The upcoming 89th Texas legislative session is slated to start on January 14th, 2025. Each regular session takes 140 days, which means the session will end on June 2nd, 2025. Some key priorities are already on the table, some of which are directly related to higher education and what occurs on college campuses. Texas Lt. Governor President of the Texas Senate, Dan Patrick, oversees the Texas Senate and has a large amount of power over the bills passed into law. He released a to-do list of over 57 items for each of the 13 committees within the Senate before the start of the session. This to-do list, named "2024 Interim Legislative Charges," was created from the hundreds of ideas submitted by Texas' 31 Senators. These tasks range from increasing border security, strengthening the power grid, examining "charitable bail organizations," continuing to cut property taxes, tackling the house affordability crisis, maintaining election security and much more. One topic that the conservative side of the Senate will focus on heavily is higher education.

These higher education to-dos from the Texas Senate directly impact UT students' day-to-day lives, and UT students should be well-versed in them as they enter the Senate floor. 

Some major continuing to-dos from the 88th Legislative session are Senate Bill 17 and Senate Bill 18. With Senate Bill 17, the Texas Senate will be "Monitoring the Ban of DEI Policies" since the bill's implementation. During this upcoming session, the Senate will review and report on the implementation of Senate Bill 17 and ensure that college campuses are compliant. Similarly, with Senate Bill 18, the Texas Senate will monitor "Faculty Tenure Revisions" on college campuses and the implementation of Senate Bill 18's changes to how tenure is granted, reviewed, and dismissed from faculty members. 

Another higher education to-do that Senators will look at is "Combating Antisemitism on College Campuses." Following the protests last spring on college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war, the Texas Senate has raised alarms about increased antisemitism on college campuses. Senators said this legislative session they would look into ways to prevent antisemitism on campus while still protecting First Amendment rights. Similarly, "Campus Free Speech" will be on the list of to-dos, focusing on protecting faculty, staff and students' First Amendment rights and recommending any necessary reforms. 

Lastly on the higher education to-do list is "Innovation and Technology in Higher Education." The Texas Senate will look into aspects of intellectual property as they relate to AI programs by higher education institutions and explore the ethical issues that may arise from them. During the session, the Senate may recommend to higher education institutions how to responsibly and ethically use technology to enhance learning in the classroom. All five of these higher education to-dos may be discussed by Senators throughout the 89th legislative session and could prompt changes across Texas college campuses.

For students wanting to stay up to date on what is happening within the Texas Senate during this 89th Legislative session, checking on the Legislative Reference Library of Texas website is a great place to start. The Legislative Reference Library holds nearly all the information on bills, Senate members, Senate committees and legislative-related clippings from national and regional newspapers to help inform the public and legislators about the inner workings. Throughout this legislative session, students should check this reference library and other newspapers to stay informed about the Texas Senate and how it may affect them as college students going forward. This Texas Legislative session is bound to bring college campuses again to the state and national stage spotlight, and could continue to bring changes to how students learn and live on college campuses. 

As the legislative session begins next semester, the Policy Committee of Communication Council will monitor what occurs on the Senate floor to see if there are any legislative ways to respond to anything that directly affects UT students. The three student government organizations at UT, the Senate of College Councils, Student Government and Graduate Student Assembly, will also monitor the Senate floor to see if anything will affect the UT student body and if responding is necessary.