Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9 and Title 49.

This bill prohibits an employee at a public institution of higher education from compelling a teacher or student at that institution to:<br /> <br /> (1) Discuss public policy issues of the day without the teacher's or student's consent;<br /> <br /> (2) Adopt, affirm, adhere to, or profess ideas in violation of Title IV or Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, including, but not limited to, the following:<br /> <br /> (A) That individuals of a race, ethnicity, color, or national origin are inherently superior or inferior;<br /> <br /> (B) That individuals should be adversely or advantageously treated on the basis of their race, ethnicity, color, or national origin; or<br /> <br /> (C) That individuals, by virtue of race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, bear collective guilt and are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, ethnicity, color, or national origin.<br /> <br /> This bill provides that a course of instruction or unit of study at a public institution of higher education must not direct or otherwise compel a teacher or student at that institution to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to a tenet identified above in (2)(A)-(C). This bill prohibits an employee of a public institution of higher education, when acting in the course of the employee's official duties, from organizing, participating in, or carrying out an act or communication that would violate item (2) above. This bill states that it does not prohibit a teacher or student from discussing public policy issues of the day, or ideas that individuals may find unwelcome, disagreeable, or offensive.<br /> <br /> This bill requires a public institution of higher education to implement a process by which the institution notifies the department of finance and administration of a violation of this bill by an employee of the institution and the method by which the institution intends to remedy the violation. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, if the institution does not remedy a violation to the satisfaction of the department within six months following the violation, then the department must prohibit additional state funding from being disbursed to the institution until the violation is remedied to the satisfaction of the department. This bill specifies that this provision does not prohibit an institution from receiving scholarships, grants, tuition reimbursement, or other state financial aid received by the institution on behalf of an eligible student. This bill requires the department to immediately notify the chairs of the government operations committees of the house of representatives and the senate if an institution fails to remedy a violation to the satisfaction of the department within six months following the violation. <br /> <br /> In addition to other remedies available in law, this bill provides that an individual may bring a private cause of action against another individual or institution engaged in a violation of this bill.<br />