Title: Reconsidering Tenure restrictions for Faculty: Debating New Legislative Proposals
In recent times, legislators in various states have proposed bills aiming to limit or even abolish faculty tenure. These efforts, for the most part, have fallen short, leaving tenure in these states, albeit shaken, intact. However, emboldened by recent political developments, Texas, North Dakota, and Ohio have introduced new bills that aim to challenge tenure's presence in higher education.
Texas
HB 1830, a recent proposal from Representative Matt Shaheen (R-Plano), is the most recent anti-tenure bill in Texas. This legislation would prohibit public universities from providing tenure to new faculty members starting in 2025, while maintaining tenure for those already tenured or with permanent employment status. Additionally, it permits the establishment of alternative "tiered employment" systems for faculty, provided they include annual performance evaluations.
This isn't the first time Texas has sought to eliminate tenure. In 2023, Senate Bill 18 was introduced, aiming to ban tenure across the state's public institutions. Although the bill passed in the Senate, the House of Representatives opposed it, ultimately leading to the signing of a law requiring universities to conduct regular performance evaluations of tenured faculty and granting university boards more leeway in dismissing faculty with tenure.
Pauline Strong, president of the UT Austin chapter of the American Association of University Professors, voiced concerns about these tenure-threatening bills, stating that they underscore the importance of tenure in maintaining Texas' high-quality research and education system. Strong warned that, without tenure, the state could experience a significant brain drain, a decline in intellectual diversity, a loss of research funding, and a weakened education system.
North Dakota
House Bill 1437, introduced in North Dakota, would ban tenure for new faculty members hired after July 1, 2026, for two-year colleges. The bill reflects concerns raised by the State Board of Higher Education about the need for tenure at two-year schools. Former associate professor of communication at Dickinson State University, Eric Grabowsky, shares this concern, asserting that the bill aims to hinder tenure as a protection for faculty who might expose poor management or corruption in higher education institutions.
Ohio
Ohio will reconsider Senate Bill 1, which seeks to reform various aspects of higher education, including banning DEI initiatives and faculty labor strikes. Although the bill does not aim to eliminate tenure, its annual evaluations, student feedback, and increased trustee power over retrenchment could potentially impact tenured professors.
While tenure-targeting bills in Texas and North Dakota have yet to generate significant attention, Ohio's SB 1 has sparked considerable interest. The attention paid to these bills is likely to escalate as they progress through the legislative process.
In response to Texas's 2023 Senate Bill 18, which aimed to ban tenure, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) expressed concerns about potential impacts on the state's research and education system. The Ohio House of Representatives opposed the bill, leading to a law requiring regular performance evaluations and increased university board leeway in dismissing faculty with tenure.
North Dakota's House Bill 1437, aiming to ban tenure for new faculty members in two-year colleges after 2026, reflects concerns raised by the State Board of Higher Education. This bill, according to former associate professor Eric Grabowsky, aims to hinder tenure as a protection for faculty exposing poor management or corruption in higher education institutions.
Senate Bill 1 in Ohio, which aims to reform various aspects of higher education including banning DEI initiatives and faculty labor strikes, does not seek to eliminate tenure, but its potential impacts on annual evaluations, student feedback, and increased trustee power over retrenchment could affect tenured professors.
