Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is proposing to end tenure for new hires at Texas public universities and making the teaching of critical race theory a cause for tenure revocation.

He said tenure should also be reviewed annually. Currently state law says tenured faculty are subject to a performance evaluation “no more often than once every year, but no less often than once every six years.”

The goal is to eliminate tenure at all public universities in Texas, Patrick said during a Friday news conference. The issue will be a “top priority” and a subject of interim hearings as lawmakers prepare for the 88th Legislative Session that starts in January.

“We are not going to allow a handful of professors who do not represent the entire group to teach and indoctrinate students with critical race theory, that we are inherently racist as a nation,” he said.

The announcement comes after the faculty council at the University of Texas at Austin on Monday approved a nonbinding resolution affirming faculty members’ right to academic freedom, including “research and teaching of race and gender theory,” according to the Austin American-Statesman.

“This resolution affirms that educators, not politicians, should make decisions about teaching and learning, and supports the rights and academic freedom of faculty to design courses, curriculum, and pedagogy, and to conduct related scholarly research,” the document reads. “More specifically, state legislative proposals seeking to limit teaching and discussions of racism and related issues have been proposed and enacted in several states, including Texas. This resolution affirms the fundamental rights of faculty to academic freedom in its broadest sense, inclusive of research and teaching of race and gender theory. “

Critical race theory, which started as an intellectual movement in the 1970s, examines how racial inequity has been built into social systems and how that inequity continues to effect social systems.

Education leaders in Fort Worth and Texas have said the academic theory isn’t taught in Texas schools, but it has become a topic of debate in politics and school board meetings including in North Texas. The Texas Legislature during its last session passed two laws related to the teaching of “critical race theory” in Texas’ K-12 schools. The phrase isn’t used, but the bills deal with how race can be taught in schools.

Patrick said he doesn’t draw a distinction between teaching the concepts in an elementary setting versus a university setting where generally adults are being taught. Also in college, students typically select their own classes and areas of study.

“Whether you’re in the fourth grade or whether you’re a freshman in college, I don’t want you to walk into my classroom and to consider yourself an oppressor and a racist just because you’re white, or that you’re a victim and that anything you have in life depends on someone else and not your own self because you’re a person of color,” he said.

A spokesperson for UT Arlington declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for the University of North Texas System. The Star-Telegram also reached out to Texas Woman’s University for comment.

Scott Belshaw, chair of UNT’s faculty senate, said it’s not uncommon for those outside of academic institutions to try and get rid of tenure. Belshaw, who works in the university’s criminal justice department and is tenured, also noted that he’s subject to annual performance reviews.

He stressed the importance of academic freedom for faculty. Faculty should be able to allow for a discourse and critical thinking in decision making, he said.

“I tell my students all the time, you don’t have to agree with me at all, but if you don’t, you better be able to support why you don’t agree with me, and to me, that’s what we’re teaching,” he said.

Patrick’s proposed policies could also affect hiring, Belshaw said.

“We’re not going to get quality faculty to come talk about expertise and issues that need to be talked about, and especially with the climate that we live in, we should be able to talk more rather than less,” he said.

Jacqueline Fay, the chair of UT-Arlington’s faculty senate and an associate English professor, said tenure creates an environment for students “where they are exposed to as much as possible then can form their own opinions.”

“Tenure is not about individual job security of faculty per se, as much as tenure is system and structure that creates an environment in higher education where... students can be exposed to a full range opinions and experiences and material without any intervention from any set of entities that may in fact be partial to one set of opinions,” Fay said.

Texas Faculty Association President Pat Heintzelman criticized Patrick for “ignoring the First Amendment rights of faculty members and their students.”

“Banning critical race theory from universities and limiting tenure are attacks on academic freedom, which is an important part of the process of helping students develop the critical thinking skills they will need for future success,” Heintzelman said in a statement. “Tenure, which is earned by higher education faculty of all political stripes, is an important step in giving professors the freedom they need to discuss issues and viewpoints that may be controversial but are an important part of a student’s complete education. Patrick is continuing his attack on education, which began with the public schools and, if not stopped, will undermine Texas’ future.”

Patrick, a Republican who is seeking reelection, also received push-back from Democrats, including political opponents.

Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Mike Collier in a statement said ending tenure would “destroy” Texas universities by eliminating competitive job opportunities. State Rep. Michelle Beckley, a Carrollton Democrat who is also running for lieutenant governor, called Patrick’s comments “cow manure” — a play on UT’s longhorn mascot Bevo.

“Educators want to teach the truth and students want to learn it,” Beckley said in a statement.

Texas House Democratic Caucus First Vice Chair Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, said the policy would “chase away the best and brightest students and educators our state needs to remain great.”

“Our Republican leadership must stop making major policy decisions based on what’s politically convenient for them, and instead put Texas educators, students and families first,” Rose said in a statement.