruction on gender, sexual orientation and other topics in recent years.

Originally published on theconversation.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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