9 OctOber 31 - NOvember 6, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents for The Daily Campus, SMU’s student news- paper. The North Carolina native is majoring in journalism and history. We asked her to write about how some of her fellow Mustangs on the Hilltop regard the upcoming election. ▼ EDUCATION ‘EDUCATIONAL GAG ORDERS’ TEXAS TRIES TO RESTRICT TEACHING MORE THAN ALMOST EVERY OTHER STATE. BY KELLY DEARMORE T exas is a leading state for proposed educational gag orders, according to a new study. Conducted and published by free speech advocacy nonprofit PEN America, America’s Censored Classrooms 2024: Refining the Art of Censorship examines the educational cen- sorship laws that have been introduced and passed in each state from 2021 to 2024, with a focus on higher education. PEN American defines educational gag orders as “state leg- islation and policies that restrict teaching about topics such as race, gender, and LG- BTQ+ identity in educational settings.” To be clear, this isn’t a report solely fo- cused on library book removals and reviews, something that PEN America has also fol- lowed closely. Those efforts are included in a much broader category in this case. “Educational censorship is changing,” the report reads. “The educational gag orders of 2021 that directly prohibited teaching specific topics are largely a thing of the past. In 2024, most educational censorship bills don’t fulmi- nate against critical race theory or the New York Times’ 1619 Project. Instead, they are more likely to attach themselves to a worthy goal, like promoting ‘institutional neutrality’ or ‘viewpoint diversity,’ combating antisemitism, or treating all students equally.” According to the PEN America report, Texas proposed 15 educational gag orders from 2021 to 2024. House Bill 3979 and Sen- ate Bill 3, both from 2021, are now laws that fit what PEN America says are educational gag orders. HB 3979 is the successful effort by the more conservative lawmakers in the House to keep critical race theory from being taught in public schools by restricting how teachers discuss controversial topics includ- ing race and how race relations have shaped history and current society. Texas isn’t the leader when it comes to proposing educational gag orders, however, but it’s close. Oklahoma, a state every bit as dominated politically by the Republican Party as Texas has long been, nearly doubled the Lone Star State with 30 proposed educa- tional gag orders, as defined by PEN Amer- ica. South Carolina tied Texas for second with 16, and Indiana had 14. Of the 15 educational gag orders pro- posed in Texas, six of them targeted higher education, including Senate Bill 17, which forced public universities to shutter diver- sity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs. Again, Oklahoma had more of these with 12, and Mississippi and Tennes- see surpassed Texas with nine and seven, re- spectively. In the report, PEN America states that in 2024 “policymakers largely aban- >> p10 Follow Us Where the Mainstream Misses, We Deliver
