Teaching under Texas educational standards Plato's “The Symposium,” which speaks of love in its many forms and a third gender, cost Dr. Martin Peterson his job as a professor of philosophy at Texas A&M University. Earlier this year, the university told him that he had to remove readings that had to do with race or gender from his teaching program or he would have to teach another subject, and he resigned.
At the University of North Florida, Education Professor John W. White was also asked to remove the terms “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion” and “culture” from his syllabus to comply with that state's standard. "It's just three or four words. It's the law and we have to follow the law," he remembers what university authorities told him in December 2025.
The growing number of state laws that regulate academic life directly and indirectly has created a climate of censorship in America's universities and colleges. "There is a sense of inhibition. [Teachers] fear that they could get in trouble for what they teach in the classroom. There is concern that, even if they believe that they have a good pedagogical reason and that they are not breaking any rules, they do not have the certainty that they will have the support of the leaders of their institution if an incident goes viral," explains Neal Hutchens, professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at the School of Education at the University of Kentucky, in an interview with EL COUNTRY.
Hutchens researches academic freedom and free speech in the realms of public policy, higher education practice, and law, and some of her recent work has focused on state legislative efforts to prohibit the teaching of concepts associated with critical race theory (CRT) at public colleges and universities. "I have the privilege of having academic tenure in the United States, which has traditionally provided a degree of economic and job security. However, compared to, say, five years ago, I know that when I write and speak about these topics, I cannot trust that the systems or mechanisms that previously existed will provide me with the same level of protection," says the professor.
According to PEN America, a nonprofit organization that works to protect freedom of expression in the United States and the world and that has documented the progress of this type of legislation in the country since 2021, about half of students receive classes in States where there is at least one law or prohibition that restricts what is taught in the classroom about race, gender and sexuality, now considered taboo topics; Among them, Texas and Florida are among the most restrictive.
“Students are in a climate of fear, where teachers are afraid of losing their jobs, and in fact there are cases where that happens,” says researcher Laura Benitez, senior state policy manager for PEN America's free speech programs in the United States, which monitors state-level legislation and political trends that threaten free speech. "By arriving on campus and not having the full and free attention of professors to discuss academic topics, or support systems, a climate is created in which students live in an environment where often no one knows with certainty what is allowed and what is not. This can affect the learning environment and the ability to do what they are really there to do: learn," adds Benitez.
Race and sex, better not to talk
This type of academic censorship emerged at the end of Donald Trump's first administration (2017-2021), when the president issued an executive order prohibiting government agencies from teaching about what they called “divisive concepts” related to race and sex. This executive order was revoked when President Joe Biden took office, but it later morphed into a statewide movement, first to ban the teaching of certain ideas and then to regulate internal decision-making processes, such as curriculum design, and teacher tenure guarantees.
In the second Trump administration, the federal government has pressured universities and colleges to support its “priorities” in exchange for funding, visa approval for foreign students and faculty. Although in the United States there is no federal system of universities but rather a dual system of state and private institutions, many of these depend on subsidies and funding from government agencies, such as the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.
In October 2025, the Department of Education sent a letter to nine universities with a series of demands to maintain collaboration with the government; among them was to adopt the definitions of sex approved by the government, limit the enrollment of international students, implement policies of “institutional neutrality” and suppress academic departments, centers or offices that, under their vision, “deliberately punish, belittle or incite violence against conservative ideas.”
In early August, Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent another open letter to college and university presidents and board members asking them to explain how they will address seven areas of concern to the Trump Administration; among them, “admission based on merit,” “freedom of expression,” and “promotion of American interests.” In addition, that Department has announced the imposition of fees of more than $100,000 for the issuance of H1-B visas for foreign researchers and professors working in the United States, and limits on the time that international students can remain in the country.
Although the letter was not addressed to them, the Florida governorate was the first to respond to the Secretary of Education with a 30-page document that lists the policies that the State has already implemented in support of Trump's guidelines and others that are on the way. Among them, they mention the prohibitions in force in Florida on diversity statements and the use of public funds for political or social activism, and the restrictions on the enrollment of undocumented students starting in 2027. The State University System of Florida (SUSFL) is made up of 12 universities and is the second largest public university system in the United States, while the University College System of the same State is made up of 28 university colleges. Both systems serve more than 1.1 million students.
University autonomy, according to the party
The reaction of universities to these policies has been mixed, depending on the State where they are located and the state government's position of support or rejection of Trump's policies.
In the “blue” states, governed by the Democratic Party, the idea that teachers should enjoy broad academic freedom in the decisions they make in the classroom is maintained to a greater extent, despite the pressures.
In “red” or conservative states governed by the Republican Party, Legislatures tend to support the White House “priorities” for higher education. Private universities have also responded in different ways: Harvard University, for example, has maintained sustained litigation with the Trump Administration to challenge several of its measures, while other institutions such as Columbia and Brown Universities have sought to reach agreements with the federal government, probably driven by fear of the economic impact.
