1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

On April 10, 2026, Texas Tech banned graduate students from writing theses or dissertations on LGBTQ+ topics. Professors cannot teach LGBTQ+ content in core courses. If a standard textbook covers it, they have to skip the pages. The university is using AI to scan course materials for violations. No major American university has ever told students what they can and cannot research. A graduate student has already dropped out. Faculty are leaving the state. Chancellor Brandon Creighton issued the order. He authored the Texas DEI ban. He wrote a campus protest law a federal judge struck down as unconstitutional. Now he is using a taxpayer-funded university to decide what 64,000 students are allowed to study. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund said the policy targets viewpoints for political reasons and raises serious First Amendment concerns. If the government can ban research on one topic today, it can ban research on any topic tomorrow. That should bother every Texan regardless of party. A 2024 survey found 77% of workers won’t apply for jobs in states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Texas companies pay nearly $10,000 to replace every employee driven out. Researchers are choosing other states. But this isn’t only about the economy. LGBTQ+ Texans are your constituents. They run businesses in your districts. They serve in your military. The Trevor Project found LGBTQ+ youth in politically hostile states are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide. These are your neighbors’ kids. Some of them are yours. Protect academic freedom at Texas public universities. Prohibit AI surveillance of student research and course content. Investigate whether this policy violates the First Amendment. LGBTQ+ people have always existed in Texas. Banning the research won’t change that.